It’s hard to imagine a world without Aerosmith albums, but when their self-titled debut emerged in 1973 it was even harder to imagine they’d still be around half a century later. Ignored in the UK, it almost made the US Top 20, and as the Creem reviewer noted, it was “a full LP of screaming, metallic, creative, rock and roll”. It still is, of course, despite Adrian Barber - fresh from the Bee Gees and Aretha Franklin – stymying them on the production front, and a ludicrous blue skies and clouds cover that Poco would have found insufficiently manly.
Written mostly by Steven Tyler because the others weren’t bothered about writing, Aerosmith was a statement of intent. It’s still dwarfed by the wonderful Dream On – a setlist staple on their most recent dates in 2023 – which provided a template not just for Aerosmith's power ballads but for everyone’s.
