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US AND THEM - 1973
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"...Dream On..."
Boston's juvenile delinquent rockers AEROSMITH had been around – the hard-hitting five-piece gigging constantly in an effort to get noticed (what do you do after being chucked out of school, form a Rock 'n' Roll band is what).
Columbia Records USA finally signed up the quintessentially American Hell-raisers, recording their first in October 1972 at the famed Intermedia Sound Studios in their hometown. And as Stu Werbin's original liner notes quite rightly said, Aerosmith was a young band and their music was for the young. So Columbia signed them up and hoped for the best - or at least the promise to be realised that the enthusiastic Stu clearly saw in them...
But their self-titled snarling-debut arrived with 'interest' in January 1973 rather than a bang. The album's one and only single "Dream On" with Side 1's "Somebody" on the flipside made radio waves and a No. 59 chart position, but the LP didn't break the top 200. It would take until April 1975 and their 3rd album "Toys In The Attic" for them to become vinyl monsters Stateside – that album clocking up over 8-million LP sales and a near two and half year chart reign (128 weeks in total). Their fourth album "Rocks" in 1976 cemented Aerosmith and it was only then that back-catalogue interest began. So in March 1976, the debut re-entered the US LP charts and made an impressive No. 21 placing (the band meant naught in Blighty and would have to wait until 1987 on Geffen to see chart action).
But back in early 1973, Aerosmith still had some more pavements to pound and this is where all that big-haired mayhem started. And truth be-told (re-hearing it in spring 2021) – "Aerosmith" is far better than I remember it. And although this 1993 Columbia CD reissue/remaster is in desperate need of a packaging upgrade and some decent Bonus Tracks (original artwork of the boys centred in the sky is paraded here as a gift from the Gods) - it still boasts a stunning Don De Vito/Vic Anesini Super Bit Mapping Remaster. So once again, let's go Walkin' The Dog with Mama Kin down an American One Way Street...
UK released 8 November 1993 (reissued several times since including September 2011) - "Aerosmith" by AEROSMITH on Columbia 474962 2 (Barcode 5099747496226) is a straightforward CD Remaster of the 1973 debut album and plays out as follows (35:51 minutes):
1. Dream On [Side 1]
2. Somebody
3. Dream On
4. One Way Street
5. Mama Kin [Side 2]
6. Write Me A Letter
7. Movin' Out
8. Walkin' The Dog
Tracks 1 to 8 are their debut album "Aerosmith" - released January 1973 in the USA on Columbia KC 32005 (reissued 1976) and September 1974 in the UK on CBS Records S 65486. Produced by ARTHUR BARBER – all songs written by Steve Tyler except "Somebody" which is co-written with Steven Emspack, "Movin' Out" co-written with Joe Perry and "Walkin' The Dog" is a Rufus Thomas cover version.
AEROSMITH was:
STEVE TYLER – Lead Vocals, Harmonica and Wood Flute
JOE PERRY - Lead Guitar and Backing Vocals
BRAD WHITFORD - Rhythm Guitar
TOM HAMILTON - Bass
JOEY KRAMER - Drums and Percussion
Guests:
David Woodford – Saxophone on "Mama Kin" and "Write Me A Letter"
Like the other CD reissues in this Columbia 'Nice Price' series - the double-sided four-leaf foldout inlay is hardly the stuff of legends. They repro four original master tape boxes – two trade newspaper reviews (suitably enthusiastic) – front and rear LP artwork - some period shots of the band – a photo of a signed original American LP - a British A-label demo single for "Dream On" - the cover art for the Rufus Thomas Stax LP "Walking The Dog" (their cover version ends Side 2) and a foreign picture sleeve, etc. But there's no liner notes, no history, appreciation, band involvement (and of course no aural extras either). Not the sexiest inlay in the world for sure...
What we do get by way of compensation however is a stunning new 24-bit digital remaster from original tapes by DON DeVITO and Mastering Engineer supremo VIC ANESINI - an Audio transfer name I actively seek out when looking for exceptional CD Remasters. Anesini has had a long association with Sony and all things Columbia - Santana, Simon & Garfunkel, Elvis Presley, Mott The Hoople, Janis Joplin, Carole King, The Jayhawks, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Mountain, Nilsson and many more – including Aerosmith. Bringing out the power of those riffs was always the priority and the team behind this transfer have achieved that.
Coming at you like Montrose in 1973 (though nowhere near as good yet) - the Aerosmith debut is a roadmap offering several glimpses into the Hard Rock template to come. What is immediately weird is that with the June 1973 relative success of the "Dream On" 45-single hitting No. 59 on the US Adult Rock charts (Columbia 4-45894) – why oh why didn't Columbia seize on the monster riffage of "Mama Kin" as single number two? Perhaps with the debut having only eight songs, they didn't want half the album out in the marketplace on two cheap 45s? But you can't help thinking now that someone at the musical monolith missed a serious trick there.
Speaking on 45-genius, England's CBS Records tried the very 1973-Zeppelin sounding "Dream On" with "Somebody" on the B-side in November 1973 before the album would arrive in 1974 (CBS Records S CBS 1898 is a genuine rarity in Demo form in 2021). Not quite Rock – not quite Prog – but a path somewhere in-between - "Dream On" has a lead-in build up - Perry slowly adding guitar layers that eventually culminate in Tyler's screeches. I would in fact maintain that it's a bit of a forgotten power-house single and given the dominance of Sabbath, Zeppelin, Deep Purple and hell even Status Quo ("Hello!" with "Roll Over Lay Down" had just gone to No. 1 on the LP charts in September 1973) – it seems odd that Blighty never took to the drunken swagger of Aerosmith back in the day when Hard Rock and Prog was all we seemed able to think about.
Although a long way from a Supertramp audiophile recording – the Remaster captures the band in raw if not a tad amateur raring-to-go form. It's not a great album – really it isn't - but I love a Rock band that feels like the Allmans mated with Bad Co. And never is this more evident than on the excellent Side 1 finisher "One Way Street" – a Bluesy piano-rolling Harmonica warbling bar-tab of a tune. Down and dirty and gritty exudes from "Mama Kin" – the Black Crowes two whole decades earlier. You might have to forgive the boys-done-bad-by-gals lyrics, but it boogies along like a goodun and I bet it's a go-to tune when fans return to this album. Great swagger and clear drums on "Write Me" or "Write Me A Letter" as it was called on first pressings. And on it goes to their butt-strut cover version of "Walking The Dog" – a Rufus Thomas Soul anthem turned into a prowler of a Rock song (love those guitar flicks on the scratch plate to mimic a dog - must have slayed 'em live).
I was surprised at how much I liked this album again and at less than four quid new and delivered to your front door – "Aerosmith" is a wee bit of a Seventies Rock bargain that has gone largely unnoticed.
After the monster success of "Toys In The Attic" - Boston's Aerosmith would tear it up with their 4th platter "Rocks" in 1976 too - another winner that went as high as No. 3. But this is where their locker-room legend and guitar mayhem really started. It may be pushing 30-years old as a CD Remaster, but it's still a goody. Dude looks like a lady...winner...again...
PS: see also my reviews for "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks"
