Get Your Wings
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Album Summary
Hot off the heels of their raw debut, Aerosmith went back into the studio in late 1973 and early 1974 to cut their sophomore record, and brother, they came back swinging. Recorded at Intermedia Sound Studios in Boston and produced by Jack Douglas alongside the band, 'Get Your Wings' dropped on Columbia Records in March of 1974. Douglas was the secret weapon here — he had the ears to capture that dangerous, loose-limbed energy these Boston boys were cooking up, and he let the tape roll while they found their groove. The album was a tighter, meaner, bluesier statement than their first record, and it laid the foundation for everything that was about to explode.
Reception
- On initial release, the album didn't set the charts on fire — it was more of a slow burn, the kind of record that found its audience one FM radio station at a time rather than through a big hit single.
- Critics of the era were still figuring out what to make of Aerosmith, often dismissing them as a Rolling Stones knock-off, but the FM rock audience heard something rawer and more American happening in those grooves.
- Over time, as Aerosmith's star rose through the mid-70s, 'Get Your Wings' gained serious retrospective respect as a crucial early document of the band hitting their stride.
Significance
- This album was a defining early chapter in the hard rock and blues-rock sound that would come to dominate American FM radio through the mid-to-late 1970s — Aerosmith was staking out their territory right here.
- Tracks like 'Same Old Song And Dance' and 'Seasons Of Wither' showed the band could do both scorching rock and tender, atmospheric balladry, proving they weren't a one-trick pony and had real songwriting depth.
- The inclusion of 'Train Kept A Rollin'' — a full-throttle reinvention of that classic — was a bold declaration of the band's blues roots, connecting the hard rock generation of the 70s to the electric blues and early rock and roll lineage that birthed it all.
Samples
- "Same Old Song And Dance" — the horn-driven groove and rhythmic foundation of this track have made it a touchstone that hip-hop and rock producers have revisited over the years for its tight, punchy feel.
Tracklist
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A1 Same Old Song And Dance 136
3:53
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A2 Lord Of The Thighs 105
4:15
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A3 Spaced 126
4:21
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A4 Woman Of The World 177
5:51
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B1 S.O.S. (Too Bad) 148
2:50
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B2 Train Kept A Rollin' 99
6:05
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B3 Seasons Of Wither 100
5:07
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B4 Pandora's Box 114
5:42
Artist Details
Aerosmith formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1970, built around the explosive creative partnership of vocalist Steven Tyler and guitarist Joe Perry, with Brad Whitford on second guitar, Tom Hamilton on bass, and Joey Kramer on drums. They forged a sound that married the swagger of the Rolling Stones with the gut-punch heaviness of hard rock and the smoldering soul of the American blues — a combination that made them one of the most electrifying live and studio acts to ever come out of New England. From the mid-'70s through their massive commercial resurgence in the late '80s and beyond, Aerosmith stood as one of the defining bands of American rock and roll, influencing virtually every hard rock and heavy metal artist who came after them.
