On April 21, 1997, a slightly revised version, Greatest Hits 1973–1988, was released outside the US, with the ten tracks in their edited versions retained, with five additional songs from the same era added, plus the 1991 version of "Sweet Emotion" and a live version of "One Way Street". The other remaining tracks were kept intact. " Walk This Way" was edited slightly, chanting the first chorus once instead of twice. " Kings and Queens" was also edited down, cutting the intro and certain other parts. The original lyric was "Gotcha with the cocaine, found with your gun." The alternate lyric, included on the compilation, was "You shady lookin' loser, you played with my gun." " Sweet Emotion" also used the single version it begins with the first chorus, cutting out the now famous talk box intro and the coda was replaced with a repeating chorus and fades out. It also contained an alternate lyric which was not heard on Get Your Wings.
The single version of " Same Old Song and Dance" was used, and was edited down almost a full minute.
Some of the tracks were significantly edited from their original versions.
Much of the best of this time is available here, but the collection feels a little off, probably because there is so much material in such a concentrated burst, which is not only a little tiring, but the density brings the weaknesses to the forefront in a way such tight albums as Pump couldn't but it still does offer a lot, even if it doesn't have all that it should.Release and reception Professional ratings Review scoresĪlthough the official website for Aerosmith lists the release for Greatest Hits as October 1980, and the album was originally scheduled for release on October 24, 1980, it was delayed until November 11, 1980. That said, this still fulfills its goals pretty nicely, offering an in-depth summary of Aerosmith's comeback, which indeed wasn't limited to just the hits cuts like "Hangman Jury," "Monkey on My Back," "Blind Man," and especially the non-LP "Deuces Are Wild" are proof that the group was revitalized during this time, only starting to run out of steam around 1993's Get a Grip.
More importantly, certain hits aren't here in their hit versions: the acoustic version of "Livin' on the Edge," the orchestral version of "Amazing," a live "Falling In Love (Is Hard on the Knees)" (not to mention the live performances of Columbia classics "Dream On" and "Sweet Emotion"). This approach doesn't work perfectly - there are a few album cuts that aren't particularly distinctive, plus live material at the end that feels extraneous. And for those fans, this remains a pretty good, but not perfect, overview of latter-day Aerosmith, containing hits, album tracks, concert favorites, rarities, non-LP B-sides, and cuts only available on compilations.
While Young Lust had more distinctive, arguably more attractive, cover art - the new compilation fits into the overall look of Universal's Gold series, which is meant to be a thorough complement to their budget-line 20th Century Masters series - that's the only difference between the two compilations, so it's only useful to fans who didn't already pick up the earlier set. The 2005 release Gold is a repackaging of the 2001 double-disc collection Young Lust, bearing a different title and cover but the same 34 songs as the previous release.