Pump (album)

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.{{cite video|title=The Making of Pump|date=1990|publisher=Sony Music}}

Some songs proposed for the album, though never released in their original form, 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."Rolling Stone 1989 retrospective, precise date unknown

Aerosmith were at Little Mountain Sound at the same time that Mötley Crüe were recording their album Dr. Feelgood. As a result, Steven Tyler and the Margarita Horns (Aerosmith's horn section) contributed backing vocals and instrumentation to several tracks on that album. During the vocal sessions, Mick Mars' guitar sound leaked from the room next door due to Mars' volume and many amplifiers.{{Cite web |last=Bosso |first=Joe |date=2022-10-27 |title=Mick Mars on his favorite Mötley Crüe solo, how he (unintentionally) ended up on Aerosmith's Pump, and the Dr. Feelgood Garnet amp |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/mick-mars-motley-crue-solo-dr-feelgood-aerosmith |access-date=2023-12-03 |website=guitarworld |language=en}}

The intention with the album was exploring a rawness that had been glossed over for a commercial sound in Permanent Vacation.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X2Opr3N1X4YC&pg=PA140|title=Aerosmith|first=Richard|last=Bienstock|date=September 15, 2011|publisher=Voyageur Press|isbn=9781610597692|via=Google Books}} 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.{{cite news|url=http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-19/entertainment/25908994_1_aerosmith-pump-rock-n-roll|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064418/http://articles.philly.com/1990-01-19/entertainment/25908994_1_aerosmith-pump-rock-n-roll|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 4, 2016|title=Aerosmith's All 'Pumped' Up|date=January 19, 1990|first=David|last=Hinckley|newspaper=New York Daily News}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.asza.com/r3aero.shtml|title=Randy Raine-Reusch - Aerosmith, Cranberries, Yes|website=www.asza.com}} 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.

{{Listen|filename=Aerosmith - Janie's Got a Gun.ogg|title="Janie's Got a Gun"

|description=Sample of "Janie's Got a Gun", a story about a girl seeking revenge on her abusive father, inspired by a magazine article on gun violence.{{cite magazine|last=Fricke|first=David|author-link=David Fricke|date=April 27, 2011|title=Talk This Way: Rolling Stone's 1994 Interview With Aerosmith's Steven Tyler|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/talk-this-way-rolling-stones-1994-interview-with-aerosmiths-steven-tyler-118478/|access-date=February 18, 2021|magazine=Rolling Stone}}

|format=Ogg

|pos=left}}

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.{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RDWxkmx1bj4C&pg=PA43|title=SPIN|date=December 14, 1990|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|via=Google Books}} 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.

Aerosmith found themselves in a lawsuit after a small rock band named Pump sued Aerosmith's management company for service mark infringement.{{cite book | title=Music Law: How to Run Your Band's Business | publisher=Nolo | author=Stim, Richard | year=2006 | location=Berkeley, California | page=208 | isbn=1-4133-0517-2}} Aerosmith won the case.[http://frosszelnick.com/sites/default/files/cases_pdf/20060925101717_42_SELECTED_PDF.pdf Pump, Inc. v. Collins Management] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401222613/http://frosszelnick.com/sites/default/files/cases_pdf/20060925101717_42_SELECTED_PDF.pdf |date=April 1, 2016 }}, 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".

{{Album ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000201320 |label=Review |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |access-date=April 7, 2020 }}

| rev2 = Blender

| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web |last=Mitchell |first=Ben |date=October 26, 2004 |title=Aerosmith — Pump review |url=http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2200 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041026004620/http://www.blender.com/guide/reviews.aspx?id=2200 |archive-date=October 26, 2004 |access-date=October 18, 2024 |website=Blender}}

| rev3 = Christgau's Record Guide

| rev3score = B+{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=A&bk=80|chapter=A|access-date=August 16, 2020|title=Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|publisher=Pantheon Books|year=1990|isbn=0-679-73015-X|via=robertchristgau.com}}

| rev4 = Encyclopedia of Popular Music

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book |first=Colin |last=Larkin |author-link=Colin Larkin |chapter=Aerosmith |title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |year=1998 |publisher=Groves Dictionaries |pages=82–83 |isbn=1-561-59237-4}}

| rev5 = The Great Rock Discography

| rev5score = 8/10{{cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin C. |author-link=Martin C. Strong |title=The Great Rock Discography |chapter=Aerosmith |date=2004|edition=7th|publisher=Canongate Books |page=9–10 |isbn=1-84195-615-5}}

| rev6 = MusicHound

| rev6score = 4/5{{cite book |editor1-last=Graff |editor1-first=Gary |editor2-last=Durchholz |editor2-first=Daniel |title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |publisher=Visible Ink Press |year=1999 |isbn=1-57859-061-2 |chapter=Aerosmith|page=12]}}

| rev7 = Q

| rev7score = {{Rating|5|5}}04/01/2001

| rev8 = Rolling Stone

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/pump-247178/|title=Pump|first=Kim|last=Neely|magazine=Rolling Stone |date=October 19, 1989}}

| rev9 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|chapter=Aerosmith|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|title=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=Simon & Schuster |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/8 8]}}

| rev10 = Sounds

| rev10score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite magazine|last=Cook|first=Richard|date=October 16, 1989|title=Aerosmith: Pump (Geffen 924 254/CD) *****|url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/aerosmith-ipumpi-geffen-924-254cd-|access-date=March 16, 2025|magazine=Sounds}}

}}

The album received mostly positive reception, and has since been called "a high-water mark of the glam metal era", that "stands toe to toe against Aerosmith's undisputed mid-'70s classics." Many critics noted its more classic hard rock sound than the pop metal of its predecessor. {{cite web|last=Rolli|first=Bryan|date=July 1, 2021|title=Top 30 Glam Metal Albums|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/glam-metal-albums/|access-date=July 1, 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}

"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'."Rolling Stone, December 14–28, 1989

"If fried brains is your idea of a rock dream, the first side will do the job at least as good as whatever raging slab is also your idea of a rock dream," wrote Robert Christgau. "For five songs, everything loud and acrid about them just keeps on coming--not even tune doctors can stave off the juggernaut. Of course, this band's idea of a rock dream is also the traditional 'Young Lust' and 'Love in an Elevator'--OK as far as it goes, but I could do with more 'Janie's Got a Gun,' in which an abused teenager offs her dad."[https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?name=Aerosmith Robert Christgau: CG: Aerosmith]

"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."Hi-Fi News & Record Review, November 1989

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".{{cite web|date=May 11, 2015|title=The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985-2014)|url=https://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/|access-date=June 21, 2021|website=Spin}} The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.{{cite book|first=Bruno|last=MacDonald|editor-first=Robert|editor-last=Dimery|chapter=Aerosmith: Pump|title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|title-link=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die|publisher=Universe Publishing|year=2006|isbn=978-0-7893-1371-3|page=[https://archive.org/details/1001AlbumsYouMustHearBeforeYouDie/page/n312/mode/1up 625]}}

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".{{cite web|last=Rivadavia|first=Eduardo|date=February 28, 2017|title=Aerosmith Albums Ranked|url=https://loudwire.com/aerosmith-albums-ranked/|access-date=February 9, 2021|website=Loudwire}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Pump track listing

| title1 = Young Lust

| writer1 = Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Jim Vallance

| length1 = 4:19

| title2 = F.I.N.E.*

| writer2 = Tyler, Perry, Desmond Child

| length2 = 4:08

| title3 = Going Down/Love in an Elevator

| writer3 = Tyler, Perry

| length3 = 5:38

| title4 = Monkey on My Back

| writer4 = Tyler, Perry

| length4 = 3:56

| title5 = Water Song/Janie's Got a Gun

| writer5 = Tyler, Tom Hamilton

| length5 = 5:40

| title6 = Dulcimer Stomp/The Other Side

| writer6 = Tyler, Vallance, Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier, Eddie Holland{{Cite web|url=http://repertoire.bmi.com/title.asp?blnWriter=True&blnPublisher=True&blnArtist=True&keyid=1136212&ShowNbr=0&ShowSeqNbr=0&querytype=WorkID|title=BMI Songwriting Credits: Other Side - Aerosmith}}{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ascap.com/repertory|title=ACE Repertory|website=www.ascap.com}}

| length6 = 4:56

| title7 = My Girl

| writer7 = Tyler, Perry

| length7 = 3:10

| title8 = Don't Get Mad, Get Even

| writer8 = Tyler, Perry

| length8 = 4:48

| title9 = Hoodoo/Voodoo Medicine Man

| writer9 = Tyler, Brad Whitford

| length9 = 4:41

| title10 = What It Takes

| note10 = Includes an instrumental hidden track composed & performed by Randy Raine-Reusch

| writer10 = Tyler, Perry, Child

| length10 = 6:28

| total_length = 47:44

}}

{{Track listing

| headline = Japanese version

| total_length = 52:46

| title11 = Ain't Enough

| writer11 = Tyler, Perry

| length11 = 5:02

}}

Aerosmith

• Steven Tyler{{snd}}lead vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica
• Joe Perry{{snd}}guitar: second solo on "Love in an Elevator", slide guitar on "Monkey on My Back", backing vocals
• Brad Whitford{{snd}}guitar: lead guitar on "Voodoo Medicine Man" and first solo on "Love in an Elevator"
• Tom Hamilton{{snd}}bass guitar, backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
• Joey Kramer{{snd}}drums

Additional personnel

• Bob Dowd – backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
• Catherine Epps{{snd}}spoken intro (Elevator Operator) on "Love in an Elevator"
• Bruce Fairbairn{{snd}}trumpet, backing vocals on "Love in an Elevator"
• The Margarita Horns (Bruce Fairbairn, Henry Christian, Ian Putz, Tom Keenlyside){{snd}}brass instruments, saxophones
• John Webster{{snd}}keyboards
• Randy Raine-Reusch{{snd}}musical 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

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

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{{col-end}}

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for Pump}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Australia|type=album|award=Platinum|number=2|relyear=1989|source=book|id=9}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|type=album|title=Pump|artist=Aerosmith|award=Platinum|number=7|relyear=1989}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|type=album|title=Pump|artist=Aerosmith|award=Gold|relyear=1989}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Japan|award=Gold|relyear=1989|certyear=1989|certref={{cite web|url=https://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction_list.php?traitlist=&traitunid=386|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221103144939/https://www.backstageauctions.com/catalog/auction_list.php?traitlist=&traitunid=386|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 3, 2022|title=

1008: Aerosmith 1989 Pump Japan Gold Record Award Issued To David Frangioni|access-date=May 15, 2025}}}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|title=Pump|artist=Aerosmith|award=Platinum|type=album|id=1990-11-02|source=newchart|access-date=2024-11-20|relyear=1989}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=album|title=Pump|artist=Aerosmith|award=Gold|id=5242-348-2}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=album|title=Pump|artist=Aerosmith|award=Platinum|number=7}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=yes}}

• Things That Go Pump in the Night
• Pump Tour

{{Reflist}}

{{Aerosmith}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1989 albums

Category:Aerosmith albums

Category:Geffen Records albums

Category:Albums produced by Bruce Fairbairn

Category:Albums recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios

Category:Glam metal albums