O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits

So instead of the "ultimate" collection, you are left with plethora of missing tracks: "Toys In The Attic", "No More, No More", "You See Me Crying", "Train Kept A-Rollin", "Sick As A Dog", "Lightning Strikes", "Kings And Queens", "Come Together", "Remember (Walking In The Sand)", "What Kind of Love Are You On", "Hole In My Soul", "Fly Away From Here", etc.

If you want to come as close as you can to collecting all of Aerosmith's hits without having to get all of the original albums, pick up "Greatest Hits", "Gems", and "Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology". The latter collects pretty much everything you could ask for from their Geffen years, and the first two are decent overviews of their first six classic albums (severely edited versions of "Same Old Song And Dance", "Sweet Emotion", and "Kings And Queens" aside). Me personally - I've just got all of the studio albums.


Opps, They Did It Again!   July 2, 2002
John D. Pride (Atlanta, GA USA)
52 out of 76 found this review helpful

You'd think that after umpteen Greatest Hits releases from these guys (we've come to expect at least one or two per year now, and do we really need a new best of every single time Aerosmith puts out a new CD?), they'd get it right. Well, there are a lot of great songs here, mostly the same stuff they always compile with two new ones and the singles from "Just Push Play", which makes overall for their best collection to date. While I enjoy having "Don't Want To Miss A Thing" on an Aerosmith collection and truly appreciate the inclusion (Finally!! What took so long?) of "Seasons of Wither", I will never, ever understand why we always get the mediocre "Mama Kin" and "Big Ten Inch" when the certified classics "Sick As A Dog" and "Toys In The Attic" are omitted. So, while this is definitely worth a listen if only because Aerosmith is one of America's greatest rock and roll bands, I'll have to pass until someone finally gets it right.


Near-perfect introduction for the uninitiated (like myself)   September 6, 2002
Eric Edelin (Baltimore, Maryland USA)
18 out of 18 found this review helpful

I think everybody who lives in America and owns a radio or television has heard an Aerosmith song, it's near impossible not to have. Like many, I knew of a handful of catchy, rockin' songs from classic rock radio and mp3 downloads. I was also somewhat confused as why not one retrospective had songs from their early and latter days on it, then I found out it was due to them changing labels in the mid-80s. This is the only Aerosmith compilation to feature songs from their Columbia and Geffen days on it and it makes a great buy for people who are interested in exploring their back catalogue, or just want those famous radio hits.

A seasoned Aerosmith fan might want this for the bonus tracks, the Run D.M.C. version of 'Walk This Way' and the two new songs, the single, 'Girls Of Summer' and the ballad 'Lay It Down. This also features the single from the Armageddon movie, 'I Don't Want To Miss A Thing.' A diehard might already have the soundtrack for that song or even the Run D.M.C. cd too but they're always nice to have grouped with other Aerosmith material. The remastered sound is loud and clear, a definite plus for audiophiles. The only glaring errors I see off-hand are the omissions of the popular 'Eat The Rich,' 'Toys In The Attic,' and their cover of 'Come Together,' songs even a beginner like me has heard on the radio. The latter two appear on the European import of this same compilation, but unfortunately you have to pay that European import price. Why the domestic release left those two songs off is beyond me. Aside from those minor negatives, this is the definitive Aerosmith compilation for beginners interested in America's ultimate rock 'n roll band.


Excellent Greatest Hits package, BUT HOW MANY DO WE NEED?!   August 12, 2002
wrrc (america)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful

When you heard about this release, you were probably thinking "another day, another Aerosmith greatest hits package." And in many ways you were correct to think that. However, let me start by saying that this is their best Greatest Hits compilation to date. Using two discs instead of just one allows for a good deal more material to be covered (this covers nearly a thirty-year timespan!) Now for the actual material. Needless to say, just about every major hit of the band's is here (Dream On, Same Old Song And Dance, Sweet Emotion, Walk This Way, Back In The Saddle, Rag Doll, Cryin', Jaded, and pretty much any other well-known song by the band.) And then we get a few tracks that aren't on any actual albums (I Don't Want To Miss A Thing from the Armageddon soundtrack, remix versions of Pink and Just Push Play, and, of course, the Run DMC version of Walk This Way.) There are two new tracks as well (Girls Of Summer, Lay It Down), and we even get an EXTREMELY early track from the band entitled Mama Kin which sounds TOTALLY different from anything else they have done over the years. For the most part Disc 1 covers the band's hard rock years (1970's-mid 1980's) and Disc 2 covers their more pop-rock oriented stuff (mid 1980's-present.) The hard rock to pop rock transformation is similar to Def Leppard in a way, but Aerosmith, unlike Def Leppard, can make pop songs that are even better than a good deal of their rock songs! Listen to Falling In Love and you'll see what I mean. The songs on this compilation are also in order of original release for the most part, something not many greatest hits albums do. Unfortunately, some cool tracks from the compilation simply entitled Aerosmith's Greatest Hits were not included here (Kings And Queens, and their cover of The Beatles' Come Together.) If you have any other Aerosmith greatest hits album (or all of their studio albums), there is really no reason to buy this. However, this is THE BEST Aerosmith Greatest Hits album to date without question, so if you get one of their hits compilations, make it this one. The price is a bit higher due to it being two disc, but the extra cash is worth it.


Take Your Pick   December 7, 2002
doomsdayer520 (Pennsylvania)
14 out of 16 found this review helpful

Aerosmith is becoming one of those long-term bands with as many compilations as original albums. Examine the catalogs of The Who or The Rolling Stones for examples of this phenomenon. Aerosmith's problem is the three different major recording contracts during their career. Here is yet another collection of "greatest" hits, coming less than a year after the Young Lust collection. (For a great overview of the classic years, you still can't do better than the short and snappy Aerosmith's Greatest Hits from 1980.) Since then there have been numerous collections over the years, and you can take your pick based on your particular fave tracks. So what advantage does Oh Yeah have over all those others? This release does have the great advantage of collecting tracks from both of Aerosmith's record companies (the first compilation to do so), and it sure is nice to have classics like "Dream On" and later goodies like "Love in an Elevator" in one place. Here we also get the Run-DMC version of "Walk This Way." On the other hand, this collection has a blatant ten-year gap in the middle of disc 1, as the albums Night in the Ruts, Rock in a Hard Place, and Done with Mirrors are completely disregarded. Sure those albums were sub-par but they do contain some hidden gems of interest to hardcore fans. Meanwhile, remixes of "Pink" and "Just Push Play" are highly unnecessary, especially since those tracks weren't too exciting to start with. As a general overview covering all periods of Aerosmith's career, Oh Yeah is probably the most useful collection so far. However, in terms of the best song selection and coverage, the world is still waiting for the perfect Aerosmith compilation. I'm sure there will be many more attempts in coming years.