Just Push Play
by Aerosmith
  • Record Label: Columbia
  • Release Date: Mar 6, 2001
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 14
  3. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. Billboard
    70
    Sure, there's the occasional melodramatic interlude (despite its lyrical cliches, "Luv Lies" has the potency to be another "Angel"-size smash). But there's also more white-knuckled hard-rock intensity here than on the band's most recent efforts.
  2. CDNow
    80
    An expert balance of vintage Aerosmith and more contemporary stylings.
  3. Dot Music
    60
    Fans of Aerosmith, and fans of good old Rock Music will love it.
  5. Entertainment Weekly
    75
    No one will mistake ''Play'' for one of the band's best discs, but neither will anyone who enjoys the signature sound of one of America's musical treasures fail to find pleasure in its polished, mostly ungimmicky grooves.
  6. Launch.com
    80
    The band’s most energetic record since 1993’s Get A Grip.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    60
    Much of the 'Smith's music is reassuringly familiar, barely changed over their previous 12 albums, a mix of loose-jointed Stones raunch and vast power ballads impressive enough to bring out the 40-something in all of us.
  8. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    30
    Along the way, though, Aerosmith slips into the stylized studio excesses of a professional producer (it might also be their only album to have strings on half the songs), and the ballads the band does deliver are as corny as anything it's ever done.
  9. PopMatters
    50
    Despite the fact that some of this album makes me Just Push Skip rather than follow the instructions of the title track, there are numerous moments of pure Aerosmith brilliance that justify tolerance of the weaker songs.
  10. Q Magazine
    60
    Yet while the sound of these songs is often great, the bad news is that most of the songs themselves leave little lasting impression.
  11. Rolling Stone
    70
    Except for the predictable re-entry "Fly Away From Here," Boston's bad boys have jettisoned the sappy ballads and slick producers that fueled recent releases, unveiling a homemade endeavor which recasts the crunch and cadence of vintage Aerosmith.
  12. Sonicnet
    80
    Granted, not everything here is top drawer scarf-worthy.... Still, it's worth noting that the album works to a middle-of-the-set peak -- which means that Aerosmith understands the dynamics of CD construction better than bands half its age.
  13. Spin Cycle
    75
    While nothing else on "Play" quite matches the slinky intimacy of its Top 10 single, "Jaded," every song has something to root for, whether it's the title track's inventive genre-shuffle, Tyler's spontaneous yodeling or the way "Under My Skin" continues the band's love of gender-bending.
  14. The A.V. Club
    50
    The acceptable outweighs the embarrassing.
  15. Wall of Sound
    79
    One of the group's most adventurous outings...

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Most Discussed Album of 2001
79
#79 Most Shared Album of 2001

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 41
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 41
  3. Negative: 5 out of 41
  1. DonldTrump_45Th
    Jan 26, 2023
    10
    Hello, this is a default review because i'm forced to use 75 characters. I'll edit this review in the future talking about the game, don'tHello, this is a default review because i'm forced to use 75 characters. I'll edit this review in the future talking about the game, don't worry ;)

    My final rate is: 10    … Full Review »
  2. dagirls
    Jun 4, 2014
    8
    I thought this was a very good rock album, much better than the stuff done by this band since their return to popularity way back in the lateI thought this was a very good rock album, much better than the stuff done by this band since their return to popularity way back in the late 1980's. It's funny, I think the band has one view of themselves (masters of rock) and listeners have another view (that they are sometimes masters of rock) but since they have done quite a few appearances in movies going back to the Wayne's World era they are characterized by the media as kind of as a nerd band when I think they are capable of shaking the foundations of a place-if they are trying and they seem to be trying on this album. If ya haven't heard it you should give it a spin.… Full Review »
  3. stevec
    Sep 28, 2006
    10
    loads of fun
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