Permanent Vacation (1987)
1.Heart's Done Time
2.Magic Touch
3.Ragdoll
4.Simoriah
5.Dude (Look's Like a Lady)
6.St.John
7.Hangman Jury
8.Girl Keeps Coming Apart
9.Angel
10.Permanent Vacation
11.I'm Down
12.The Movie (Instrumental)
There are moments in music history when a band claws its way out of decline with a record so vivid and reinvigorated that it redefines their legacy. Permanent Vacation is precisely that for Aerosmith.
After years marked by internal collapse, drug-fueled turmoil, and forgettable albums, the band delivered a record that not only brought them back but cast them into a brighter spotlight than ever before. Though a collaboration with Run-D.M.C. on Walk This Way a year prior hinted at revival, Permanent Vacation was the full realization of their return—a professional, powerful, and unexpectedly diverse collection of songs that reclaimed their rightful place in rock.
Credit where due: outside assistance mattered. Writers Jim Vallance and Desmond Child contributed their sharp ear for structure and hook, while Bruce Fairbairn, in the producer’s chair, brought clarity and punch to the band’s sound. The album opens with Heart’s Done Time, a signal flare that Aerosmith was no longer muddling through mediocrity. The riffs are tighter, the performances sharper—clean, for perhaps the first time in decades.
Dude (Looks Like a Lady) was a peculiar but strategic choice for lead single. Though dismissed by some as gimmicky, the track quickly became a fan favorite, with Steven Tyler’s theatrical delivery injecting undeniable energy. Angel followed, a syrupy ballad that divided fans and band alike—yet it marked the birth of the modern Aerosmith power ballad, a formula they would return to for commercial success again and again. Rag Doll, with its funky rhythm section and brass injections, brought the band’s groove sensibility to the fore, perhaps the strongest of the singles.
But it’s in the album’s deeper cuts where its true merit lies. Hangman Jury is a dirty blues number steeped in authenticity—a rare, rootsy detour that stands among their best. St. John, with its spiritual allusions and gospel-esque refrain, offers one of the album’s most arresting choruses. Their version of The Beatles’ I’m Down is surprisingly fresh, a reinterpretation rather than imitation. Only Girl Keeps Coming Apart falters, a track that lacks the polish and purpose found elsewhere. Permanent Vacation is not simply a comeback. It is a reclamation—a signal that the band had not only survived but rediscovered the essence that made them legends in the first place. In many ways, this was the beginning of Aerosmith’s second act, an era that would see them become stadium-filling titans once more.