AEROSMITH: THE COLUMBIA YEARS

Pics: Paul Smith

Someone somewhere in the higher echelon of Columbia records is kicking themselves having released AEROSMITH from their contract back in the early 80s. The reformed bandm under the management of Tim Collins, went on the road on the "Back in the Saddle" tour, signed to Geffen Records, cleaned both themselves and their act up -- alcohol and drugs -- and the rest is history.

Aerosmith have struck a new deal and re-signed with Colombia for a reputed sum of $25 million, and this deal doesn't even come into effect until three more albums are delivered to Geffin, by which time, the ever youthful Steven Tyler will be nearing his half century. But we're getting ahead of ourselves.

The Aerosmith story starts in the late 60s with one Steve Victor Tallarico. Having played the drums in various club bands on America's East Coast, he decided he could do a lot better than any available vocalist, so he doubled up his contributions.

Eventually dropping the sticks, his first recording came with the band CHAIN REACTION -- one of whese tracks, "When I Needed You" opens Pandora's Box.

The tune itself bears testament to Tallarico's affinity with the great British bands of the era. By his own admission it's a pretty lame song, but the excitement of being in a recording band left a lasting impression on him.

Meanwhile a certain Joe Perry and Tom Hamilton were perfecting their art in various bar bands. Hamilton was just 14 when the pair joined to form the suitably monickered PIPE DREAM. This cover band, playing anything from the YARDBIRDS to MC5 would evolve into the JAM BAND. In the summer of 1970 Perry invited Tallarico down to a Sunapee club to check them out. Having put out a record, Perry and Hamilton were somewhat underawed by Steven's presence. Steven was somewhat underawed by the Jam Band -- until their version of FLEETWOOD MAC's "Rattlesnake Shake." Then he saw a spirit and looseness, which if he could harness and add his experience, could really amount to something. Tallarico originally planned to sing and drum, but decided to develop his vocalist position, also recommending an old cohort Ray Tabano as rhythm guitarist. He in turn brought along an old friend to audition for the vacant drummers stool, his name: Joe Kramer. It was Kramer that named the band, remembering the monicker Aerosmith which he'd scrawled across his schoolbooks. His suggestion was taken up -- probably because it sounded better than "Hookers", which was the choice at the time.

Thus Aerosmith threw themselves out into the Boston club circuit, chasing the rockstar dream as hard as was humanly possible; supporting anyone who would care to have them. Tabano's stint was to be short lived. Amid speculation that he was becoming too overbearing, he was replaced by Brad Whitford, a guitarist from another Boston band, JUSTIN TYME.

Haven't rehearsed for several months in a Boston hotel, their manager Frank Connolly, realising he was inexperienced in the world of recording contracts, hawked their tape to the Leber/Krebs team who sent a demo to Colombia. In 1972 Krebs turned up before a high school gig, recording contract in one hand of fistful of dollars in the other, demanding two albums a year. Aerosmith had arrived.

The Aerosmith debut was recorded in just two weeks at Boston's Intermedia sound recording studio with Adrian Barber producing. The speed at which the recording occurred, combined with the basic equipment, results in the live sound, which does not detract from the songs one iota. Classics such as "Mama Kin" or the original rock ballad "Dream On" bear testament to that. Pandora's Box throws up an alternate version of "Movin' Out" and an unreleased song from the sessions entitled "On the Road" again.

Steven Tallarico, consumed with the dream of stardom, decided to change his surname -- Tyler being the choice. The stardom suitably followed later. Initial reviews of the record were mixed- most relying on STONES comparisons to dismiss the band.

Although stung by this criticism, the road welcomed them. Already selling out every club they played, the time was right to move up to support the likes of MOTT THE HOOPLE, THE KINKS, et al, where they could hone their sound in front of up to 3000 punters a night.

1973 saw the recording of Get your Wings. Recorded at the Record Plant in NYC under the watchful eye of executive producer Bob Ezrin. More significant in The 'Smiths story was the presence of producer John Douglas. Whereas Ezra made a name for himself working with COOPER and KISS, Douglas's name was to be synonymous with Aerosmith's productions. Get Your Wings itself had to build on the foundations laid down by the debut.

With the tunes, such as the title track of the box set and "Same Old Song and Dance," "Seasons of Wither," the live gem "Train Kept a Rollin," and Tyler's skit of Lord of the Flies -- "Lord of the Thighs" (the box includes a live version recorded at the '78 Texas jam), life seemed just dandy in the Aero camp.

When the album saw the light of day in March 1974, sales were an indication of the phenomenon to follow. The rest of 74 was broken up with touring commitments supporting the likes of DEEP PURPLE and BLACK SABBATH in uncharted areas closer to home.

Returning home to NYC in the early months of 1975, the ensuing sessions produced the proverbial 'big one.' Toys in the Attic dutifully kicked down the establishment doors and anchored Aerosmith's name in the annals of rock. From the hell-for-leather title track (still a live favourite) through to the rapping vocal spit of "Walk This Way" (it's amazing how influential one track can be!), to the grandiose finale of "You See me Crying," the album epitomised everything any young gun had been striving for. Toys went gold in the states within four months and launched itself in the charts for two years. By the time "Dream On" had been re released -- reaching number six in December of that year -- the band had become Colombia's biggest selling act of the year; even outstripping the likes of Bob Dylan. For the first time the band were deemed a nationwide success.

If Toys was the crown, its successor Rocks (its cover depicting fire diamonds), was the jewel, recorded in by-now familiar surroundings, with Douglas again at the production stool. "Back in the Saddle" set the stall out; brash, lewd, and cool, "Rats in the Celler"s frantic gallup hitched to Tyler's tale of down-and-outs in the Big Apple. Joe Perry's first solo composition "Combination" gave the record a weird twist. Another ballad "Home Tonight" boosted with full orchestra brought it to a fitting conclusion.

The record promptly crossed double platinum sales. So important was this record that the bulk of previously released material on the box's second CD is garnered from Toys and Rocks, whether it be in original, live, or remixed form.

The subsequent tour established the group as one of the US circuit's major attractions. But with every silver lining there has to be a cloud. With Aerosmith, narcotics were the ugly sister. Individually they'd never shied away from the pleasures of illegal substances. By the time Rocks was recorded, both Tyler and Perry were abusing themselves with heroin, whereas Hamilton, Whitford, and Kramer -- although reliant on lesser drugs -- were also hitting the bottle heavily. Due to prevalent addictions, Britain had to wait until October 76 for the first glimpse of the much-touted US stars. Up until now the management had considered the drugs/customs equation and decided that the two, at least in Aerosmith's case, we're not compatible. The tour itself, despite being relatively unsuccessful, went without too many problems. By the beginning of '77 the band had reached their limit. The incessant touring and recording schedule, coupled with the immense toxic levels in their bodies -- Tyler and Perry adopted the pseudonym of the "Toxic Twins" -- had led to exhaustion. Rest was the only solution.

Inactivity and Aerosmith are not happy bedfellows, however, and by the spring they had relocated to upstate New York to begin work on their 5th album. This, according to Tom Hamilton, was "the beginning of the breakup." The minds of the artists were so addled that no one really knew what was happening. But happening they were. Their fifth album Draw the Line being the result. Before its winter release, the band returned to Europe for some summer festival dates. Unfortunately, despite having better reviews this time round, specially for their Reading appearance, the drugs/customs equation turned against Steven Tyler in Germany where he was detained for possessing cannabis. Hence, this was the last Euro jaunt for the 'Smith until 1989.

Despite Tyler spending the majority of time during the recording locked away with his pills, D.T.L. bore all the hallmarks of primetime Aero rock 'n' roll -- the title track, "Kings and Queens," along with "Critical Mass," plus a live version of "I Wanna Know Why," feature on the box.

The highlight of the subsequent tour was to have been the California Jam, which drew an estimated audience of 350,000, but the state of the band members ensured the actual performance was not one to store in the memory banks.

By the time Night in Ruts emerged in November 1979 the group was splintered beyond reconstruction.

In between the two studio albums came an appearance in Robert Stigwood's Sergeant Pepper film, where "Come Together" was the contribution -- an apt choice considering the influence of the BEATLES -- its recording added the thrill of working with producer George Martin.

Aerosmith also appeared at the Texas Jam at Dallas. The video of the show appeared commercially a couple of years back and testifies to the "stupor" of the group. The box features 3 tracks from this concert, which, in all honesty, make the best of a bad situation.

In an attempt to alleviate the growing pressure on the band, the substandard double record Live Bootleg was cobbled together and thrown out in 1978. It quickly rattled up platinum sales although its actual quality content is highly questionable.

During the recording of the aforementioned Night in the Ruts album, the inevitable happened; Joe Perry up and walked out and went off to record his first solo album, Let the Music Do the Talking.

I've got the Rock n' Roll Again followed in 1981, then came Once a Rocker Always a Rocker in 1983. These albums established the JOE PERRY PROJECT an entity in its own right.

To complete the Aerosmith album Richie Supa was called in, but for the tour Jimmy Crespo was enrolled. The trek itself was short lived as Tyler once again collapsed on stage. With promoters not wishing to take a chance on the recklessness of the band, the tour was cancelled. Worse still was to come when a tanked up Tyler did himself a serious injury crashing his motorcycle in New York rendering himself incapacitated for much of 1981.

The box is kind to Nights, it features four tracks plus "Let It Slide," an unreleased track from the Ruts sessions.

With still little activity, by the summer of 1981, Brad Whitford followed Joe Perry's lead and left, linking up with Derek St Holmes to record an album. Its flowing recording process being the death knell for him as a 'Smith member. A track from each of the guitarists' projects surface on the last CD of the set; "South Station Blues" from Perry and "Sharpshooter" from Whitford/ St Holmes.

The Greatest Hits album kept the charts buzzing, but what was really needed was some new product.

Jack Douglas returned to the fold as producer, while Rick dufay was brought in to replace Whitford. But once again the sessions were long and tiresome. Coaxing Tyler into some form of productivity was proving almost impossible. Crespo proved to be the ace in the hole. He was credited on 8 tracks. In 1982, Rock in a Hard Place was therefore deemed Jimmy's baby. Rave reviews lauded the album's release but with an estimated cost of $1.5 million, sales were decidedly dodgy. The tour went well -- as well as could be expected, that is.

Steven was still prone to finishing face down on the stage, although they did turn in quite an admirable performance in Miami in front of 200,000 people. And when Perry and Whitford attended the Valentine's Day gig in Boston, reformation rumours began (it was no secret that Perry was sadly missed by Tyler). In April the announcement confirmed the reconciliation.

The history, of course, reads that the band cleaned up. Fresh and fired with a youthful exuberance, they have gone on to record the most successful comeback since Jesus. The Geffen albums, Done with Mirrors, Permanent Vacation, and Pump have seen to that.

Until the next instalment, Pandora's Box is as good a replay of Aerosmith's history as you'll get. My only concern is the lack of "Lightning Strikes" from Rock in a Hard Place. Even Joe Perry is said to have been jealous that he hadn't played on it.