AEROSMITH, 'MUSIC FROM ANOTHER DIMENSION!' (COLUMBIA)

"Music From Another Dimension!" (featuring a vintage-style sci-fi cover) is Aerosmith's 15th studio album — and the band's first since "Honkin' on Bobo" in 2004.

"Legendary Child," the album's first single, was released last summer, whetting appetites for the new CD from the legendary Bad Boys From Boston. But the wait has been long, with many rescheduled releases causing frustration as well as anticipation.

The album follows a challenging period for the band, including a near-breakup, substance-abuse problems, health issues and singer Steven Tyler's stint on "American Idol."

In an interview in August in advance of a concert at the Tacoma Dome, guitarist Joe Perry promised the album would resurrect the band's classic sound and was made of "the right stuff."

Indeed, the CD is packed with trademark rockers, such as "Oh Yeah," "Lover A lot" and the bluesy, hard-driving "Freedom Fighter." There's also a good selection of ballads, among them a Dave Matthews-like tune with an uplifting message, "We All Fall Down."

And no Aerosmith album would be complete without a lusty, leering-at-love rocker like "Out Go the Lights," in which Tyler sings about "a red hot lady."

But if you were hoping Aerosmith would take its sound in a new direction, you may be disappointed. The new CD is classic Aerosmith, plain and simple. Except perhaps for the gritty, on-edge "Street Jesus."

Gene Stout,

special to The Seattle Times

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Dionne Warwick, "Now" (H&I Music Productions/Universal Music)

Major Lazer, "Free The Universe" (Mad Decent)