For Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler, country music is the new rock n’roll. And it seems an easy transition from one kind of heavy beat to another, with simple melodies, alongside rich textures and honeyed harmonies in this new vista.
Tyler brings his own unique flava into the Nashville-infused mix, with album opener “My Own Worst Enemy” introducing us to a deliberate accordion backdrop but with some decent riffing and a screeching hot guitar solo at the end of the song.
"We're All Somebody From Somewhere" is set to be a summer hit. It’s a great time to be preaching unity for “Some big, some little, Some left, some in the middle, Some white, yellow, black or red” so brightly to a solid kick drum base. The scene, from “Hollywood to New Orleans” set to the hazy flow of “red wine and whisky” details personal revelations, such as how much Tyler loves cornbread, with heartwarmingly familiar scratchy refrains and scatting. Equally "I Make My Own Sunshine" is a playful, lolloping song that would bring sunshine on even the rainiest of days, and have you strutting down the high street singing along to lyrics like “everything is wonderful, everything is great” and the “free as a bird” mantra that winds up to a hand clapping chorus.
The gritty vocals we know so well are prevalent in "Hold On (Won’t Let Go)" and "It Ain’t Easy" might be the most Aerosmith-sounding song on the album (alongside “Only Heaven” and "What Am I Doin' Right?" which are slower and more ballady with Tyler’s signature rough edge on the long notes and spine-tingling drawn out harmonies). "Love Is Your Name" entertains more of the rushing, strummy, country guitar pace and it's joined in genre by "Gypsy Girl", banjo-friendly "Sweet Louisiana", "Somebody New" and the twanging "The Good, the Bad, the Ugly & Me".
The only song that doesn’t resonate is "Red, White & You" - perhaps because I’m not patriotic enough to fully appreciate this high-handed romp through USA commercial music - but the lyrics of “Tom Petty on the radio, And we're singing 'bout American girls like you, When I look in your eyes, all I want to do is, Bang bang, baby, like the 4th of July” seem plain old creepy, especially when followed up by “We spinning on a roller coaster, Free falling into your yum yum”.
The last two tracks are re-versions of old tunes. "Janie's Got a Gun" is ominous and menacing, shedding light on an alternative, much darker social issue, alongside love and unity which are the prevalent themes of this album. It's followed by an upbeat rendition of the popular classic "Piece of My Heart", with The Loving Mary Band.
Even though country in tone, We're All Somebody From Somewhere isn't a great departure from the grainy vocals, soaring melodies and guitar that gets you right in the gut that we're used to from Tyler. Whatever the flavour, this is real music telling real stories that sweep you up and takes you along on a travelling journey from New York to Louisiana, from heart break to wonder at falling in love.
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