Get Your Wings - Aerosmith (CD 1993)

After the success of their debut record, thanks mainly to Dream On and Mama Kin, Aerosmith looked to really go for the juggular on their second album, titled Get Your Wings.

Get Your Wings is a fiery blues rock album that shows a band still in it's developmental stages of figuring out who they are and exactly what they want to sound like. By the time the band was done recording it, they not only had a better feel of everyone's role in the band, but because of the experience recording it, one can only assume that this album became the catalyst for what many people feel are the band's two finest albums: Toys in the Attic and Rocks.

The album opens with a simple guitar riff that really just speaks old school Chuck Berry like rock and roll, with a tad of a blues twist. Same Old Song and Dance is the name of it, and it's a terrific song, replete with some nice guitar interplay from Joe Perry and Brad Whitford.

I really like the amount of jamming the band does on this record, as evidenced by the final two minutes of Woman of the World, which just has some amazing moments in it, again led by Perry and Whitford playing off each other brilliantly.

Also found here is the band's cover of the old Yardbirds classic, Train Kept a Rollin'. This cover is at once a re-interpretation and a tribute, as it starts off a bit differently but by the end is every bit the blues rock steam engine that most people are used to.

And the band manages to slow things down again with Seasons of Wither, one of the simplest songs the band has written to this day, and yet, probably one of the strongest. Just a really simple guitar melody, some basic backing by the rest of the band, and a knockout vocal performance by Steven Tyler.

Lastly, with Lord of the Thighs, the band sounds almost prog, with different sounds and guitar effects being used to near perfection. However, throughout the song, the band never really loses it's basic blues basics that it does so well.

Get Your Wings is one of the better albums Aerosmith has ever recorded. It's not quite up there with the aforementioned Rocks or Toys in the Attic, and probably is not in the same league as 1989's Pump, but it's not much further down the list, if at all. My main complaint with it is the fact that there is only eight tracks to be found, which means the record is over with almost before it's really begun.

Either way, Get Your Wings is a solid record, and one that belongs in any kind of "more than just casual" fan's collection.

This was part of the Aerosmith Write Off, hosted by the one and only Aerocat.

A complete list of participants and reviews can be found here:http://aerowriteoff.bravepages.com/index.html

For more on Aerosmith by yours truly, check out these links:
http://www.epinions.com/content_93595209348
http://www.epinions.com/content_72829144708
http://www.epinions.com/content_12865080964