Aerosmith (album)

Untitled

Aerosmith is the eponymous debut studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released on January 5, 1973 by Columbia Records. The song "Walkin' the Dog" is a cover of a song originally performed by Rufus Thomas. The single "Dream On" became an American top ten single when re-released in 1976. "Dream On" was first released as a single in 1973. The album peaked at number 21 on the Billboard 200 in 1976.

The photo at right is the original cover, which misprinted the song "Walkin' the Dog" as "Walkin' the Dig". When a second pressing of the album was released in 1976, this error was corrected, and the cover replaced with a modified one made up entirely of the photo of the band members. This second pressing is the more commonly available version of the LP. When reissued on CD in 1993 as a remastered version, the original first pressing artwork was used.

Background

After entering a partnership with Frank Connelly, David Krebs and Steve Leber invited members of two record labels – Atlantic Records and Columbia Records – to view an Aerosmith concert at Max's Kansas City. Clive Davis, the president of Columbia, was impressed with the band and Aerosmith signed with Columbia in the summer of 1972. Although lead singer Steven Tyler had been in several previous groups, most of the band members had never been in a studio before. The band was heavily influenced by many of the British blues/rock bands of the 1960s, including The Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, and Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac.

Composition

The album opens with "Make It" and the appropriate opening line, "Good evening people, welcome to the show, got something here I want you all to know." The song, composed by Tyler, who had struggled in a slew of local bands before Aerosmith, encourages listeners to succeed in achieving their dreams and not letting anything stop them, much like Aerosmith in their early club days performing up to three shows a day trying to get a record deal. "Somebody" is driven by a basic blues guitar riff and Tyler's lyrics tell the story of a character trying to search for the woman of his dreams. Written by Tyler and his friend Steven Emspak, "Somebody" was released in June 1973 as the B-side to the "Dream On" single. "Dream On" was also written by Tyler and became Aerosmith's first major hit and classic rock radio staple. The single peaked at number 59 nationally but hit big in the band's native Boston, where it was the number 1 single of the year on the less commercial top 40 station, WBZ-FM, number 5 for the year on highly rated Top 40 WRKO-AM, and number 16 on heritage Top 40 WMEX-AM. The album version of "Dream On" (4:28, as opposed to the 3:25 1973 45rpm edit) was re-issued early in 1976, debuting at number 81 On January 10, breaking into the Top 40 on February 14 and peaking at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 national chart on April 10. Columbia chose to service Top 40 radio stations with a re-issue of the 3:25 edited version, thus, many 1976 Pop Radio listeners were exposed to the group's first Top 10 effort through the 45 edit. The song is famous for its building climax to showcase Tyler's trademark screams and notable for being the only track on the album that displays Tyler's real singing voice. It was written on piano but the recording contains a two-guitar arrangement, with guitarist Brad Whitford explaining to Guitar World's Alan Di Perna in 1997, "The idea was just to transcribe what Steven was doing with his left and right hands on the piano." The song is composed in the key of F minor.

In the authorized Stephen Davis band memoir Walk This Way, Tyler speaks at length about the origins of the songs:

• "Make It" - "I wrote 'Make It' in a car driving from New Hampshire to Boston. There's that hill you come to and see the skyline of Boston, and I was sitting in the backseat thinking, What would be the greatest thing to sing for an audience if we were opening up for the...Stones? What would the lyrics say?"
• "Somebody" - "'Somebody' grew out of a lick that our roadie Steve Emsback used to play on his guitar during the days of William Proud. I grabbed it and wrote the lyrics."
• "Dream On" - "The music for 'Dream On' was originally written on a Steinway upright piano in the living room of Trow-Rico Lodge in Sunapee, maybe four years before Aerosmith even started. I was seventeen or eighteen...It was just this little thing I was playing, and I never dreamed it would end up as a real song or anything...It's about dreaming until your dreams come true."
• "One Way Street" - "'One Way Street' was written on piano at 1325 [the street number of the house where the band lived], with rhythm and the harp coming from 'Midnight Rambler.'"
• "Mama Kin" - "One day I grabbed this old guitar Joey Kramer found in the garbage on Beacon Street, an acoustic with no strings. It had snow on it and was so warped you could shoot arrows with it. I wedged it between the door and let it dry for a week. I looked at it for about two days, put four strings on it, which was all it would take because it was so warped...I stole the opening lick from an old Blodwyn Pig song."
• "Write Me a Letter" - "'Write Me' was originally 'Bite Me,' something we'd been working on for five or six months starting in the Bruins' dressing room at the Boston Garden, but it just didn't make it. Then one day I said, 'Fuck this,' said something to Joey, who started playing like a can-can rhythm thing, and suddenly there it was."
• "Movin' Out" - "'Movin' Out' was the first song I wrote with Joe, the first experience of coming up with something and saying, 'See? I can do it.'"

Recording

The group recorded their debut album at Intermedia Studios in Boston, Massachusetts with record producer Adrian Barber. For the most part, the production is sparse and dry - two guitars, bass, drums, a singer, and occasionally piano - but the most remarkable feature of the album is how different Steven Tyler sounds compared to the albums that followed. In his autobiography Tyler recalls, "The band was very uptight. We were so nervous that when the red recording light came on we froze. We were scared shitless. I changed my voice into the Muppet, Kermit the Frog, to sound more like a blues singer." In 1997 the singer told Stephen Davis, "Yes, I changed my voice when we did the final vocals. I didn't like my voice, the way it sounded. I was insecure, but nobody told me not to." Tyler added that producer Adrian Barber was "good for his time" but it was like "being with a retarded child in there, and I'm not sure if it was because he was so high, or because we all were." Bassist Tom Hamilton later confessed, "The album was done so fast I barely remember anything but overdubbing some tracks and running to the bathroom for a hit of blow..." Joe Perry reflected, "We were uptight, afraid to make mistakes...We were total novices with no idea what to go for." However, despite the band's nervousness and Tyler's atypical singing approach, Aerosmith lucidly shows that all the elements that would make them one of the biggest American rock bands of the 1970s were already in place. The collection also includes a cover of the Rufus Thomas hit "Walking the Dog," also covered by the Rolling Stones on their first LP.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Rolling Stone	link

The album was not a success when it was released in January 1973. Much to the band's disappointment, it was not reviewed in Rolling Stone. Moreover, Columbia released Aerosmith at the same time as Bruce Springsteen's debut album, for which they made a greater promotional effort. Many critics compared the band unfavorably to The Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. AllMusic: "They are truly an American band, sounding as though they were the best bar band in your local town, cranking out nasty hard-edged rock...but they wouldn't quite perfect that sound until the next time around."

Track listing

All tracks are written by Steven Tyler, except where noted

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Make It"		3:41
2.	"Somebody"	Tyler, Steven Emspack	3:45
3.	"Dream On"		4:28
4.	"One Way Street"		7:00
5.	"Mama Kin"		4:25
6.	"Write Me a Letter"		4:11
7.	"Movin' Out"	Tyler, Joe Perry	5:03
8.	"Walkin' the Dog"	Rufus Thomas	3:12

Personnel

Aerosmith

• Steven Tyler – lead vocals, keyboards, harmonica, flute, percussion
• Joe Perry – guitar, backing vocals
• Brad Whitford – guitar
• Tom Hamilton – bass guitar
• Joey Kramer – drums

Additional musicians

• David Woodford – saxophone on "Mama Kin" and "Write Me a Letter"

Production

• Adrian Barber – production, engineering
• Caryl Weinstock – engineering
• Stu Werbin – liner notes

Charts

Album – Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1973	The Billboard 200	21

Singles – Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1973	"Dream On"	The Billboard Hot 100	59
1976	"Dream On" (re-issue)	The Billboard Hot 100	6

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA - U.S.	Gold	September 11, 1975
	Platinum	November 21, 1986
	2× Platinum
CIA – Canada	Gold	Nov 01, 1976
	Platinum	May 1, 1979

External links

• Aerosmith at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Aerosmith