Get Your Wings

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Lore & Background

After releasing their debut in January 1973 to what guitarist Joe Perry described as "no nothing at all," the group toured extensively before taking a break in December 1973 to record. They moved into an apartment in Brookline, rehearsing in a dungeon-like basement of a store called Drummer's Image on Newbury Street, and later a restaurant backroom in Boston's North End. The sessions were intense; Perry recalled writing the riff for "Same Old Song and Dance" one night in their Beacon Street apartment while Steven Tyler sang along. Some tracks like "Train Kept A-Rollin'," "S.O.S. (Too Bad)," and "Pandora's Box" had been part of their live set since September 1973 or earlier, but the band also had to write on the clock for this record. "Lord of the Thighs" was the final song written, created after they locked themselves in Studio C at the Record Plant to find an additional track based on the unsavory characters near their hotel on Eighth Avenue. Tyler noted the lyrics came from that seedy area, describing a pimp and the street wildlife.

In Their Own Story

The atmosphere during the recording of Get Your Wings was defined by collaboration and specific moments of inspiration in Studio C. Jack Douglas served as producer with Jay Messina engineering, having been recommended by Bob Ezrin after successfully working with the New York Dolls. The band utilized pre-production to turn "germs of ideas" into full songs; Perry brought riffs while Tyler acted as a "ringmaster," barking and jumping around. "Spaced" was written in the studio with significant input from Douglas, while "Seasons of Wither" originated from a warped acoustic guitar Joey Kramer found in the garbage on Beacon Street. Tyler wrote the lyrics for that track in the basement after taking Tuinals and Seconals, listening to the wind near an old chicken farm where he lived. The clarinet intro on "Pandora's Box" was played by a union engineer performing "I'm in the Mood for Love." Perry's band had performed "Train Kept A-Rollin'" since seeing the Yardbirds with Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page in 1966, recalling how Page "knocked my tits off" when he took over lead guitar.

Reader's Guide

Listeners should note that Get Your Wings was the first Aerosmith album to feature a mix of rehearsed concert staples and songs written specifically during the sessions. The tracklist includes "Train Kept A-Rollin'," which had been a show closer since their first gig in 1970, and "Lord of the Thighs," a pun on Lord of the Flies that critics reportedly hated for its literary reference. Tyler plays piano on this track, with an opening beat similar to Kramer's later work on "Walk This Way." "Seasons of Wither" remains a standout ballad that Perry cited as his favorite among Aerosmith's ballads. Although three singles were released from the album, none charted. The record was engineered by Jay Messina and produced by Jack Douglas at the Record Plant in New York City. It stands as their first triple platinum certification and their first quadraphonic release, capturing a transition where the band moved beyond "sophomore blues" to write fresh material under pressure.

Did You Know?

• The song 'Lord of the Thighs' was written in Studio C at the Record Plant after the band locked themselves inside to find one last track for the album.
• Steven Tyler wrote the music for 'Seasons of Wither' on a warped acoustic guitar with only four strings that Joey Kramer had found in the garbage.
• The clarinet heard at the start of 'Pandora's Box' was played by a session musician, though the exact player is not definitively documented; the story about a union engineer performing 'I'm in the Mood for Love' is apocr
• Joe Perry saw Jimmy Page play 'Train Kept A-Rollin'' with the Yardbirds in Westport, Connecticut, on October 22, 1966.