• 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. Negative: 1 out of 14
  1. The band’s most energetic record since 1993’s Get A Grip.
  2. 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.
  3. 80
    An expert balance of vintage Aerosmith and more contemporary stylings.
  4. One of the group's most adventurous outings...
  5. 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. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 41 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 32 out of 41
  2. Negative: 5 out of 41
  1. 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. 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