Aerosmith’s new album is called ““Nine Lives,’’ a sly title for a band that’s used up eight. ““Lives’’ is good, not great. Aerosmith and a depressing number of hired songwriters work every angle. There’s bracing pop. There’s Led Zeppelin-esque rock. And there are enough power ballads to keep Alicia Silverstone in videos for years. Guitarist Joe Perry is still inventive, and singer Steven Tyler is still lewd (““I feel like I have been hit by a f—’’). But ““Lives’’ is never as sublime as 1989’s ““Pump.’’ The production feels slick; the tunes seem written by committee. (Aerosmith is said to have persuaded Ballard to stay, then fired him. Kevin Shirley ultimately produced.)
Tyler denies he has relapsed but knows he’s a handful: ““I got terminal uniqueness / I’m an egocentric man / I get caught up in my freakness / But I ain’t no Peter Pan.’’ Still, he and his Lost Boys haven’t quite found themselves.
