Music review: Steven Tyler – ‘We’re All Somebody from Somewhere鈥�
I鈥檓 an old-school Aerosmith fan going back to the days when the Boston rockers consecutively reeled off the gritty rock albums 鈥淕et Your Wings,鈥� 鈥淭oys in the Attic鈥� and 鈥淩ocks鈥� during the mid-1970s.
Oh, how times have changed.
Steven Tyler has replaced Boston with Nashville and rock 鈥榥鈥� roll for a little taste of modern country. I guess maybe we should have seen this coming after Aerosmith鈥檚 2012 album 鈥淢usic from Another Dimension!鈥� featured a duet with Carrie Underwood on 鈥淐an鈥檛 Stop Lovin鈥� You.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e All Somebody from Somewhere鈥� is Tyler鈥檚 solo debut that features 15 tracks blending elements of rock and blues with touches of mandolin, fiddle and steel guitar. 鈥淢y Own Worst Enemy鈥� is a regret-filled breakup track perfectly suited to kick off Tyler鈥檚 new musical stylings as he manages to mention Jesus, mama and whiskey all in the first few lines.
鈥淩ed, White and You鈥� is a rousing summer anthem that references Tom Petty and plays well to country radio and live performances. The title track offers a bit of a funky vibe as Tyler professes his love of cornbread and celebrates America鈥檚 diversity and charm singing, 鈥淪weet Biloxi to New York City/From that fine red wine off a vine to cheap brown whiskey/Seattle coffee, Memphis blues/Chi-Town wind, Miami cruise/There鈥檚 a thousand stories between me and you/Give me some love.鈥�
The album鈥檚 lead single, 鈥淟ove Is Your Name,鈥� was penned for Tyler by Nashville writers Eric Paslay and Lindsey Lee and begins the first of several well-crafted ballads that comfortably ease Tyler into pure country mode. 鈥淭he Good, the Bad, the Ugly and Me鈥� is a rocker that fits the Aerosmith mold with Tyler loosening up and letting go.
Not to mention the fact that it鈥檚 a great title for a county tune. The album closes with an unexpected and spirited cover of Janis Joplin鈥檚 鈥淧iece of My Heart.鈥� Surprisingly, the only missteps include the distorted jumble of 鈥淗old On (Won鈥檛 Let Go)鈥� and a reworked version of the Aerosmith track 鈥淛anie鈥檚 Got a Gun鈥� minus the emotion and aggressive energy of the original.
With Tyler hitting the road to support his new album, it just might be the perfect launching point for the charismatic frontman to shed his rocker roots for a more permanent gig in country music. Hey, it worked out okay for Darius Rucker.
Clint Rhodes is the 缅北禁地 music reviewer. He can be reached at crhodes@heraldstandard.com.