The scope of this work has been deliberately limited to that of the original CBS/Columbia era. Following the conclusion of the "Back in a Saddle" tour in early 1985 the band underwent a period of metamorphosis from which something beautiful, but a creature changed, emerged. But the CBS/Columbia era did not simply end, and there are the several catalogue releases that will be discussed, albeit briefly, in closing.



RIAA certifications (which cover the U.S. only) paint an interesting picture of the band: Prior to 12/31/83, the band had officially certified sales of 5,500,000 copies of the 1973-82 catalog (even though some titles had clearly sold more than the number they were certified for due to varying circumstances). Following the "Back in the Saddle" tour though the end of 1986, the cumulative sales of the same catalog albums jumped to 14,500,000 copies; certainly taking into account the lack of certification updates in the 70s of certain titles and the impact of the reunion and Run D.M.C. collaboration. Of course, jumping forward to mid-2020, the 1973-82 catalog stands at 32,500,000 RIAA certified copies, illustrating the benefit of the Geffen years and albums from "Permanent Vacation" onwards and sustained mainstream popularity. The train certainly kept on a rollin' ...

Should it ever emerge, Vol. 2 of "Aerosmith On Tour" would span "Done with Mirrors" through the 2003 "Rocksimus Maximus" tour...