This came out in 2001 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
Rock bands cover old blues songs all the time. This continuing series of tribute albums — previous instalments celebrated Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin — flips this script, enlisting contemporary blues artists to rework classic rock chestnuts.
Here, it’s Aerosmith in the place of honour as the likes of Otis Clay, Donald Kinsey, Lou Ann Barton and Sugar Blue peruse the catalogue of Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and co. Much like ’Smith itself, the cooler tunes tend to be the older ones. Pinetop Perkins, Rusty Zinn and Ronnie Baker Brooks ease Walk This Way into a slow-rolling groove, Cathy Richardson gets back to the real nitty-gritty on Last Child and Tad Robinson repaints Draw the Line as a bayou bounce. There are exceptions: Foreigner’s Lou Gramm turns in a lame, shuffling Back in the Saddle, while Clay’s soulful take on Cryin’ actually makes the drecky ballad listenable. Sure beats the same old song and dance. Or Aerosmith’s last few albums.
