CALIFORNIA JAM 1978

Sound 9 Packaging 8 Performance 10 Video

Label: Fire Power (FP-0052)
Source: Ontario Motor Speedway - Ontario, CA, USA, March 18 1978
Format: CD
Running time: 73:34
Sound / source: FM Broadcast
Packaging: Jewelcase
Features
Video / source

California Jam 1978 front

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Review by BALK More articles by BALK

Track list

Rats In The Cellar

I Wanna Know Why

Big Ten Inch Record

Seasons Of Wither

Lord Of The Thighs

Dream On

Chip Away The Stone

Lick and a Promise

Get The Lead Out

Get It Up

Draw The Line

No More No More

Same Old Song And Dance

Toys In The Attic

Milk Cow Blues

Train Kept a Rollin'

The review

Man, was the mighty Aerosmith raw sounding in the day or what? This is Aero at their both toxic and artistic peak. Maybe the two influence each other but this is Aero at their best. Raw, bare boned, unproduced and sometimes flawed due to their substance abuse.

With an impressive setlist including the rare "No More No More" this California Jam show in front of 350.000 people (according to many sources, I wasn't there unfortunately to count them) is a must have for Aeroheads.

The quality is excellent overall though not perfect. Some remastering would have been nice. I believe this is from the FM broadcast of the show. "Sweet Emotion" is somehow omitted from this release and "Toys In The Attic" is cut short. What I know is that this recording is from analog cassette tape and the tape was muffeld during "Toys in The Attic" that's why there's only a strange cut, 1 minute version of the song on this disc. Also, there's a rough "pause" while recording to cut out the commercial break telling the radio audience "there would be more Aerosmith after the break".

This is raw, in your face Aerosmith Live and despite the source tape having its flaws, this CD is worth every single penny!