It’s been a year and a half since Aerosmith announced their abrupt retirement. In August of 2023, Steven Tyler announced that he was unable to recover from his vocal cord surgery. But that still didn’t stop the band from doing solo and side projects. Joe Perry went on a very successful solo tour, which featured bandmate Brad Whitford. Tom Hamilton has his own band and tour, while Tyler does one-off shows for his charity or pop-up sports with Perry’s band. On WPLX, Perry went as far as to say that “I would say, at some point…we will all be together on the same stage…If I was a betting man, which I am, I would say, at some point, something’s gonna happen. But we’ll see.”
While fans wait for that ever-anticipated return, it’s time to look back on some of their records. People consider the 1970s as the “Golden Years” for the Boston, Massachusetts band. The first five records all charted on the Billboard 200, with three charting in the top 20. Their debut and sophomore records would only chart as high as No. 74. With a plethora of songs like “Dream On,” “Mama Kin,” “Train Kept A Rolling” and “Same Old Song And Dance,” it’s hard to imagine where the band was headed next.
Enter 1975s Toys In the Attic. This record would become an all-time classic for rock and roll and would help shoot the “Bad Boys From Boston” into a level of rock gods. Toys In the Attic has a total run time of 37 minutes and only features nine songs. Some of the tunes on Toys In the Attic would become concert staples and fan favorites.
The album starts off with the title track. Right at the jump, there is a swagger and flair about this track. The opening guitar riffs mixed in with Joey Kramer’s drums create a powerful force. Throughout the song, Perry and Tyler match what the other is playing/singing. It’s unique to hear the vocals and guitar mimic what the other is doing. While the background vocals aren’t polished and fine-tuned, it creates a raw and edgy sound. Listening to this song is a prime example of why producer Jack Douglas worked with legends like the New York Dolls and Cheap Trick. Layered underneath the blistering guitar and banging drums is Tyler’s signature wail. This is one of the reasons he became known as the “Demon of Screaming.” It’s just another signature part of Aerosmith that formed in these early records.
Track three takes a more blues approach from Whitford and Perry. They open the song with a laid-back, cool blues lick that shifts the angle of the tune. “Adam’s Apple” is a clever tongue-in-cheek tune about Adam and Eve with a more sexual twist. Patched in the background is a horn section that adds necessary meat to the overall sound of the tune. Even though the horns are uncredited, it’s a nice and unique sound that works with the tune.
“Walk This Way” heavily overshadows “Adam’s Apple.” This classic rap and jump song is one of Aerosmith’s best songs and, depending on who you ask, is their most popular. In hindsight, the riff behind Tyler is rather simple, but the overall complexity of rapping over fast-moving riffs is impeccable. The chorus is catchy and straight to the point and it gets jammed inside fans’ heads for days on end. Instead of ramming a solo right in the middle of the song, the band elects to have a solo towards the end of the record and have that same solo carry out the tune as it fades out. It’s fresh to hear a solo appear in the last minute rather than in the typical middle.
For the band, the hits in the making keep coming as song six is the classic “Sweet Emotion.” There is a warm calm that pours out of the speakers as the band kicks into the song at the 35-second mark. But, fans can’t knock off Hamilton’s mysterious bass riff that accompanies the “maracas” at the beginning of the song. Years later on The Howard Stern Show, Tyler admits that it wasn’t maracas at all; it was, in fact, a sugar packet. The same classic Aerosmith swagger is on this song as Perry and Whitford duel guitar launch rockets of sound in listeners’ ears. There’s a great pocket the band finds themselves in while going from Tyler’s lyrics to the chorus. They are able to build up tension before evening out on the chorus, making it a great listen.
The record ends with the ballad “You See My Crying.” It’s a nice, quieter song that features Tyler making his only appearance at the piano. I think “You See My Crying” has one of the better and underrated solos on the entire song. In addition to Tyler’s piano, there is a beautiful orchestra that appears, which creates a more dramatic feel to the entire song. It’s an interesting approach to have a power ballad appear as the last song on the album, but it does a great job at creating a dramatic finish to the album.
Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic is mashed in with four other great albums of theirs during the hayday. But when looking at the five of them as a whole, Toys in the Attic stands out among them all. Some fans would go as far as to say that this record is a “perfect album.” There are so many great, underrated and downright nasty songs on this record that make it a top album for the 1970s.
Rating: 9/10
Tracklisting:
1. Toys In the Attic
2. Uncle Salty
3. Adam’s Apple
4. Walk This Way
5. Big Ten Inch Record
6. Sweet Emotion
7. No More No More
8. Round and Round
9. You See Me Crying
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My love for live music started with my first concert ever, Guns N’ Roses back in 2016. Since then, I’ve been able to capture photos of some amazing artists like Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, Ace Frehley, and Post Malone. I am based in the Boston, Massachusetts area. I am always looking for the next concert to attend.