Get a Grip is the eleventh studio album by Americanrock bandAerosmith, released in April 1993 byGeffen Records.Get a Grip was the band's last studio album to be released by Geffen before they returned toColumbia Records.
Get a Grip became Aerosmith's best-selling studio album worldwide, achieving sales of over 20 million copies. The album became the band's first album to reachnumber one in the United States and tied withPump for their second best-selling album in the U.S., selling over 7 million copies as of 1995 (Toys in the Attic leads with nine million).[5] This also made it their third consecutive album with U.S. sales of at least five million. Two songs from the album wonGrammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, in 1993 and 1994. The album was voted Album of the Year byMetal Edge readers in the magazine's 1993 Readers' Choice Awards, while "Livin' on the Edge" was voted Best Video.[6]
The album originally had 12 songs and was scheduled to be released in the third quarter of 1992, but Geffen A&R executiveJohn Kalodner listened to what had been recorded and thought it lacked variety and a radio-friendly song. So the band went back to write more songs with collaborators such as Child.[7] It was also the last album Bruce Fairbairn produced for Aerosmith before his death in 1999.
Regarding songs that reflect on the band's history with drug abuse such as "Get a Grip" and "Amazing",Steven Tyler declared: "We were saying you can point it back to some of those old beliefs about the crossroads and signing up with the devil, that you can look at the drugs as that: It can be fun in the beginning but then it comes time to pay your debt, and if you're not sharp enough to see that it's taking you down, then it really will get you."[8]
Many songs were written and recorded for the album that were either used as B-sides or never released. "Don't Stop" and "Head First" were released as B-sides, as well as "Can't Stop Messin'", which also appears on several special editions of the album as an addition in the track list. Alternate versions of other songs recorded during the sessions including "Deuces Are Wild", "Lizard Love", "Devil's Got a New Disguise", and "Legendary Child" have since been released on various albums and soundtracks.
Other songs were listed on the official Aerosmith website in the late 1990s. "Black Cherry", "Dime Store Lover", "Meltdown", "Rocket 88", "Wham Bam", and "Yo Momma" were listed on the lyrics page of the website. In 2005, Kalodner confirmed the existence of several of these songs, as well as "Trouble", "Strange", "13", and "Keep on Movin'". "Deuces Are Wild" was possibly recorded again during these sessions. Several songs are also listed on copyright repertoires, including "Ain't Gonna Break My Heart", "Good Thang", and "Jake". These songs can be traced to the year 1991.[citation needed]
Get a Grip's cover art, depicting an image of a cow with acaptive beadnipple ring through its udder and abrand of the Aerosmith logo, was designed by noted album-cover artistHugh Syme. Music criticSteven Hyden has referred to the album's cover art as "the worst album cover ever", expressing surprise that Syme was responsible for it given his other work.[9] An animal-rights group objected to the cover art, but the band confirmed the image had beendigitally altered and did not depict an actual act of animal cruelty.[10]
Aspecial edition of the album was released in a fabric-covered case made to resemble cowhide.[11][12]
On June 27, 1994, Aerosmith became the first major artist to release a song as an exclusivedigital download, making "Head First" available as a 4-megabyteWAV file toCompuServe subscribers.[13] Around 10,000 users downloaded the song in the first few days, even though at the time, most users accessed the service with amodem, meaning the download would have taken the better part of an hour."Head First" was earlier used as the B-side for "Eat the Rich".[14]
Reviewing forRolling Stone in 1993, Mark Coleman said he enjoyed the title song and compared the introductory track to the band's 1986 rendition of "Walk This Way" withRun–D.M.C. However, he found much of the rest unadventurous and too "somber", negatively comparing "Livin' on the Edge" to aBon Jovi song, and lamenting the outside contributions from songwriters and collaborators. Ultimately, Coleman determined that, "for a spirited half-hour or so, Aerosmith pretty much gets over on sheer awe-inspiring technique".[20]Robert Christgau was more positive in a contemporaneous review forPlayboy, saying that while it "occasionally exploits their rap connection", remains faithful to Aerosmith's template of "fast ones and slow ones; lyrically it's fuck me and fuck you", but with such superpro crunch and commitment that no good-timing headbanger will give a shit. Christgau highlighted "Cryin'" as "the classic" on the album, while saying that "the closest thing to a duff cut [is] the 'meaningful' Livin' on the Edge, which could be a hit anyway."[21] He later ranked it 64th on his "Dean's List" accompanyingThe Village Voice's annualPazz & Jop critics poll of the year's best albums,[22] and assigned it an A-minus in his 2000 bookChristgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s.[17]
Immediately after "Amazing," a snippet of "Who Threw the Whiskey in the Well", byLucky Millinder, is heard as if being tuned in on an old radio.[citation needed] Tyler says, "So from all of us at Aerosmith to all of you out there, wherever you are, remember: the light at the end of the tunnel may be you. Good night." The music then fades out.
* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.
