小简介
Aerosmith是七十年代最流行的硬摇滚乐队之一，在乐队成立后的将近30年中，他们浑浊的重型布鲁斯风格为重金属和硬摇滚建立了一种标准。他们当初使用的配器风格(钢琴、管弦乐和失真吉他)至今仍是摇滚抒情曲的经典套路。Aerosmith在抒情和摇滚两方面均十分出色的能力使他们在七十年代中期极度流行。
八十年代前期，毒品和酒使乐队发展陷于低潮。但在八十年代后期，乐队很快从逆境中走出，并创作出一系列比七十年代成功专辑毫不逊色(或者说超越七十年代)的优秀专辑，很快重回榜首，后乐队获得摇滚终身成就奖。作为音乐界的长青树，至今他们仍并活跃在演出、唱片和娱乐界的前沿。
1970年同在新罕布什尔的一家冰淇淋店打工的Steven Tyler(乐队主唱)与Joe Perry(乐队主音吉他手)决定成立一支强力型三人乐队，于是他们找来了贝司手Tom Hamilton，由Tyler兼任鼓手。乐队后来扩充为四人乐队，第二吉他手Ray Tabano加入，但他很快便被现在的节奏吉他手Brad Whitford取代，之后专职鼓手Joey Kramer的加入使Tyler成为专职主唱。在1970年Aerosmith离开了波士顿在麻省和纽约的俱乐部里演出了两年之后，乐队与哥伦比亚唱片公司签约，并于1973年推出同名处女专辑。专辑名列专辑榜第166名，单曲"Dream On"列单曲榜第59。次年，通过与the Kinks、Mahavishnu Orchestra、Sha Na Na、Mott the Hoople一起进行全国巡演，乐队建立了自己的乐迷队伍。随后的专辑《Get Your Wings》(1974)得益于乐队长期的巡回演出而在排行榜上停留了长达86个星期，这也是乐队长期制作人Jack Douglas制作的首张专辑。
Aerosmith的第3张唱片，1975的《Toys in the Attic》是乐队在商业和艺术上均形成突破的专辑。乐队也就是那时形成了自己的艺术特色：以布鲁斯为基础的简洁吉他Riff为内在驱动的硬摇滚之声。有趣的是，当时的许多评论家将乐队看作是一群朋克，也许是因为那时的Led Zeppelin的世界音乐和Black Sabbath深奥但冗长的神秘主义都脱离了重金属原始的核心吧。Steven Tyler的歌词充满了机智的幽默感，而且整个乐队也都有一种来自于平凡生活但却超凡的号召力，这使他们区别于同时代的一批滞重迟缓的成人硬摇滚乐队。《Toys in the Attic》抓住了乐队本质的魅力，单曲"Sweet Emotion"在1975年夏进入了Top 40，随后专辑也名列专辑榜第11名。成功促使他们再次发行了单曲"Dream On"，1976春，这首震撼人心的名曲打入了单曲榜的前十位，这把以前的专辑《Aerosmith》和《Get Your Wings》也一起带入了排行榜。1976年，来自《Toys in the Attic》中最后的单曲"Walk This Way"在新专辑《Rocks》发行前发行，这使得并无Top10单曲的《Rocks》在1977初也成了一张白金唱片。1977年的《Draw the Line》也是一张成功的唱片，但已经显现出创造枯竭的迹象。1978年，乐队出现在电影《佩帕军士孤独之心俱乐部乐队》中，翻唱了甲壳虫的"Come Together"，并拿下单曲榜的第23名。《Live! Bootleg》发行于1978年，列榜上第13。1979年的《Night in the Ruts》发行后，Joe Perry离开乐队成立了Joe Perry Project。《Night in the Ruts》表现得不错，名列第14并成为了一张金唱片。之后Brad Whitford也于1980年离开了乐队与Ted Nugent以前的吉他手Derek St. Holmes成立了Whitsford-St. Holmes Band。
乐队在1980年重组，新吉他手Jimmy Crespo和Rick Dufay加入，乐队发行了著名的精选《Greatest Hits》，最终获600万以上的销量。1982年乐队发行了以新阵容出战的新专辑《Rock in a Hard Place》，结果惨败。Perry和Whitford于是在1984年归队，并开始重组巡演"Back in the Saddle"，在巡演过程中，Tyler在舞台上精神崩溃，证明了乐队在与毒品和酒精的斗争中已失败。
此年，乐队发行了《Done with Mirrors》，尽管专辑表现依然很糟，但体现出乐队已开始逐步恢复。1986年，在Tyler与Perry这对难兄难弟双双完成康复治疗后，哥儿俩协助说唱专家Run D.M.C翻唱了"Walk This Way"，结果在MTV的大力播放下，这首歌竟获得了更大的成功，获单曲榜第4名。乐队趁热打铁全力复出，与制作人Bruce Fairburn合力推出《Permanent Vacation》(1987)，Tyler与Perry找来了专业的硬摇滚作曲家Holly Knight和Desmond Child参与创作，结果不仅单曲"Dude (Looks Like a Lady)"、"Rag Doll"、"Angel"都成为热门，《Permanent Vacation》也以专辑榜11的位置和300万的销量一举挽回颓势。
1989年的《Pump》更上一层楼，列第5，售出400万，一系列单曲"Love in an Elevator"、"Janie's Got a Gun"和"What It Takes"都成了Top10金曲。1993年乐队发行了《Get a Grip》，和《Permanent Vacation》与《Pump》一样，《Get a Grip》同样有制作人Bruce Fairburn和专业作曲家的协助，所以取得了同上两张专辑一样的成功，"Livin' on the Edge"、"Cryin'" 和"Amazing"都是难得的佳作。1994年，乐队发行了由Geffen时期热门单曲组成的精选《Big Ones》。
后来乐队又于1997年和1998年发行了《Nine Lives》和《A Little South of Sanity》。尽管在商业上总有潮起潮落，但Aerosmith始终在他们的行业中享有崇高的地位。他们所塑造的独特音乐形象跟上了时代的变化。
02年，Aerosmith发行了一张纪念专集，收录了自1973～2002年缔造的33首经典名曲。收录的曲目不仅横跨4个世代、3个厂牌，堪称其历年来在各厂牌旗下所发行的精选辑中，年代最为完整、为数最多、最为精彩的一张，更几乎好比是一部音乐编年史般，逐年地将Aerosmith的经典畅销名作排列收录，每首都是上上佳作，更是Aerosmith各个阶段的一时之选，其中还包括了"Girls Of Summer"、"Lay It Down"两首2002年全新作品！
Aerosmith was one of the most popular hard rock bands of the '70s, setting the style and sound of hard rock and heavy metal for the next two decades with their raunchy, bluesy swagger. The Boston-based quintet found the middle ground between the menace of the Rolling Stones and the campy, sleazy flamboyance of the New York Dolls, developing a lean, dirty riff-oriented boogie that was loose and swinging and as hard as a diamond.
In the meantime, they developed a prototype for power ballads with "Dream On," a piano ballad that was orchestrated with strings and distorted guitars. Aerosmith's ability to pull off both ballads and rock & roll made them extremely popular during the mid-'70s, when they had a string of gold and platinum albums. By the early '80s, the group's audience had declined as the band fell prey to drug and alcohol abuse. However, their career was far from over — in the late '80s, Aerosmith pulled off one of the most remarkable comebacks in rock history, returning to the top of the charts with a group of albums that equalled, if not surpassed, the popularity of their '70s albums.
In 1970, the first incarnation of Aerosmith formed when vocalist Steven Tyler met guitarist Joe Perry while working at a Sunapee, NH, ice cream parlor. Tyler, who originally was a drummer, and Perry decided to form a power trio with bassist Tom Hamilton. The group soon expanded to a quartet, adding a second guitarist called Ray Tabano; he was quickly replaced by Brad Whitford, a former member of Earth Inc. With the addition of drummer Joey Kramer, Tyler became the full-time lead singer by the end of year. Aerosmith relocated to Boston at the end of 1970.
After playing clubs in the Massachusetts and New York areas for two years, the group landed a record contract with Columbia Records in 1972. Aerosmith's self-titled debut album was released in the fall of 1973, climbing to number 166. "Dream On" was released as the first single and it was a minor hit, reaching number 59. For the next year, the band built a fan base by touring America, supporting groups as diverse as the Kinks, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sha Na Na, and Mott the Hoople. The performance of Get Your Wings (1974), the group's second album and the first produced by Jack Douglas, benefited from their constant touring, spending a total of 86 weeks on the chart.
Aerosmith's third record, 1975's Toys in the Attic, was their breakthrough album both commercially and artistically. By the time it was recorded, the band's sound had developed into a sleek, hard-driving hard rock powered by simple, almost brutal, blues-based riffs. Many critics at the time labeled the group as punk rockers, and it's easy to see why — instead of adhering to the world-music pretensions of Led Zeppelin or the prolonged gloomy mysticism of Black Sabbath, Aerosmith stripped heavy metal to its basic core, spitting out spare riffs that not only rocked, but rolled. Steven Tyler's lyrics were filled with double entendres and clever jokes, and the entire band had a streetwise charisma that separated them from the heavy, lumbering arena rockers of the era. Toys in the Attic captured the essence of the newly invigorated Aerosmith. "Sweet Emotion," the first single from Toys in the Attic, broke into the Top 40 in the summer of 1975, with the album reaching number 11 shortly afterward. Its success prompted the re-release of the power ballad "Dream On," which shot into the Top Ten in early 1976. Both Aerosmith and Get Your Wings climbed back up the charts in the wake of Toys in the Attic. "Walk This Way," the final single from Toys in the Attic, was released around the time of the group's new 1976 album, Rocks. Although it didn't feature a Top Ten hit like "Walk This Way," Rocks went platinum quickly, peaking at number three.
In early 1977, Aerosmith took a break and prepared material for their fifth album. Released late in 1977, Draw the Line was another hit, climbing to number 11 on the U.S. charts, but it showed signs of exhaustion. In addition to another tour in 1978, the band appeared in the movie Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, performing "Come Together," which eventually became a number 23 hit. Live! Bootleg appeared late in 1978 and became another success, reaching number 13. Aerosmith recorded Night in the Ruts in 1979, releasing the record at the end of the year. By the time of its release, Joe Perry had left the band to form the Joe Perry Project. Night in the Ruts performed respectably, climbing to number 14 and going gold, yet it was the least successful Aerosmith record to date. Brad Whitford left the group in early 1980, forming the Whitsford-St. Holmes Band with former Ted Nugent guitarist Derek St. Holmes.
As Aerosmith regrouped with new guitarists Jimmy Crespo and Rick Dufay, the band released Aerosmith's Greatest Hits in late 1980; the record would eventually sell over six million copies. The new lineup of Aerosmith released Rock in a Hard Place in 1982. Peaking at number 32, it failed to match the performance of Night in the Ruts. Perry and Whitford returned to the band in 1984 and the group began a reunion tour dubbed Back in the Saddle. Early in the tour, Tyler collapsed on-stage, offering proof that the band hadn't conquered their notorious drug and alcohol addictions. The following year, Aerosmith released Done with Mirrors, the original lineup's first record since 1979 and their first for Geffen Records. Although it didn't perform as well as Rock in a Hard Place, the album showed that the band was revitalized.
After the release of Done with Mirrors, Tyler and Perry completed rehabilitation programs. In 1986, the pair appeared on Run-D.M.C.'s cover of "Walk This Way," along with appearing in the video. "Walk This Way" became a hit, reaching number four and receiving saturation airplay on MTV. "Walk This Way" set the stage for the band's full-scale comeback effort, the Bruce Fairbairn-produced Permanent Vacation (1987). Tyler and Perry collaborated with professional hard rock songwriters like Holly Knight and Desmond Child, resulting in the hits "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)," "Rag Doll," and "Angel." Permanent Vacation peaked at number 11 and sold over three million copies.
Pump, released in 1989, continued the band's winning streak, reaching number five, selling over four million copies, and spawning the Top Ten singles "Love in an Elevator," "Janie's Got a Gun," and "What It Takes." Aerosmith released Get a Grip in 1993. Like Permanent Vacation and Pump, Get a Grip was produced by Bruce Fairbairn and featured significant contributions by professional songwriters. The album was as successful as the band's previous two records, featuring the hit singles "Livin' on the Edge," "Cryin'," and "Amazing." In 1994, Aerosmith released Big Ones, a compilation of hits from their Geffen years that fulfilled their contract with the label; it went double platinum shortly after its release.
While Aerosmith was at the height of their revitalized popularity in the early '90s, the group signed a lucrative multi-million dollar contract with Columbia Records, even though they still owed Geffen two albums. It wasn't until 1995 that the band was able to begin working on their first record under the new contract — nearly five years after the contract was signed. The making of Aerosmith albums usually had been difficult affairs, but the recording of Nine Lives was plagued with bad luck. The band went through a number of producers and songwriters before settling on Kevin Shirley in 1996. More damaging, however, was the dismissal of the band's manager, Tim Collins, who'd been responsible for bringing the band back from the brink of addiction. Upon his firing, Collins insinuated that Steven Tyler was using hard drugs again, an allegation that Aerosmith adamantly denied.
Under such circumstances, recording became quite difficult, and when Nine Lives finally appeared in the spring of 1997, it was greeted with great anticipation, yet the initial reviews were mixed and even though album debuted at number one, it quickly fell down the charts. The live A Little South of Sanity followed in 1998. Three years later, Aerosmith strutted their stuff on the Super Bowl halftime special on CBS with the likes of Mary J. Blige, Nelly, *N Sync, and Britney Spears, just prior to issuing their heart-stomping Just Push Play in March 2001. Next up for the band was a blues album, Honkin' on Bobo, released in 2004, along with two live album/DVDs, You Gotta Move and Rockin' the Joint. Another greatest-hits collection, Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith arrived in 2006.
