Toys in the Attic - Aerosmith (CD 1993)

The band Aerosmith caught on slowly, and their third album, "Toys In The Attic," is a perfect example of their slow rise to success. The album was released early in 1975. That summer, the band scored their first Top 40 single with "Sweet Emotion." In the meantime, Aerosmith enjoyed modest chart success with "Toys In The Attic," which maintained consistent sales for over a year. During that year, they had their first Top 10 hit with "Dream On," a song from their first album, "Aerosmith." They also released their fourth LP, "Rocks," which yielded another Top 40 hit with "Last Child." The success of "Rocks" kept the sales of "Toys In The Attic" strong.

Late in 1976, Aerosmith went back to their third album and released "Walk This Way" as a single. This song, which was already a popular track on album-oriented rock stations, became Aerosmith's second Top 10, and propelled "Toys In The Attic" to new heights on the charts. This was the album that introduced me to the quintet from Boston - Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, and Joey Kramer. It would also be my first Aerosmith album purchase (in 1976). I upgraded to CD nearly fifteen years ago. They were a part of the seventies generation of rebellious rockers, with their long hair and loud guitars, but the bluesy lead vocals of Tyler and the screaming guitar of Perry distinguished this band. They rocked hard, and they played hard. Eventually, some band members paid the price for playing too hard. "Toys In The Attic" is the smell of teen spirit fifteen years before Nirvana created their anthem about it.

"Toys In The Attic" is an album filled with the good, naughty fun filled with a sense of danger most adolescents love. The title track starts the album with a bang, and sets the tone for most of the album. Tyler is both inviting and forboding with his vocals like "Leaving the things of the past behind." He tells of an attic that's filled with new and dangerous toys that require special care, and might even cost people their sanity. The same sort of theme is presented in "Adam's Apple," a rocking retelling of the Garden of Eden that's filled with temptation. Tyler plays the role of the snake to perfection. "You See Me Crying" is a fine example of an Aerosmith power ballad, complete with piano and strings. After a break-up, Tyler is a man who's "Back to the lost and found." His voice practically breaks as he begs for another chance. "Honey, what you done to your head?/Honey was the word I said," expresses the confusion as it seems the couple wants different things.

In their early albums, Aerosmith did one R & B cover per album. On "Aerosmith," it was Rufus Thomas's hit, "Walkin' The Dog." On "Get Your Wings," it was Tiny Bradshaw's "Train Kept A-Rollin'." On "Toys In The Attic," they went back to the Bradshaw catalog with "Big Ten Inch Record." On "Big Ten Inch Record," Aerosmith mixes their sound with the sound of the fifties very much in the way that Brian Setzer is known for doing that sort of arrangement today. At the time, Aerosmith had not led a track with a horn arrangement, but it complements Perry's guitar intro well. Tyler's at his most playful as he sings about a woman whom he can't woo with the usual means, but she loves it when he breaks out his music. "She just loves my big ten inch," Tyler sings. He breaks before he adds the explanation, "Record of the rhythm and blues." (For those of you who are younger, companies used to release songs on thick, shellac discs that played at 78 RPM, with just one song per side. Albums used to be a collection of these 78 records, and are far heavier than a CD, cassette, or even the LPs and 45s that were starting to replace 78s in the later years of Bradshaw's career).

The two best known songs, though, are the singles. "Sweet Emotion" starts softly, with a chorus singing the song's title, and bass and percussion playing quietly. Then, Tyler and Perry take over, and show the flip side of soft. It's a tale of the dangers of life on the road as a rock musician, especially when it comes to dealing with young groupies. They can be sweet one moment, and complain the next. Tyler presents us with the classic types. There's the young lady who wants the encounter to be meaningful, but Tyler bluntly retorts, "I can't say, baby, where I'll be in a year." There's another who lacks classic beauty who complains, "My got up and go must have got up and went." Tyler replies she's "a real good liar." Still, Tyler loves and lives for the moments where these relationships go right, and promises, "a month on the road, I'll be eating from your hand." Tyler's voice is in his lyrics, but Perry's is in his guitar. Not only does he come with a barrage of notes, but he shows he can playfully stretch them out as well. "No More...No More," which follows "Sweet Emotion," is another slice of life on the road.

"Walk This Way," though, is one of Aerosmith's very best songs. It's a warm and frank recollection of a young man making his mark with the ladies for the first time. It's the tale of a "high school loser, never made it with the ladies" who, following the advice of his father, decides to take "a big chance at the high school dance with a missy who was ready to play." Once he found his footing, he didn't stop playing the field. Perry adds some of his most memorable guitar work, which at times is nearly orgasmic. Perry got to reprise that guitar part when Run-D.M.C. covered that song. Tyler still showed he could hit the high notes when the rap group invited him as well to sing background vocals. Run-D.M.C. fared even better than Aerosmith with the song, taking it to #4 on the charts in 1986 (Aerosmith's version reached #10).

"Toys In The Attic" was an album that introduced many a listener to the music of Aerosmith. For many followers, such as myself, the album is Aerosmith's best. Later works would be more polished, but this album best unleashes the energy of Tyler, Perry, and company. The rise to success may have been slow for both the band and this album, but "Toys In The Attic" has become one of the most revered works in the Aerosmith catalog. It's a celebration of the joys and headaches of sexual attraction that often has a playful sense about itself. It's a collection of musical toys well worth playing again and again.

Song listing:
1. Toys In The Attic
2. Uncle Salty
3. Adam's Apple
4. Walk This Way
5. Big Ten Inch Record
6. Sweet Emotion
7. No More...No More
8. Round And Round
9. You See Me Crying

This has been my entry in the Aerosmith write-off hosted by that big Aerosmith fan, Aerocat. For a complete list of the entries, please go to this link: http://aerowriteoff.bravepages.com/index.html

Thanks Beth!