Album Title: Get Your Wings
Artist: Aerosmith
Year: 1974
Running Time: 38m 6s

Track listing: 1 Same Old Song and Dance; 2 Lord of the Thighs; 3 Spaced; 4 Woman of the World; 5 S.O.S. (Too Bad); 6 Train Kept A Rollin’; 7 Seasons of Wither; 8 Pandora’s Box

Following on from the debut album was never going to be an easy task for Aerosmith but they have done a fairly admirable job here. The appetite and endeavour is still very evident but the naievty has been replaced by a genuine maturity in performance and song writing.

The highlights are wide ranging. ‘Seasons of Wither’ is an outstanding ballad; the applause of a live crowd gradually dies out giving way to the sound of the wind patrolling a desolate landscape. Once the scene is set in your mind, a lone guitar guides you to a troubled Steven Tyler who curses the loss of a love and the feeling of lonliness and isolation. They talk about ‘Stairway to Heaven’ but ‘Seasons of Wither is truly is one of the greatest songs ever written in my opinion.

For those about to rock, don’t feel left out. ‘Train Kept A Rollin’, a cover of a 50s rocker later covered by The Yardbirds in the 60s, is performed immaculately with an expertise that has eluded many great rock n roll superstars. ‘Lord of the Thighs’ is a tongue-in-cheek look at the seedier side of big city America. The performance really excels on this track with drums, bass, lead and rhythm guitar and piano integrating seamlessly behind Tyler’s sinister growl.

‘Same Old Song and Dance’ should float your boat too with its foot-tapping, sax-tinged rhythm, ‘SOS (Too Bad)’ is a pissed-off, battered and bruised rocker that is strangely tuneful and ‘Spaced’ will have your imagination working overtime with its tale of a lone survivor on post-apocalyptic Earth. There is something missing but in the main it is entertaining.

‘Woman of the World’ sounds a little bit dated but is pleasant enough in parts and ‘Pandoras Box’ is notable for being drummer, Joey Kramers, first writing credit. A decent sex-inspired boogie; ‘slitty licker’, ‘well-endowned’, ‘sweet Pandora, open up your doors for me’. Indeed.

There is nothing particularly poor here by any means and Aerosmith have penned an album that is hard to criticize too much. ‘Woman of the World’ drags a little too much and there is something moderately ordinary about ‘Pandora’s Box’ and ‘Spaced’ but essentially it is worth getting for ‘Seasons of Wither’.