"Before Steven Tyler and Joe Perry became the “Toxic Twins,” they were merely intoxicated. On a newly unearthed demo tape... that Aerosmith cut in 1971 — two years before releasing their self-titled debut — the band sounds loose and lubricated on embryonic versions of “Dream On,” “Mama Kin,” and other ditties they would be performing live for the next 50 years. It’s at once both a sonogram of the band as journeymen and a testament to the vision they had early on, the dogged determination to dream until the dream comes true — even if it sounds anything but dreamy in the moment.
The band members were all in their late teens or early twenties when they first came together in 1970. Originally, Tyler had corralled Perry, bassist Tom Hamilton, and drummer Joey Kramer into backing him on an audition tape for the Jeff Beck Group, which had recently parted ways with Rod Stewart. They ultimately figured they made a pretty good racket of their own together, nicked a moniker from Sinclair Lewis’ novel, Arrowsmith, and embarked upon becoming Boston’s greatest bar band. It’s that Aerosmith that plays on 1971: The Road Starts Hear, a recording that reveals their roots better than their debut LP...
After years in storage, the ancient tape’s sound is murky and blurry, which actually adds to the songs’ smoky, bluesy appeal. From the beginning, when the band members sound like they’re having a Marvin Gaye “What’s Going On”-style party as Perry noodles on Fleetwood Mac’s “Albatross,” before they all align on Aerosmith’s “Somebody,” they sound more casual than they ever did on any studio recording. This tape is most likely a rehearsal tape, so they sound off their guard. In the release’s liner notes, penned by Rolling Stone contributing editor David Fricke, the band members say they can’t even remember making this recording; it was just in a stack of tapes Tyler had asked a friend to store. But it shows the chemistry they had at the time..." - Rolling Stone Magazine
Black vinyl pressing
Tracklisting
Side A:
1 Intro - Somebody
2 Reefer Head Woman
3 Walkin' The Dog
Side B:
1 Movin' Out
2 Major Barbara
3 Dream On
4 Mama Kin
