Monkey on My Back

''Pump'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Geffen Records. The album peaked at No. 5 on the US charts, and was certified septuple platinum by the RIAA in 1995.

The album contains the hit singles " Love in an Elevator", "The Other Side", " What It Takes", "Janie's Got a Gun", which all entered the Top 40 of the Hot 100. It also has certified sales of seven million copies in the U.S. to date, and is tied with its successor '' Get a Grip'' as Aerosmith's second best-selling studio album in the U.S. ('' Toys in the Attic'' leads with nine million). It produced a variety of successes and "firsts" for the band including their first Grammy Award ("Janie's Got a Gun"). "Love in an Elevator" became the first Aerosmith song to hit number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album was the fourth best-selling album of the year 1990.

In the UK, it was the second Aerosmith album to be certified Silver (60,000 units sold) by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving this in September 1989.

''Pump'' was the second of three sequentially recorded Aerosmith albums to feature producer Bruce Fairbairn and engineers Mike Fraser and Ken Lomas at Little Mountain Sound Studios.

A video documentary on the recording, ''The Making of Pump'', was released in 1990.

Production

In December 1988, Aerosmith got together at Rik Tinory Productions in Cohasset, Massachusetts to rehearse and compose new songs, as the band members thought the isolated nature of the studio would help their creativity. Over 19 songs were written, split between an "A-list" with songs considered possible hits, such as " Love in an Elevator" and " What It Takes", and the "B-list" having songs yet to be developed such as "Voodoo Medicine Man". Producer Bruce Fairbairn focused on getting as many hooks on the songs as possible.

Some songs proposed for the album, though never released, include "Girl's Got Somethin'", "Is Anybody Out There", "Guilty Kilt", "Rubber Bandit", "Sniffin'", and "Sedona Sunrise". Many songs also had alternate titles, for example, "Voodoo Medicine Man" was originally titled "Buried Alive" and "News for Ya Baby". The majority of these songs can be seen in photos of the studio's whiteboard and in footage from ''The Making of Pump''.

In January 1989, the band went to Vancouver to again record at Fairbairn's Little Mountain Sound, where the producer had helmed Bon Jovi's '' Slippery When Wet'' and '' New Jersey''. "I don't even listen to Bon Jovi," Steven Tyler protested, "so we didn't say, 'Oh, shit, they had a great album,' and go up there."

The intention with the album was exploring a rawness that had been glossed over for a commercial sound in '' Permanent Vacation''. Joe Perry declared that "When we went to do this album, we knew what we wanted, we wanted to strip off a little fat we felt on our last one. We didn't say 'We need a drug song or a child abuse song,' but when they fit, we used them. That's Aerosmith: we aren't bound by any rules." This escape from the rules led to the instrumental interludes between the songs. The interludes were done with the collaboration of musician Randy Raine-Reusch, who was brought to the studio after Perry and Tyler visited his house to search for unusual instruments to employ. Many of the lyrics employ sexual themes, which Tyler attributed to having "making up for the lost time" he spent using drugs instead of having sex in the 1970s.

On a 1989 MTV special entitled "Aerosmith Sunday", Brad Whitford explained the album title with "Now that we're off drugs, we're all pumped up."

Steven Tyler regretted not putting lyrics in the album booklet, something that happened because Geffen was afraid the Parents Music Resource Center would protest over lyrical content with many sex and drugs references. To remedy this omission, the lyrics were included in the tour program. The album cover features a black and white photo of a smaller International K Series truck on top of a larger International KB Series truck, both with their cargo beds removed. The chrome International markings on the hoods have been replaced with the letters "F.I.N.E.", short for "Fucked Up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional" as stated in the album's liner notes.

Lawsuit

Aerosmith found themselves in law school textbooks after a small rock band named Pump sued Aerosmith's management company for service mark infringement. Aerosmith won the case.
Pump, Inc. v. Collins Management
', 746 F. Supp. 1159 (D. Mass. 1990) Aerosmith also found themselves in legal trouble when the songwriting team Holland–Dozier–Holland threatened to sue the band over the main melody in Aerosmith's song "The Other Side" which sounded similar to the melody in the song " Standing in the Shadows of Love". As part of the settlement, Aerosmith agreed to add "Holland–Dozier–Holland" in the songwriting credits for "The Other Side".

Reception

The album received mostly positive reception, and has since been called "a high-water mark of the glam metal era".

"At a time when young guns from Mötley Crüe to Poison were doing their level best to hoist the heavy metal crown from the likes of Def Leppard and Bon Jovi," noted '' Q'', "it took a bunch of hoary, addled old stagers like Aerosmith to come up with the year's best metal album."'' Q'', January 1990

"Aerosmith is still the reigning king of the hard-rock double entendre," wrote '' Rolling Stone''. "But ''Pump'' – like, real subtle – has more going for it than locker-room laughs, such as the vintage high-speed crunch (circa ''Toys in the Attic'') of 'Young Lust', the sassy slap 'n' tickle of 'My Girl' and the kitchen-sink sound of 'Janie's Got A Gun'."

"Messrs Tyler and Perry," observed ''Hi-Fi News & Record Review'', "have cleaned up their act, hoovered their nostrils, added a few more items of choice veg to their cod-pieces and come up with a stonker."

''Spin'' placed it at No. 279 on their list of "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years", and said "Aerosmith gets no respect for locating that perfect sweet spot between the shamelessness of ‘80s sleaze-metal and the self-aware wink of proto-ironic ‘90s MTV culture".

''Loudwire'' ranked the album fourth in their ranking of Aerosmith studio albums, and said, "'Pump,' like its multiplatinum predecessor, 'Permanent Vacation,' unabashedly catered to '80s hair metal trends with glossy mega-productions like "Love in an Elevator" and the Grammy-winning "Janie's Got a Gun," but it also did a commendable job of reviving the vintage Aerosmith style on loads of amazing tunes".

Track listing

Personnel

Aerosmith
*Steven Tylerlead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica
* Joe Perryguitar: second solo on "Love in an Elevator", slide guitar on "Monkey on My Back", backing vocals
* Brad Whitfordguitar: lead guitar on "Voodoo Medicine Man" and first solo on "Love in an Elevator"
* Tom Hamiltonbass guitar, backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
*Joey Kramerdrums
Additional personnel
*Bob Dowd – backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
*Catherine Eppsspoken intro (Elevator Operator) on "Love in an Elevator"
*Bruce Fairbairntrumpet, backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
*The Margarita Horns (Bruce Fairbairn, Henry Christian, Ian Putz, Tom Keenlyside)brass instruments, saxophones
* John Websterkeyboards
*Randy Raine-Reuschmusical interludes (glass harmonica on "Water Song", Appalachian dulcimer on "Dulcimer Stomp", didgeridoo on "Don't Get Mad, Get Even", and Thai khaen on "Hoodoo"), plus '' naw'' (gourd mouth organ of the Lahu people of Northern Thailand) starting at 5:19 in the hidden track contained in "What It Takes"

Production
*Producer: Bruce Fairbairn
*Engineers: Michael Fraser, Ken Lomas
*Mixing: Mike Fraser
*Mastering: Greg Fulginiti
*Mastering Supervisor: David Donnelly
*Art direction: Kim Champagne, Gabrielle Raumberger
*Logo design: Andy Engel
*Photography: Norman Seeff
*Tattoo art: Mark Ryden
*John Kalodner: John Kalodner

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Awards

See also

*'' Things That Go Pump in the Night''
*Pump Tour

References

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1989 albums
Aerosmith albums
Geffen Records albums
Albums produced by Bruce Fairbairn
Albums recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios
Glam metal albums