Aerosmith
Toys In The Attic

Jason Landry, contributor

The Soundwaves Vinyl of the Week is Toys In The Attic by Aerosmith.

 

The bad boys from Boston dropped this gem in 1975. It was their third studio album and sold over 9 million copies. The title track "Toys in the Attic" kicks off with a chorus, Toys…Toys…Toys…Voices Scream. When you hear Steven Tyler’s vocals, they are unmistakable. He could hit those high notes like no other—or at least not until Mariah Carey topped the five-octave vocal range. 

 

But what earned them some real street cred was “Walk This Way”, a song about the trials and tribulations of a high school loser who finally stepped up to the plate and got the girl of his dreams. This song went on to become a monster hit for the band, not to mention the additional fans and royalties they earned in 1986 when they teamed up with Run DMC during the height of the MTV era to do a remake of it (see video below). It was one of the first instances of two completely different genres collaborating on something truly unique. It also helped to revitalize Aerosmith’s career.

 

The other big hit, “Sweet Emotion”, starts off with a funky talk-box effect that lead guitarist Joe Perry spoke through before diving right in to one of the greatest rock riffs of all time. The talk-box was popularized by numerous artists including Peter Frampton on his track “Baby, I Love Your Way”, Joe Walsh used it on The Eagle’s song “Rocky Mountain Way”, as well as Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi on the track “Livin’ on a Prayer”. 

 

All the tracks on this album were written by various members of the band with lyrics by Tyler except the tongue-in-cheek cover of “Big Ten Inch Record”. And if you haven’t heard this song before, do yourself a favor—it’s pretty funny.

 

Although 1985’s Done With Mirrors and 1989’s Pump might be might favorite Aerosmith albums, this one is definitely up there in my top five. Musicians including Slash from Guns ’n Roses and Nikki Sixx of Motley Crue both have stated publicly that this album was one of a number of albums that inspired their careers.