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Aerosmith

Morton | Colorado | 06/01/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Aerosmith ****1/2



What a start. It is raw, bluesy, and amazing. While the production here isn't at say the level of Electric Ladyland or anything, the weak production adds to the charm of the record. Steven Tyler hadn't found his fantastic and classic voice yet (except on 'Dream On') and Joe Perry really hadn't mastered the guitar solo yet (or tuning it for that matter) but once again those minor quips seem to add something of a layer of innocence to this widely overlooked debut album from the bad boys from Boston (who are not even from there).



'Make It' and 'Somebody' start the album, two Tyler originals. The opener being the better of the two, telling the story of a band on the rise. (autobiographical maybe?) 'Somebody' is your standard out of tune blues love song.



'Dream On' enters by force showing the band that would come. Everything clicked on this track. Joe and Brad created one of the most amazing weaving guitar workouts ever. Tom and Joey held down the groove, and Tyler unleashed the voice, his amazing lyrical ability that is often over looked, and his great key work. For me, this is the best song of all time, untopable. And while it wouldn't be come a hit single for another three years, 'Dream On' was still a classic.



'One Way Street' slides its way in become an early Aerosmith classic, and one of their all time best. This bluesy number features some of Brad Whitfords all time best guitar work. 'Mama Kin' was another extremely out of tune rocker with Perry's solo sounding like a bad live Hendrix performance (which Hendrix bad is better than most good) so that is saying something. 'Write Me' is standard, (no pun intended) but nothing to write home about, just a good listen. 'Moving Out' is one of the more original songs Aerosmith ever wrote, and that I have ever heard for that matter. It was the first song Tyler and Perry ever wrote together and it was amazing. The sound, the feel, the groove, Tyler's vocals/lyrics meshing with Perry's indescribable guitar work shows more so maybe than any of their other work why they are such a perfect team for one another. 'Walkin The Dog' the Rufus Thomas cover closes the album. I must say no one does covers like Aerosmith. Often they are better than the original and this is not exception. A great way to close the album.



For a band still finding their way I would say Aerosmith is a solid debut that showed signs of what was to come, and glimmers of brilliance. Highly, highly recommended."