A famed music producer is pulling back the curtain on why a rock band replaced its guitarist on a classic album.
Aerosmith used outside guitarists on its 1974 sophomore release, “Get Your Wings,” producer Jack Douglas confirmed in a new interview. Douglas said Joe Perry was clearly talented, but he didn’t have the right skills yet.
“It’s Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter” playing guitar on songs like “Train Kept a Rollin’” and “Same Old Song and Dance,” Douglas told the Magnificent Others with Billy Corgan podcast. “Which was a hard sell.”
“Joe was a guy who played from the gut. All feel, and at that time, very little technique, but the greatest feel ever,” Douglas said. “And dangerous. Really, because he didn’t care what key he went into, and sometimes that was great.”
Douglas told Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan that it was Douglas’ idea to bring in session guitarists with more “discipline.”
“When I approached Steven [Tyler] about it first, he was like, ‘Absolutely, I totally get it. You know, I totally get it. You sell it, but I get it,’” the producer recalled. “Joe took it really badly.”
“It was hard for Joe, but it was only a couple of tunes: ‘Same Old Song and Dance’ and ‘Train Kept a Rollin.’”
“Get Your Wings” ultimately ended up being a success, selling more than 3 million copies. It built on the success of Aerosmith’s self-titled 1973 debut, featuring “Dream On,” and led to breakout hits like “Sweet Emotion” and “Walk This Way” from 1975’s “Toys in the Attic.”
Douglas, who also worked with John Lennon and Cheap Trick, returned to work with Aerosmith on “Toys in the Attic” and other Aerosmith albums, including the acclaimed 1976 release “Rocks.”
“In the end, it worked out, because they learned those solos and went out on the road for a year. And came back when we did ‘Toys,’” said Douglas. “They were like a different… Completely different musicians.”
Aerosmith became one of the best-selling rock bands of all time, with additional hits like “Crazy,” “Dude (Looks Like a Lady),” “Janie’s Got a Gun,” “Love in an Elevator,” “Cryin’” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001, won multiple Grammy Awards, and the “Toxic Twins” Tyler and Perry were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2013.
The band abruptly retired last year and canceled a farewell tour due to Tyler’s vocal injury. However, Tyler, Perry and bassist Tom Hamilton reunited in February for Tyler’s Jam For Janie Grammy Awards Viewing Party, a charity event in Los Angeles, and Tyler performed with Perry at the recent MTV Video Music Awards to pay tribute to the late Ozzy Osbourne.
Aerosmith also released “One More Time,” a new five-song EP made in collaboration with Yungblud, last month. It was the Aerosmith’s first new music in 13 years and reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, making them just the fifth act in music history to reach the top 10 in six different decades.