Album
Permanent Vacation
Permanent Vacation is Aerosmith's ninth studio album, released on 25 August 1987 on Geffen. It arrived two years after Done With Mirrors, which had been meant as the comeback, and it is the record that many fans treat as the real one. It marked a move towards a pop-metal sound that the band kept up until Get a Grip in 1993.
Much of the change came from executive John Kalodner. He suggested bringing in outside songwriters who had written hits for Bon Jovi, Heart and Starship, and he pushed the band towards producer Bruce Fairbairn, who stayed for the next two albums. It was also their first record backed by heavy MTV video play. "Rag Doll", "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" and "Angel" all reached the US Top 20, and the album has sold over five million copies in America. Start there to hear a band rebuilding its fortunes.
Permanent Vacation on Riffology
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Permanent Vacation: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 51:44Tracklist
- 1Heart’s Done TimeDesmond Child and Joe Perry4:42
- 2Magic TouchVallance, Perry, Tyler4:37
- 3Rag DollVallance, Perry, Knight, Tyler4:25
- 4SimoriahPerry, Tyler, Vallance3:21
- 5Dude (Looks Like a Lady)Child, Perry, Tyler4:26
- 6St. JohnSteven Tyler4:11
- 7Hangman JuryBelly, Vallance, Perry, Tyler5:31
- 8Girl Keeps Coming ApartJoe Perry and Steven Tyler4:13
- 9AngelDesmond Child and Steven Tyler5:09
- 10Permanent VacationSteven Tyler and Brad Whitford4:49
- 11I’m DownJohn Lennon and Paul McCartney2:20
- 12The MovieHamilton, Kramer, Perry, Tyler, Whitford4:00
- Produced by
- Bruce Fairbairn
- Recorded at
- Little Mountain Sound (Vancouver), Unique Recording, New York City
- Recorded
- MarchMay 1987
- Mixed by
- Mike Fraser
- Engineered by
- Mike Fraser, Bob Rock
- Label
- Geffen
- Length
- 51:44
Line-up
- Henry Christian · trumpet · guest
- Bruce Fairbairn · trumpet, cello
- Tom Hamilton · electric bass guitar · guest
- Tom Keenlyside · clarinet, tenor saxophone · guest
- Joey Kramer · percussion, drums (drum set) · guest
- Joe Perry · guitar · guest
- Ian Putz · baritone saxophone · guest
- Bob Rogers · trombone · guest
- Jim Vallance · organ · guest
- Brad Whitford · guitar · guest
- Steven Tyler · lead vocals, harmonica, background vocals · guest
- Drew Arnott · mellotron · guest
- Morgan Rael · steelpan · guest
- Scott Fairbairn · cello · guest
Singles
- “Dude (Looks Like a Lady)” · 22 September 1987
- “Angel” · 5 January 1988
- “Rag Doll” · 3 May 1988
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 · 1987–1988 | 11 |
| UK Albums Chart · 1987–1988 | 37 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1987–1988 | 16 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1987–1988 | 42 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1987–1988 | 50 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Canada | 5× Platinum |
| Japan · 1995 | Gold |
| United Kingdom | Gold |
| United States | 5× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
73.9
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
6.4k
ListenBrainz listeners
112k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
14k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 25 August
Every year →
More from Aerosmith
Full discography →
Aerosmith
1973
Get Your Wings
1974
Toys in the Attic
1975
Rocks
1976
Draw the Line
1977
Live! Bootleg
1978
Night in the Ruts
1979
Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
1980
Rock in a Hard Place
1982
Done With Mirrors
1985
Classics Live!
1986
Vacation Club
1987
Gems
1988
Pump
1989
Pandora’s Box
1991
Get a Grip
1993
Pandora’s Toys
1994
Big Ones
1994
Box of Fire
1994
Nine Lives
1997
Made in America
1997
A Little South of Sanity
1998
Classic Aerosmith: The Universal Masters Collection
2000
Just Push Play
2001
Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology
2001
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits
2002
Honkin’ on Bobo
2004
Rockin’ the Joint
2005
Devil’s Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith
2006
Tough Love: Best of the Ballads
2011
Music From Another Dimension!
2012
Greatest Hits
2023
One More Time
2025
The best of 1987
All of 1987 →
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Guns N’ Roses · 1987
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Pink Floyd · 1987
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Fleetwood Mac · 1987
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The $5.98 E.P.: Garage Days Re‐Revisited
Metallica · 1987
Among the Living
Anthrax · 1987
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Tribute
Ozzy Osbourne · 1987
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The Eternal Idol
Black Sabbath · 1987
Hungarian Rhapsody: Live in Budapest
Queen · 1987
Iron Maiden Maiden Mania 80–87 1987
Maiden Mania 80–87
Iron Maiden · 1987
More on Geffen
The label →Appetite for Destruction
Guns N’ Roses · 1987
Use Your Illusion II
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
Pinkerton
Weezer · 1996
“The Spaghetti Incident?”
Guns N’ Roses · 1993
On Tour Now!
Guns N’ Roses · 1991
G N’ R Lies
Guns N’ Roses · 1988
Weezer
Weezer · 2001
Pump
Aerosmith · 1989
Get a Grip
Aerosmith · 1993
Incesticide
Nirvana · 1992
Make Believe
Weezer · 2005
With the Lights Out
Nirvana · 2004
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1987-08-18 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 18 August 1987 | ignored lone early release dated 1987-03-25 |
| Wikipedia infobox | 25 August 1987 | |
| Wikidata | 25 August 1987 | |
| US release | 18 August 1987 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1987 | earliest UK or European date |
27 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Geffen | 075992416221 | other |
| — | CA | Geffen | 77749555607602 | other |
| — | GB | Geffen | 008811925420 | other |
| 1987 | US | Geffen | 075992416221 | other |
| 1987 | XE | Geffen | 075592416225 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Geffen | 720642416228 | other |
| 1987 | US | Geffen | other | |
| 1987 | XE | Geffen | 075992416214 | other |
| 1987 | US | Geffen | 075992416214 | other |
| 1987 | CA | Geffen | 075992416221 | other |
| 25 March 1987 | CA | Columbia House | original | |
| 18 August 1987 | US | Geffen | other | |
| 25 August 1987 | US | Geffen | 720642416228 | other |
| 25 September 1987 | JP | Geffen | 4988014352437 | other |
| 25 February 1991 | DE | Geffen | 720642416228 | other |
| 21 February 1998 | JP | Geffen | 4988067033024 | other |
| 2001 | XE | Geffen | 606949309626 | other |
| 20 November 2001 | US | — | other | |
| 14 December 2001 | GB | Geffen | 606949309626 | other |
| 17 February 2010 | JP | Geffen | 4988005604118 | other |
| 2012 | XW | Geffen | 00602537156627 | other |
| 30 October 2012 | XW | Geffen | 602537156641 | other |
| 27 March 2014 | — | Aerosmith P&D – Geffen | 00606949309626 | other |
| 7 May 2014 | XW | Aerosmith P&D – Geffen | 00602537156627 | other |
| 9 December 2016 | XE | Geffen | 602547954374 | other |
| 7 December 2022 | XW | Aerosmith P&D – Geffen | 00602537156641 | other |
| — | — | Geffen | 075592416225 | other |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |
| coverartarchive | 600×595 | upscaled |