Aerosmith (1973)
1.Make It
2.Somebody
3.Dream On
4.One Way Street
5.Mama Kin
6.Write Me
7.Movin' Out
8.Walking the Dog
Boston's best bad-boy bar boogie blues band began in a rather auspicious way when they released their self titled album in 1972. Few bands have had as big of an impact on the rock and roll scene as these guys, and while it's true they took an unintentional drug induced "sabbatical" in the late 1970s - early 1980s, they came back with a vengeance and would actually become much popular than they ever had before.
This first record sounds a little rough, a little raw, and it was clear they were still perfecting their famous "sound". Even Steven Tyler doesn't sound like "himself" and, upon first listen, it's a very common mistake to believe that there's someone else handling the vocals. It is Tyler, though, along with all the classic members - Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer. Despite the learning curve of a first LP, this still has all of the classic elements of what makes this band so damn good. There's plenty of rock, plenty of blues (granted, they would lose that a little in the later years) and even a classic "slow number" (the well known Dream On).
The band is as sleazy and sexy as ever with catchy double entendres and innuendos that they would never lose. There are guitar riffs a-plenty to match. Take the great (but sadly overlooked) Somebody with begins with a great riff that tells us were about to take off into rock and roll heaven before Tyler wails about how he needs "somebody" - "Good Lord send me/Good Lord mend me/send me down someone for me/say I won't be choosey/you can send me a floozy/send me anybody you please." Yep, some things never change. Equally great is the classic Mama Kin which, fortunately, casual fans are familiar. One Way Street and Write Me tend to favor the blues slightly more than rock and roll, but with these guys in command - it doesn't matter. Movin' Out is a classic combination of both styles of music that the band pull off so well.
The weakest points are probably the first and last track on the album, oddly. Make It is a little too formulatic, and seems an odd choice to begin such a great work, whereas the last song,Walking the Dog while good, is a cover that sounds a little too generic - although in all honesty, they do add the right elements to make it their "own". Great first album by a great band.