Aerosmith - Toys In The Attic review
Band: | Aerosmith |
Album: | Toys In The Attic |
Style: | Hard rock, Blues rock |
Release date: | April 1975 |
Guest review by: | omne metallum |
01. Toys In The Attic
02. Uncle Salty
03. Adam's Apple
04. Walk This Way
05. Big Ten Inch Record
06. Sweet Emotion
07. No More No More
08. Round And Round
09. You See Me Crying
To many, Toys In The Attic is the quintessential Aerosmith album, featuring some of their most recognisable tracks and being the launchpad that would shoot them to stardom. When you listen to this album you understand that it earnt its reputation in spades, nine tracks of some of the best rock music to this day.
To get the obvious points out of the way to begin with: "Toys In The Attic", "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion" are three of the best rock songs in existence, and I say that with no ounce of hyperbole. From the classic guitar riffs through Tyler's signature pipes and charm, there is a reason they set the bar for rock music.
There is far more to this album than those three tracks though; the bluesy rockers of "Uncle Salty" and "Adam's Apple" more than hold their own and probably aren't as well known, as the only thing they lack is an immediately identifiable hook like "Walk This Way" for example. "Big Ten Inch Record" is a tongue-in-cheek blues romp that is both funny and catchy, and will raise the eyebrows of those who are yet to have heard its chorus. "You See Me Crying" rounds the album out and shows the band were more than straight-up rockers, knowing how to do ballads without sounding cliche.
The only song that isn't to the same high quality of the rest of the album would be "Round And Round", though that isn't to say it is a bad song. If the rest of the album is gold standard, "Round And Round" is bronze standard, still a song with evident quality, just not the same quality as the rest of the album.
Douglas' production is nigh-on perfect; everything has a good tone and doesn't need to fight for space, having its own position that benefits the song. Each member of the band knows what to do and hold down their own with ease, Hamilton's bass doing its own thing while not straying too close to the guitars or too far from Kramer's succinct drums. Whitford and Perry peel off riff after riff, with ease and Tyler is well, Tyler.
If you want a place to start with Aerosmith, then you could do no better than starting with Toys In The Attic, the album that set the band off on a trajectory few bands ever get to enjoy. From start to end you will be treated to quality music that became the blueprint for so many bands that followed in Aerosmith's wake.
Rating breakdown
Performance: | 9 |
Songwriting: | 9 |
Originality: | 9 |
Production: | 8 |
Written by omne metallum | 28.04.2020
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
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