Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album)

Permanent Vacation
Studio album by
Aerosmith
ReleasedAugust 18, 1987 (1987-08-18)[1]
RecordedMarch–May 1987
Studio
Genre
Length51:46
LabelGeffen
ProducerBruce Fairbairn
Aerosmith chronology
Done with Mirrors
(1985) 		Permanent Vacation
(1987) 		Pump
(1989)
Singles from Permanent Vacation
  1. "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
    Released: September 22, 1987[2]
  2. "Angel"
    Released: January 5, 1988[2]
  3. "Rag Doll"
    Released: May 3, 1988[2]

Permanent Vacation is the ninth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released by Geffen Records on August 25, 1987.[3] The album marks the band's shift to a pop-metal sound that they would maintain up to 1993's Get A Grip.[4]

Production recruited songwriters outside the band, who had written commercial hits for Bon Jovi, Heart and Starship.[5] This came at the suggestion of executive John Kalodner. He also pushed the band to work with producer Bruce Fairbairn, who remained with them for another two albums. It was also the first Aerosmith album to be promoted by heavy music video airplay on MTV. Though Done with Mirrors was intended to mark Aerosmith's comeback, Permanent Vacation is often considered their true comeback, as it was the band's first truly popular album since their reunion. "Rag Doll", "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", and "Angel" became major hits (all three charted in the Top 20) and helped Permanent Vacation become the band's biggest success in a decade.

Permanent Vacation has sold over five million copies in the U.S.[6] In the UK, it was the first Aerosmith album to attain both Silver (60,000 units sold) and Gold (100,000 units sold) certification by the British Phonographic Industry, achieving these in July 1989 and March 1990 respectively.[7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Christgau's Record GuideC+[9]
Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal8/10[10]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[11]
Metal Forces9.9/10[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]

Contemporary reviews were mixed-to-positive. Deborah Frost of Rolling Stone wrote that Aerosmith had "made one of the dumbest moves of a checkered career. They've tried to make a hit record", recruiting "last year's hitmakers" and changing their usual themes and lyrics "in a desperate attempt to clean up their act for Eighties radio". She concedes that "even though none of the heavier songs ("Dude," "Heart's Done Time," "Girl Keeps Coming Apart") packs the hooks of Aerosmith's finest moments, the band has never sounded better or more charged."[5] Robert Christgau graded the album a C+, saying Aerosmith were "running out of gas again already".[9] On the other hand, Dave Reynolds from Metal Forces magazine called the album "a shit hot album and one I'm gonna play the hell out of".[12]

In a retrospective assessment AllMusic wrote that "despite the mostly stellar songwriting, which makes it a strong effort overall, some of the album's nooks and crannies haven't aged all that well because of Fairbairn's overwrought production, featuring an exaggerated sleekness typical of most mid-'80s pop-metal albums".[8] Martin Popoff defined Permanent Vacation "blatantly commercial" and rated the album "four-fifths brilliant or good, one-fifth middling or bad", citing the song "Angel" as "a career low".[10] Loudwire ranked Permanent Vacation as Aerosmith's 6th best album and wrote that "its lavish '80s production has definitely dated, but 'Permanent Vacation' still ranks among the greatest musical comebacks of all time".[4] Loudwire also placed the album at No. 4 on their 2017 list of the "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1987".[14] Loudersound placed the album on their list of the 20 best albums from 1987 and called it a "collection of sublime pop-metal".[15]

Track listing

Permanent Vacation track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Heart's Done Time"
4:42
2."Magic Touch"
4:40
3."Rag Doll"
4:21
4."Simoriah"
  • Tyler
  • Perry
  • Vallance
3:22
5."Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"
  • Tyler
  • Perry
  • Child
4:23
6."St. John"Tyler4:12
7."Hangman Jury"
  • Tyler
  • Perry
  • Vallance
5:33
8."Girl Keeps Coming Apart"
  • Tyler
  • Perry
4:12
9."Angel"
  • Tyler
  • Child
5:10
10."Permanent Vacation"
4:52
11."I'm Down" (The Beatles cover)
2:20
12."The Movie" (instrumental)
4:00
Total length:51:47

Video release

A VHS titled Permanent Vacation 3x5 was released in 1988 that is a compilation of promotional videos for "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)", "Angel", and "Rag Doll". It also contained behind-the-scenes footage.[16]

Personnel

Adapted from the album liner notes.[17]

Aerosmith

Charts

Chart performance for Permanent Vacation
Chart (1987–1988) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[18] 42
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 16
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[20] 50
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 37
US Billboard 200[22] 11

Certifications

Certifications for Permanent Vacation
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[23] 5× Platinum 500,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[24] Gold 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] 5× Platinum 5,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.
  2. ^ a b c Strong, Martin (2002) [First published in 1994]. The Great Rock Discography (Sixth ed.). United Kingdom: Canongate Books. ISBN 1-84195-312-1.
  3. ^ John Franck & Eduardo Rivadavia. "Permanent Vacation - Aerosmith > Overview". AllMusic. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Rivadavia, Eduardo (February 28, 2017). "Aerosmith Albums Ranked". Loudwire. Retrieved March 16, 2021. 2001's 'Push Play' was Aerosmith's fifth straight exercise in the sort of widescreen pop metal inaugurated by 'Permanent Vacation,' all of 14 years prior.
  5. ^ a b Frost, Deborah (October 22, 1987). "Permanent Vacation". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on December 8, 2014. Retrieved May 14, 2012.
  6. ^ "Recording Industry Association of America". RIAA. Archived from the original on October 18, 2015. Retrieved March 5, 2012.
  7. ^ "Search for "Aerosmith"". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved June 1, 2012.
  8. ^ a b Franck, John. Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  9. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (1990). "A". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved August 16, 2020 – via robertchristgau.com.
  10. ^ a b Popoff, Martin (November 1, 2005). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 13–14. ISBN 978-1-894959-31-5.
  11. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-85712-595-8.
  12. ^ a b Reynolds, Dave (1987). "Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation". Metal Forces (25). Retrieved July 5, 2012.
  13. ^ "Review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 21, 2011.
  14. ^ Childers, Chad (January 4, 2017). "10 Best Hard Rock Albums of 1987". Loudwire. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  15. ^ "The 20 best albums from 1987". Loudersound.com. October 9, 2018. Retrieved April 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Bienstock, Richard (September 15, 2011). "VHS/DVD Releases". Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Bad Boys from Boston. Voyageur Press. p. 228. ISBN 9780760369364.
  17. ^ Aerosmith (1994). Big Ones (CD insert). United States: Geffen Records. GEFD-24716.
  18. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  19. ^ "Top RPM Albums: Image 0907". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  20. ^ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005 (in Japanese). Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart on 30/8/1987 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  22. ^ "Aerosmith Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 22, 2018.
  23. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Aerosmith – Permanent Vacation". Music Canada. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
  24. ^ "Japanese album certifications – エアロスミス – パーマネント・ヴァケイション" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 1995年4月 on the drop-down menu
  25. ^ "British album certifications – Aerosmith – Permanent Vacation". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved February 1, 2013. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Permanent Vacation Aerosmith in the "Search:" field.
  26. ^ "American album certifications – Aerosmith – Permanent Vacation". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved February 1, 2013.
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