Classics Live I and II

Classics Live and Classics Live II are a set of albums by the Boston-based rock band Aerosmith, released in 1986 and 1987, respectively. Together, they constitute the band's second live offering, after Live Bootleg.

Classics Live

Untitled

Classics Live was recorded at a time when Aerosmith was imploding from personal and musical problems. They were heavy drug addicts, their guitarists were leaving and coming back, and their albums were not selling well. The album is often regarded as a failure because of the new guitarists' performances, and the redundant song selection (most of the songs were already released on Live Bootleg). Even guitarist Brad Whitford said that he is ashamed to have this record in his collection.

It is hard to tell which of the four guitarists played on which tracks, although, perhaps due to internal tension or licensing issues, none of the tracks contain songwriting credits for Joe Perry, except for the one Aerosmith song he did not play on in the studio version.

Major Barbara was a song originally cut for the band's debut lp and thereafter cut. It appears on the Classics Live first album and an alternate version is available on the compliation, Pandora's Box.

Track listing

1. "Train Kept A-Rollin'" (T. Bradshaw, L. Mann, H. Kay) – 3:18
2. "Kings and Queens" (Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Jack Douglas) – 4:39
3. "Sweet Emotion" (Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton) – 5:00
4. "Dream On" (Steven Tyler) – 5:02
5. "Mama Kin" (Steven Tyler) – 3:43
6. "Three Mile Smile" (Steven Tyler & Joe Perry) / Reefer Head Woman (L. Melrose, J. Bennet, W. Gillum) – 4:55
7. "Lord of the Thighs" (Steven Tyler) – 6:42
8. "Major Barbra" (Steven Tyler) – 4:01

Classics Live II

Untitled

Classics Live II was mainly recorded on a New Year's Eve show in 1984, with all five original members once again reunited. The other two tracks were the first track of 1985s Done with Mirrors, "Let the Music Do the Talking", and a rendition of 1977s "Draw the Line" from California Jam 2.

Classics Live II is regarded as a much better album than the previous effort. The band themselves decided to take control of the album after Columbia's failure with Classics Live, and selected more energetic and commanding performances.

Track listing

1. "Back in the Saddle" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 4:39
2. "Happy Birthday" (Patty Hill, Mildred Hill) / "Walk This Way" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 4:22
3. "Movin' Out" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 5:45
4. "Draw The Line" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 5:05
5. "Same Old Song and Dance" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 5:23
6. "Last Child" (Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford) – 3:44
7. "Let the Music Do the Talking" (Joe Perry) – 5:47
8. "Toys in the Attic" (Steven Tyler, Joe Perry) – 4:05

Classics Live Complete

There's also a 1998 version containing both volumes on one CD.

Certifications

Classics Live I

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA - USA	Gold	July 22, 1991
RIAA - USA	Platinum	February 26, 2001

Classics Live II

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA - USA	Gold	October 28, 1994

External links

• Classics Live! at MusicBrainz
• Classics Live! II at MusicBrainz