How many imagined that glammy old Aerosmith's roots go back to blues classics that were ancient even when they were young?
Purportedly, then, Honkin' on Bobo is a loving slouch through their favourite Muddy Waters and Sonny Boy Williamson floor-fillers, done strictly old-school. The harmonica on the cover tells you what you're in for, although, this being Aerosmith, the instrument is streaked with lipstick - there's no teaching old fellows new tricks. But does this gratuitous artifact actually owe its existence to the blues' newfound trendiness via the White Stripes and their like?
Are Steve Tyler (in delightfully strangled voice here) and the gang hoping to cream off some of the nu-blues dollar? The vehement cover sticker - "Blues Done Aerosmith Style!" - suggests so, but they won't do it with this. Literal-minded covers of Roadrunner, Baby Please Don't Go and the like add up to Now That's What I Call a Promo Opportunity. However, if the point is to guide listeners back to the sleazier, sexier originals, it's done its job.
