Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, also known as the Toxic Twins,
have survived the rise and fall and rise again of Aerosmith. They're one of the
few bands that can boast they've been around 40+ years and still have all their
original members and still play incredibly well. During those years, there's
been countless stories and rumors surrounding the band. Now we're starting to
get some insight of what really happened.
In 2011, Steven Tyler released his autobiography, Does the Noise in my Head Bother You? A Rock
'n' Roll Memoir. Late last year, Joe Perry released his own, Rocks: My Life In and Out of Aerosmith. Each
gives his take of their history and infamous stories.
Both talk about the drugs, the sex, the fights, the success
and everything in between. With Steven Tyler, you can hear his excitement,
enthusiasm, frustration and every emotion he felt through his stories. Joe
Perry, on the other hand, really lets us in to what was going through his mind.
He also gives a great look at why he left Aerosmith in early 80's and how he kept
the Joe Perry Project going until his eventual return to the band.
The biggest critique I've got about both books is that the music is glossed over. Both talk about their early influences and
what led to forming Aerosmith. But then, they just touch on the recording of the
records. They seem to be included more as a
timeframe reference or a lead-in to another conflict. I get that there's a
lot to get to (60+ years in about 400 pages), but unfortunately, some of it
falls a little flat due to the lack of depth in this area.
In reading both points of view, here are the couple of
conclusions that I'm left with. First and foremost, if it wasn't clear before,
it definitely is now. Joe Perry is the "rock" in Aerosmith. Steven
Tyler is pushing for the pop hits. Perry said a couple of times (paraphrasing)
that when you try to write hits, the heart and soul get lost. He wants to write
the music he knows and loves (blues and rock) and the hits will come because
the songs are authentic.
Second, when it comes to the band members' relationships
with each other, and especially with Steven Tyler, there's a lot of damage. The
sad part is that the majority of it was likely caused by management and their
representation. There was a lot of "Steven said this..." and
"Joe said that..." coming from their managers and most of it was done
to manipulate the other members. When Steven was in the hospital after falling
off the stage in 2009, he was mad because none of the band member contacted
him. Meanwhile, Perry and the rest of the band were told by Tyler 's management that he didn't want to
hear or see them. Who's right? They probably both are and neither know what was
really said and to whom.
That's not to say any of them are completely innocent. Perry
all out says he no longer trusts Tyler
(and told him as much). There were a lot of reasons that led to that, but the
biggest reasons were Tyler
auditioning for Led Zeppelin and then accepting the American Idol gig without
telling the band about either. Tyler 's
book ends as he's accepting the American Idol job. Perry's book goes a bit
beyond and includes his reaction to hearing the announcement through a press
release.
Overall, who rocked their book better? It really is
interesting to read both and get their viewpoints...especially when they differ.
If you were to just read one though, I'd go with Joe Perry. The biggest reason is that after reading Rocks, I was rooting for Perry to take
control of Aerosmith and get them to make at least one more CD that truly
rocks. Meanwhile, after reading Tyler 's
book, I really came away liking him a
bit less...and I've always been one of his biggest fans.
If you're a huge Aerosmith fan like me, a couple of other
books worth checking out are Walk This
Way by Stephen Davis and Aerosmith and Hit
Hard: A Story of Hitting Rock bottom at the Top by Joey Kramer.
Are you an Aerosmith fan? Have you read either or both
books? Which do you like better? Thanks for reading. If you like this post,
please share it.
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