Pump Songs Ranked
Pump is the tenth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith. It was released on September 12, 1989, by Geffen Records. The album peaked at No. 5 on the US charts and was certified septuple platinum by the RIAA in 1995. The album contains the hit singles “Love in an Elevator”, “The Other Side”, “What It Takes”, “Janie’s Got a Gun”, which all entered the Top 40 of the Hot 100. It also has certified sales of seven million copies in the U.S. to date and is tied with its successor Get a Grip as Aerosmith’s second best-selling studio album in the U.S. (Toys in the Attic leads with eight million). It produced a variety of successes and “firsts” for the band including their first Grammy Award (“Janie’s Got a Gun”). “Love in an Elevator” became the first Aerosmith song to hit number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The album was the fourth best-selling album of the year 1990. A video documentary on the recording, The Making of Pump, was released in 1990. Here are all of Pump songs ranked.
Don’t miss out on the TIMELESS Aerosmith music below! Click to experience the energy of Steven Tyler!
10. Don’t Get Mad, Get Even
“After a long and un-interesting didgeridoo intro, the song begins with a slow blues rhythm and seems to stick to this formula through the rest of the song. Though it does get louder and more intense, it doesn’t seem to get far. The lyrics are quite good.”
9. Monkey On My Back
“After three opening songs about sex, the band moves on to something that whilst being well known for, haven’t written many songs about them. Drugs and drug addiction. The song still has a strong sense of rhythm, relying largely on the drums and the bass comes to the fore at some moments. The song’s lyrics are largely one-sided on the anti-drugs stance, but it’s hard rocking melody stop the song from being didactic and preachy. But there is a serious message and it can be lost amongst the fun.”
8. My Girl
“A fairly upbeat piece of music, it uses a fairly jumpy rhythm, but it is quite similar in melody and feel to Young Lust. The lyrics are typical Aerosmith, but there is some very nice vocal key changes. A good enough song, if you’re in the mood.”
See more: Aerosmith Albums Ranked
7. Hoodoo / Voodoo Medicine Man
“Although it does have a very strange opening, with a spoken monologue from Steve Tyler, the song kicks off with a slow and tense vocal and bass question and answer, before the song kicks off the intensity, singing about the delicacy of mother earth and it’s spirituality. Using tribal sensibilities and combining it with hard rocking. A dramatic and exciting element to the album”
6. Dulcimer Stomp / the Other Side
“Another obscure instrument is brought to the fore, in the form of a dulcimer in a brief intro before ploughing into the soul flavoured The Other Side. The horns stabbing in the song at various times, and a guitar solo in a similar vain to Janie’s Got A Gun. Not as strong as the other singles from the album, but still a decent song.”
5. Young Lust
“Young Lust seems the perfect choice for an album opener. From the get-go hitting with 110mph intensity, it is one of the band’s best rockers at a time where they became more radio-friendly with their “safer” songs and power ballads, proving the band still had what it takes to rock. The true stand-out in the track is Joey Kramer, who’s closing drum solo has to be amongst the finest performances in his long career. “
4. F.I.N.E.
“Lacking the intensity of Young Lust, it still manages to have the same amount of sexual slang (if not more so) F.I.N.E (an acronym for Fucked Up Insecure Neurotic And Emotional) it’s partly a supposed attack on how the band were perceived as being rather harmless particularly concerning the line “Tipper thinks I’m alright” addressing Al Gore’s wife and censorship advocate Tipper Gore. It’s not as good as Young Lust, but it’s still worth a look in.”
See more: Aerosmith Songs Ranked
3. Water Song / Janie’s Got a Gun
“While it may not be standard Aerosmith, the song was a big hit in 1989 and rightly so. The band’s lyrics usually focused on hedonistic sex, turn to the subject of paedophilia, rape and incest. The usual bluesy guitar gives way to a melody dominated by bass and keyboards (although there is an intense guitar solo) the dramatic nature of the song lends itself well to what has thus far been a largely celebratory album, and leads nicely to the darker depths of the rest of the songs. As well as this is a short intro with a glass harmonica, giving the song a very dramatic (if not, slightly mysterious) intro.”
2. What It Takes
“The obligatory closing ballad, is rounded off with What It Takes. Very emotional and sensitive, Steven Tyler does a great job vocally on the song, but this seems to principally his song, with the others not often getting a good look-in with the exception of a few shining moments from Joe Perry. It seems to be somewhat similar to Angel from Permanent Vacation, but that doesn’t distract it from being a fairly nice end to the album.”
1. Going Down / Love in an Elevator
“Following a brief (and not very necessary) introduction, the band kick off with one of their best known 80’s songs. Basically using the office place as a metaphor for sex. The song’s also accompanied by a well-known music video displaying a great deal of the band’s sexual sense of humour. The song is very synthesiser-ridden and perhaps not a favourite of those who favour more of the band’s 70’s output, but it’s a fine song in it’s own merit.”
