Aerosmith - Devil's Got A New Disguise: The Very Best Of Aerosmith - Music & Performance - CD

Here at last is the iconic outfit's single-disc greatest hits compilation. This definitive collection adds all the anthemic early Aerosmith Chart-toppers cut for Columbia, such as "Dream On," and "Walk This Way," to the band's gem-hard Geffen sides, such as "Love in An Elevator" and "Janie's Got a Gun." Also includes 2 newly recorded songs "Sedona Sunrise," and "Devil's Got a New Disguise."

Aerosmith greatest-hits compilations can be sorted into three categories: ones that compile the band's 1970s prime with Columbia Records (of which Greatest Hits [1980] and Gems [1988] are the benchmarks, especially the former); ones that compile the band's subsequent run with Geffen Records (Big Ones [1994]); and ones that ostensibly span both eras via cross-licensing (O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits [2002]). Devil's Got a New Disguise falls into the final category, as it spans Aerosmith's entire career to date, from "Dream On" and "Mama Kin" (from the band's 1973 eponymous debut) to a pair of new studio recordings ("Sedona Sunrise" and "Devil's Got a New Disguise"). Like O, Yeah!, unfortunately, it pays short shrift to the Columbia recordings, compiling a measly five songs: "Dream On," "Mama Kin," "Sweet Emotion," "Back in the Saddle," and "Last Child." The remainder of the 18 songs are Geffen recordings, beginning with the Run-D.M.C. version of "Walk This Way" and then moving on to Permanent Vacation (1987), bypassing Done with Mirrors (1985) as well as numerous other latter-day albums, namely Nine Lives (1997), A Little South of Sanity (1998), Honkin' on Bobo (2004), and Rockin' the Joint (2005). Such selective sampling doesn't bode well for comprehensiveness, yet it does result in a perfectly listenable album without any bad songs (unlike most of the double-disc Aerosmith best-ofs like O, Yeah! and Gold, which are comprehensive yet troublesomely bogged down by subpar material that doesn't really warrant compilation). After all, Aerosmith struggled to craft engaging material in the wake of Pump (1989), their last truly great album, so it's actually for the best that those latter-day albums are bypassed here. Truth be told, Devil's Got a New Disguise is simply a trimmed-down version of O, Yeah!, and while it's perfectly listenable, it also leaves much to be desired from the standpoint of comprehensiveness. If you were to own one and only one Aerosmith album and consequently wanted a broad, if inevitably cursory, overview, Devil's Got a New Disguise fits that niche well; however, you'd be better off with both the Columbia-era Greatest Hits and the Geffen-era Big Ones, two well-compiled best-ofs that complement each other ideally, and satisfactorily cover practically all of the band's key material without any overlap whatsoever. ~ Jason Birchmeier, Rovi

Performer	Aerosmith
Music genre	Heavy Metal
Music subgenre	Rock
Media format	CD
Is collectible	Y
Has parental advisory label	N
Number of discs	1
Track listing	Dream on, Mama Kin, Sweet Emotion, Back in the Saddle, Last Child, Walk This Way, Dude (Looks Like a Lady), Rag Doll, Love in An Elevator, Janie's Got a Gun, What It Takes, Crazy, Livin' on the Edge, Cryin', Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Jaded, Sedona Sunrise, Devil's Got a New Disguise
Record label	Sony
Track name	Dream On, Mama Kin, Sweet Emotion, Back in the Saddle, Last Child, Walk This Way, Dude (Looks Like a Lady), Rag Doll, Love in an Elevator, Janie's Got a Gun, What It Takes, Crazy, Livin on the Edge, Cryin, I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, Jaded, Sedona Sunrise, Devil's Got a New Disguise
Music media format	CD
Is edited	N
Is enhanced	N