Post by AeroCooper on Jul 5, 2023 5:46:42 GMT -5
The early resentment between Aerosmith and Bruce Springsteen
Tim Coffman
Tue 4th Jul 2023
It’s hard to think that a band like Aerosmith wouldn’t take over the music world from their first release. Being equal parts The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, the songwriting of both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry gave way to some of the best hard rock of the 1970s, always keeping things low to the ground with a blues-infused foundation. Although the band were poised for stardom, their first album left much to be desired.
Despite the album featuring one of their classic hits, ‘Dream On’, the rest of the band felt stifled by their label. After signing with legendary music mogul Clive Davis, their album gave way to little fanfare upon release, with the power ballad only reaching the 70’s on the singles charts before dropping off.
While some listeners might not have clicked with the ‘Bad Boys From Boston’, the band thought their label, Columbia Records, had a bit of a different plan. Instead of promoting their unique brand of rock and roll, Aerosmith’s debut album came out at the same time as Bruce Springsteen’s debut. As guitarist Joe Perry remembered in his book, Rocks: “Springsteen was tailor-made for Columbia. He came out of the Dylan tradition. The public was ready for a rock hero with Bruce’s look and sound. We got the idea that Columbia didn’t think the public was ready for us”.
As the band prepared to make their trek around the world, Perry would say that he felt disappointed about the people they were opening up for, either not being given any soundcheck or ignored entirely by their audience. Then again, Aerosmith’s debut was far from perfect on its own.
Since their label was putting more money into Springsteen, Perry also recalled that their promotion seemed to be a rush job, with one of the final songs, ‘Walking The Dog’, inaccurately titled ‘Walking the Dig’ on the final pressing. There was also the issue of Tyler’s voice not fully settling into its final register, sounding far more bluesy than the traditional screams that he would become known for.
When the critics decided to talk about the album, though, no one was impressed. Since the band wore their influences on their sleeves, a few critics compared them to The Rolling Stones, thinking that the chemistry between Tyler and Perry was too close to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
For all of the albums left on the shelf, though, the band earned their fans the hard way, going from one town to the next and playing to anyone that would have them. When they finally got back into gear for their follow-up Get Your Wings, they had settled on the groove that would launch them to stardom, with songs like ‘Same Old Song and Dance’ being more indicative of their sound.
Tim Coffman
Tue 4th Jul 2023
It’s hard to think that a band like Aerosmith wouldn’t take over the music world from their first release. Being equal parts The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin, the songwriting of both Steven Tyler and Joe Perry gave way to some of the best hard rock of the 1970s, always keeping things low to the ground with a blues-infused foundation. Although the band were poised for stardom, their first album left much to be desired.
Despite the album featuring one of their classic hits, ‘Dream On’, the rest of the band felt stifled by their label. After signing with legendary music mogul Clive Davis, their album gave way to little fanfare upon release, with the power ballad only reaching the 70’s on the singles charts before dropping off.
While some listeners might not have clicked with the ‘Bad Boys From Boston’, the band thought their label, Columbia Records, had a bit of a different plan. Instead of promoting their unique brand of rock and roll, Aerosmith’s debut album came out at the same time as Bruce Springsteen’s debut. As guitarist Joe Perry remembered in his book, Rocks: “Springsteen was tailor-made for Columbia. He came out of the Dylan tradition. The public was ready for a rock hero with Bruce’s look and sound. We got the idea that Columbia didn’t think the public was ready for us”.
As the band prepared to make their trek around the world, Perry would say that he felt disappointed about the people they were opening up for, either not being given any soundcheck or ignored entirely by their audience. Then again, Aerosmith’s debut was far from perfect on its own.
Since their label was putting more money into Springsteen, Perry also recalled that their promotion seemed to be a rush job, with one of the final songs, ‘Walking The Dog’, inaccurately titled ‘Walking the Dig’ on the final pressing. There was also the issue of Tyler’s voice not fully settling into its final register, sounding far more bluesy than the traditional screams that he would become known for.
When the critics decided to talk about the album, though, no one was impressed. Since the band wore their influences on their sleeves, a few critics compared them to The Rolling Stones, thinking that the chemistry between Tyler and Perry was too close to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
For all of the albums left on the shelf, though, the band earned their fans the hard way, going from one town to the next and playing to anyone that would have them. When they finally got back into gear for their follow-up Get Your Wings, they had settled on the groove that would launch them to stardom, with songs like ‘Same Old Song and Dance’ being more indicative of their sound.
By the time they had earned their position as a phenomenal live act, Springsteen had already surpassed them, having created Born to Run a few months before Aerosmith had released their first masterpiece, Toys in the Attic. The afterglow was so good for Aerosmith that they eventually convinced their label to rerelease ‘Dream On’, entering at number six on the charts. There might have been a battle for attention between Aerosmith and Bruce Springsteen, but nothing was going to stop them from becoming one of the biggest rock bands in the world.