Thanks for the correction on Sick as Dog in terms of whom played what, totally forgot that Tom played rhythm guitar on this! I saw where they also did this song in one take with the switching of the bass, or at least as was quoted by Perry in a latter day interview. Good stuff! Dig the fact too that Tom arranged the intro part of the chord change from B natural to E natural and he equated it to the Byrds sound of the day.
That Spectrum show was great. One of the times I saw them and they actually played a full set. The other times some boob wound up causing the band to cut it short due to bottles or fireworks.
"Sick as a dog" is one of the best sounding hard rock recordings ever. Certainly the best when it came out. When that intro kicks in it's just glorious. That is what rock guitars are supposed to sound like. I'd still use it as a reference when demoing speakers for hard rock. There's a lot of creativity here for such a seemingly simple song. That first short lead break happens on a descending chord structure that's really masterful. The second time the intro is repeated it has some sort of high-pitched bells subtly accompanying the guitar arpeggios - absolute ear candy. Anyone else notice the sudden switch to stereo on the main guitar riff around 3:30? Sounds done at the board during mixdown. I love the way it goes all "jammy" at the end and just fades on that.
Great points. I agree, it is one of the best sounding rock songs ever. I was never sure if they were actual bells used along with the acoustic guitar line on the first three strings in the repeat of the intro. It is low in the mix and hard to tell. It might just be the acoustic guitar with loads of high end and compression. Regardless as you said, it sounds amazing whatever was used to get that sound.
Great post. Seems like I prefer whichever of Toys and Rocks I listened to last … so right now, Rocks has pulled ahead by a nose. Re: who else sounds like Aerosmith, well no one matches that low slung, super dynamic guitar attack, which slashes, chicanes and just moves, with Tyler’s verbose and unique funky jiving. It’s kind of an inimitable combination. Guns N Roses on Appetite do echo the guitar, albeit mainly just the version when Aerosmith are rocking at pace ie “Rats in the Cellar”, and obviously Axl is stylistically a very different beast to Tyler.
Would love to see this re-released on SACD or Blu Ray. I have the Toys In The Attic SACD. There isn't a lot of rock n roll in surround and that is one of the better ones I have.
If one considers "Big Ten Inch Record" and "Round and Round" lows, for example, then I'd agree that Rocks is more consistent.
Interesting... I've always liked Round and Round.... big ten inch is just light relief, I wouldn't seek it out, but it works on the record... Either way, I reckon Rocks and Toys are pretty close, in my world, and it's more about the mood of the day, than the quality of the album.
Yes, I noticed that. There were some others from the tour that did as well but at least the band members didn't change. I've seen concert posters that have band members on them that are no longer in the band.
Here's a picture of the inner sleeve from Rocks. I think I had this on my bedroom wall during my teenage years. Always loved it. One reason vinyl was cool
I've never had a problem with Big Ten Inch Record or is it just Big Ten Inch? Round and Round--I don't think it sucks, it's not unlistenable, it's just not "sweet spot" Aerosmith for me. Although with this band, I've always leaned on the hits. I've listened to each of the first four albums many times, but after that I get spotty with my knowledge. I'll try to follow this to the end, because I was listening to the song they did for the soundtrack to the meteor movie, I think, that was written, or co-written at least, with Carole Bayer Sager, and while I used to rag on Aerosmith for how they came by some of their later day hits (not sure why they never called Burt Bacharach ), Steven Tyler sings the sh-t out of that song. So, if this thread goes through all that stuff, maybe I'll develop a new appreciation for "Janie's Got A Gun, " etc.
I love “Round and Round” … it’s like the proto “Nobody’s Fault”, in terms of a huge, glacially slow riff and a metal grind, and a bracing point of contrast to the rest of the songs on the albums. I wish Aerosmith had a few more tunes in this vein in their catalogue - they didn’t do heavy metal often, but when they did, it was in a damn cool way, better than most metal bands!
I always felt Round And Round was a sort of a riff in search of a song and they sort of found the song part with Nobody's Fault.
That's fair. There seems to be some sort of typical era divide for fans of most bands.... Lots of folks bag on Aerosmith for their 90's and after career, but personally I think/thought Pump and Get A Grip are great albums... they may not be seen as being as raw and essential as Rocks and Toys, but I think they're great albums, possibly even better albums .... Janie may have been played to death, but it's a fantastic song
I saw them on their tour for Pump and the crowd was a mix of older people who knew the older stuff and younger people who knew the current Geffen material after their comeback. I bought Pump before attending the show and the show was good but every time they played a newer song I kept thinking to myself I wish they would have played an older one. I also saw them years earlier when they were only playing only earlier pre-Geffen material and it was one of my favorite shows I saw.
I think the band became a commercial vehicle from PV on, while before it was a musical venture that had commercial success.
well that’s true - but even then, they did the commercial stuff relatively well on PV and Pump but Get a Grip was a big step down quality wise. And I’m not specifically cra@pping on the excess of soggy ballads (even if they are worse than “Angel” or “What it Takes”), but the rock songs didn’t work and that’s the spine of any Aerosmith album. And as it was a huge smash, they doubled down … Anyways - don’t mean to jump ahead
Both written by Tyler & Whitford. Brad had co-credits on "Draw The Line" but wasn't it until "Permanent Vacation" until he wrote with Tyler again?
I saw them in 2013 and I second this, the crowd was a mix of older and younger folks. My girlfriend at the time and most of the cheering crowd were more excited when the 80s and 90s hits were played. Cryin', Crazy and Jaded made the crowd go wild. My then-girlfriend was like "Yeaaahhhh, I love the Alicia Silverstone videoclip, this is my teenage years right here woo-hoo!!" I, on the other hand, am 7 years her junior and was so happy to hear "Toys in the Attic" and "Last Child". Go figure.
