April 8, 1975 - Toys In The Attic

10 days after my last release, Aerosmith released the only full album I have by them in my library, "Toys In The Attic" on April 8, 1975. They have the same original line-up, but this album was their big breakthrough and the first one that didn't feature material the band had been playing live for ages. Let's check it out!

The album starts with the title track, "Toys In The Attic" and Joe Perry is going off from the get-go with a very quick guitar riff that carries this song. Steven Tyler's singing is alright but it's much lower than he's capable of. It has a very repetitive chorus, but the speedy guitar keeps you interested and Perry moves to a solo. Tom Hamilton's bass is solid in the background as Perry plays a short, but pretty good solo. They play the chorus until the song fades to an end and this song would end up in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and viewed as one of Aerosmith's best. I thought it was a good song, but not deserving of any accolades really, let alone such a high honour, but perhaps that's just me. Up next is "Uncle Salty" which has a nice bass line by Hamilton as Perry plays a cool, slow guitar riff. Tyler's voice is pretty low once again, but it sounds good and the chorus is pretty catchy: "it's a sunny day outside my window" as Tyler sings in his more typical higher voice. Perry delivers another cool, short solo and once again these guys are content to jam out the chorus several times until the song fades out. Another song that's not bad, but isn't jumping out either. Track 3 is "Adam's Apple" and Perry and Brad Whitford combine for a cool guitar riff that carries the song. Tyler sings about the story of Adam and Eve from the Bible and they turn this tale into a pretty cool rock and roll song! Perry delivers what I think is his best solo so far this album and I also think the verses are better in this song. It has a nice rhythm to it as Tyler hits some really high notes on a couple occasions. I would say my favourite thus far, but it would be replaced quickly by the next song "Walk This Way". Perry plays a very cool, very catchy guitar riff that would carry this song as Tyler sings along very quickly to the beat. The lyrics are very sexual and dirty if you're able to make them out but Tyler delivers them really well. The chorus is simple, but effective and afterwards Perry delivers a really good solo. His main riff is pretty sweet as well as this song just has a funky vibe to it that sounds fantastic. After another chorus, Perry goes off for a solo that actually lasts longer than a few bars, and not surprisingly he has lots of cool stuff to play as he brings the song to a close. This would become possibly their most famous song ever after hip-hop group Run DMC covered it about a decade later, and it's easy to see why as it is a pretty cool song. The side ends with "Big Ten Inch Record", a Bullmoose Jackson cover from 1952 and they stay true to the jazzy original with a smooth riff that has horns and some cool piano. The lyrics are very well done to give the impression that Tyler is singing about his huge penis, when he actually means his ten inch record of blues music. Perry adds some cool guitar riffs to spice it up between the verses as the hilarity only increases with each verse. Tyler plays some pretty good harmonica as well and I like his yelling vocals towards the end of the song. I'm sure they enjoyed covering this funny song, and I think it's pretty great.

The second side begins with "Sweet Emotion" and this song is carried by a really cool bass riff by Hamilton. They build up to the chorus, which is just the name of the song sung slowly, another simple sing-along chorus. The verse is much better with a nice lead guitar riff by Perry as he follows Tyler's singing. They bridge the verse and chorus with a cool, building riff as this song has a relaxed, chill vibe to it. Joey Kramer's drum roll brings us to a new riff that sounds pretty good and when Perry solos overtop, it sounds great! He plays until the end of the song and it's no surprise that this album was Aerosmith's breakthrough as this song is another radio staple. Up next is "No More No More" as Perry opens with a nice guitar riff and also sings the title of the song after every main verse sung by Tyler. This song also has some cool piano in the background as it bounces along to a catchy beat. Perry goes off for an extended solo that starts a little slow but picks up as it goes on. The song begins to slowly fade mid-solo and already I'm beginning to worry. As suspected, they end the song, just as Perry was starting to really show off! These guys are starting to really annoy me, how was Joe Perry OK with this?! Track 8 is "Round And Round" and Whitford plays lead guitar on this song. He carries the verse with a slow, chugging riff that's pretty heavy! Tyler's vocals sound great as well as he half yells the lyrics and I love the heavier feel to this one. Whitford's guitar solo is pretty good, but not amazing and you can see why he's usually on rhythm guitar. Tyler repeats the title over and over at the end as the band jam out the chorus for over a minute. It's got a nice feel to it, but this song was really repetitive. The record closer is "You See Me Crying" as Tyler plays some solid piano to open this one and there's also an orchestra on this song. The piano is pretty good and Perry adds some nice licks as well to this sad song. Tyler sings one of the verses in a very high voice that sounds a bit strained but the orchestra sounds really nice. The guitar solo is pretty good and while this song is certainly not as upbeat as most of their stuff I thought they did a pretty good job on this sappy tune, though it seems an odd choice to end the album on.

That is the end of "Toys In The Attic" and I thought that it was a solid album. "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are the highlights for sure but none of the songs were bad. I thought that Steven Tyler did a pretty good job, and Joe Perry shows flashes of guitar greatness but ultimately I think Aerosmith are just not inventive enough to really steal me away for a whole album. I do not have any more albums by these guys, but they are bound to make another cool rock song at some point right? We will see!