Madness To Creation’s A-Z Throwback Reviews: Featuring “Toys In The Attic” by Aerosmith

If a band needed to break out in their third album, this was certainly it.  This is what happens when a band tours tirelessly, not only you play in front of an audience, but you get to hone your craft, which allows you to ultimately evolve as musicians.  This was certainly the case for the five boys from Boston, Aerosmith.  In 1975, Aerosmith released one of their iconic albums entitled “Toys In The Attic”.

In this, we find Aerosmith to be a more polished band, sounding more like seasoned veterans instead of rookies cutting their teeth behind the plate.  We start hearing the more succinct no-frills rock that Aerosmith has trademarked, in particular with the classics such as “Walk This Way”, “Toys In The Attic”, and their ultimate concert anthem “Sweet Emotion”.  “Walk This Way” and “Sweet Emotion” would both become Top 40 hits in the Billboard Hot 100 and the album would sell over eight million copies in the United States alone.

We all know the memorable riffs and licks that Joe Perry and Brad Whitford offer in the aforementioned singles, however, there were a couple of standout moments in the album, in particular the insane guitar solo and outro possessed by Joe Perry in the track “No More No More”.  “Round And Round” definitely has a Led Zeppelin, stoner vibe to the song, you almost get a sense of some early grunge before grunge rock was even a thing.  It showcases that there were moments that Aerosmith were ahead of their time.

Overall, this has been exciting in terms of hearing the progression and evolution of a band such as Aerosmith.  Part of my mission was to go beyond “the hits” and unpack a band such as Aerosmith to really learn and hopefully gain a better understanding about them.  Honestly, I can go the rest of my life without hearing “Walk This Way”, “Sweet Emotion” will always be a great song in my eyes, but I am liking this grungy, stoner Aerosmith vibe that is going on in the non-hits in “Toys In The Attic”.  Madness To Creation rates this album a 7 out of 10 stars.  Here is the track listing.

1.  Toys In The Attic
2.  Uncle Salty
3.  Adam’s Apple
4.  Walk This Way
5.  Big Ten Inch Record(cover originally done by Bullmoose Jackson)
6.  Sweet Emotion
7.  No More No More
8.  Round And Round
9.  You See Me Crying

“No More No More” by Aerosmith