Today, however, we'll look back at the classic Aerosmith album, "Toys in the Attic"!
This is the third album from the band (the first two were "Aerosmith" and "Get Your Wings") and the one that took them from "just one of the bands" to international superstars!
Aerosmith had been constantly on the road, touring in support of their first two albums (with little radio airplay or media support) with songs they had largely written years before. As they entered the studio for the recording of "Toys...", they only had a few songs they'd sketched out while on the road, so spent time in a rehearsal space writing together.
Seasoned from the road didn't just impact their playing (they had become much better players, not just individually, but interactionally with their bandmates) - it also expanded their abilities to arrange and employ deeper compositional techniques than they'd previously dared. The writing took place over roughly two months, with bassist Tom Hamilton contributing more than he ever had, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford fusing and interlacing guitar lines in a new way, drummer Joey Kramer expanding beyond straight blues rock drumming (he had studied with legend Gary Chaffee of Berklee and readily deployed wide stylistic variations), and singer Steven Tyler set - and met - a much higher standard in his lyrical approach and pushed his voice in ways that he hadn't in the past.
The boys from Boston were in a creative tsunami and indulged every whim!
Recording took roughly two months and the album was out by April of '75. While the reviews were quite mixed, the album rocketed up the charts as the band hit the road, with "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way" climbing into the Top 40 and the album peaking at number 11 on the charts, primarily on the strength of incredible music and a stunning level of live performance.
Ultimately, it sold over 9 million units, landed on Rolling Stones list of "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list, and saw the title track entered into the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock-n-Roll".
Let's look at each song!
side one:
1) "Toys in the Attic"
The opening song EXPLODES through the speakers, announcing to the world "THIS is Aerosmith". Twin meshed guitar riffs kick off the song and within seconds, the Tyler-Perry vocal harmonies leap in with the opening lines:
"(In the attic) lights, voices scream, nothing's seen, real's a dream...."
A relentless drum & bass groove, tasty key change into a ripping guitar solo, and Tyler's nasty "cha-cha-cha....yow!" exit let's you know this is the high speed evolution of a band happening in real time. The Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame obviously agreed!
2) "Uncle Salty"
A Tyler & Hamilton song (as is "Sweet Emotion"), this is a dark and bluesy rocker about an abandoned child who lives in an orphanage. It opens with ringing ascending & descending chords over a static bass line, then a slight change of gears as the vocal enters:
Subject matter aside, the phrasing is a classic Kris Kristofferson "lead you to the next line" kind of thing - a technique Tyler employs quite often and quite skillfully. His vocal dominates as well, as he raises the intensity as the song progresses, backed by the perfect guitar tag team, beautiful harmonies, and a fabulous guitar break.
3) Adam's Apple"
Another gritty guitar riff opens this rockin' and humorous song about Adam & Eve. Great connecting guitar lines, driving rhythm section, and Tyler's bluesy rasp going completely over the top.
Tyler's word play is on full display with lines like "...back when Cain was able..." and "...Even Eve in Eden, Voices tried deceiving...." ! Twin guitar solos from Perry and Whitford cap off this too much fun rocker!
4) "Walk This Way"
The core of one of Aerosmith's most famous songs came during a soundcheck while on tour. Perry had the E riff and asked Kramer to lay down a "flat" groove. Wanting to avoid the typical 1-4-5 progression, he quickly switched to the key of C (blues) for the verses. Tyler heard this, jumped behind the drums, and immediately came up with the famous drum line supporting the riff (Tyler began his musical life as a drummer, and also plays piano, bass, guitar, harmonica, and more).
Tyler scatted nonsensical lyrics to hold the space (as McCartney had done with the words "scrambled eggs" that turned into the Beatles classic "Yesterday"), and during the recording of the album, wrote the lyrics on the hallway of the recording studio. Perry said that Tyler "...used the lyrics like a percussion element" that also tell a story. David Johanson of the NY Dolls later told Perry, "That's the filthiest song I've ever heard on the radio!".
5) "Big Ten Inch Record"
The lone cover song on the album, the song was written by Fred Weismantel (a musician and arranger for Glenn Miller Orchestra) and first recorded by Bull Moose Jackson in 1952. The Jackson version (just like the Aerosmith version) received almost zero airplay due to the songs rather racy lyrics.
But the song jumps up and drives, and is definitely a danceable classic dirty blues!
Aerosmith and producer Jack Douglas brought in a horn section as well as pianist Scott Cushnie (known in his native Toronto as Professor Piano) for an old-style arrangement, and the song absolutely delivers the goods.
side two:
6) "Sweet Emotion"
Released as the lead single from the album in May of '75, the song broke into the Top 40 and peaked at number 36, but began a string of hits for the band, ultimately sold over 3 million units, and was listed in Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
It opens with one of the most famous bass riffs in rock history, alongside Joe Perry's talk-box guitar effect and subtle percussion (including bass marimba, a vibraslap that audibly breaks, and Tyler using a sugar packet in place of maracas)....then the band kicks in with solid drums and amazing vocal harmonies, chanting "sweeeeet emooootion....". The verse then opens up with guitars built on a backwards Bo Diddley Beat and Tyler's sly lyrics.
"You talk about things that nobody cares, You're wearing out things that nobody wears
You're calling my name but I gotta make clear, I can't say baby where I'll be in a year..."
The heat builds throughout the song, with respite coming from the choruses, but then the song explodes into the final instrumental section where the band switches key and Perry shreds with the machine like drum licks pounding behind him.
7) "No More No More"
A beautiful doubled guitar kicks off this one, and falls immediately into a rocker, with subtle piano from Cushnie again.
Tyler's psychedelic lyrics drag the listener though a magic ride and land in a harmony soaked chorus, faux modulations, guitar solos, and a groove that just keeps coming!
I ain't seen no daylight, since we started this band....No more, no more...."
8) "Round and Round"
Penned by Tyler and bandmate Brad Whitford, this track is as the heaviest track on the album. HUGE guitar riff and slow pounding beat and Tyler's voice sounding like its going to break at any moment....
"....'Cause the life I've been livin' and the love I've been givin'
Will be sure to send you spinnin' with your feet never touching the ground
Goin' round n' round and round and round and....."
Will be sure to send you spinnin' with your feet never touching the ground
Goin' round n' round and round and round and....."
Whitford provides the solo over an ever increasing pulse with the end rising and rising....
9) "You See Me Crying"
The final - and longest - song on the album was an old song Tyler had written in a former band (alongside his bandmate Don Solomon). The song has a very complex arrangement - complete with a full orchestra (conducted by Mike Maineiri) - and as such is usually not performed in full in their live sets.
But the song is a beautiful piano ballad, filled with shifting tonalities, Tyler playing with the limits of his vocal trickery, Perry laying down a badass guitar solo, and the band fusing seamlessly with the orchestral arrangement in a quasi-Bob Ezrin style.
"....Honey, what you done to your head, Honey what's the words that I said...."
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