Aerosmith
Rocks

THE REVIEW

LIKE RATS IN THE CELLAR

After the last lesson at 'Bancroft Junior High School', Saul had a sweet, naïve adrenaline rush. For a young boy with an African-American mother (a well-known stylist for many rock/pop celebrities) and an English father of Jewish origins, the musical designer Tony Hudson, leaving the gray of Stoke-on-Trent in the UK, where he was born, to be catapulted into the multicolored, sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles was quite the leap. A triple somersault, but little Saul had already known for a few years what it meant to feel the frantic and pestering breath of the music business around him, especially due to the work of his parents, Ola and Tony.

Everything in his curiosity-hungry eyes seemed new and different, California had the shape of a huge ice cream with amazing flavors never tasted before; and the sincere friendship with Steven perfectly integrated into Saul's new American life. But that day had a different flavor than usual, despite the constant heat and humidity of L.A. were the same as the months preceding May and the summer season. 'Strange, exciting..' the most frequent thought for the teenager in those few hours that separated him from his first date with Darlene: a sensual girl, sunny like a Saturday morning at Venice Beach; now at the end of her course at Bancroft and more mature than the inexperienced and 'unripe' Saul. A t-shirt with a 1930s Mickey Mouse, the keys to the coveted Jeep, and the East Side eagerly awaited him. Little traffic at 7:00 p.m. along Downtown, a few kilometers and the white villa of an unexpected dream just steps away. 'Ok, behave and don't screw up', a mantra tormented Saul's mind at the sound of the doorbell. 'Hi, I was expecting you in half an hour but it's better this way: we're alone at home, go to the living room while I prepare something.' The boy, excited, could only stammer 'Okay, take your time!'.

The black leather sofa welcomed Saul's shyness with care, whose attention in those endless minutes was captured by the hi-fi and the stack of vinyl records beside it. 'Play whatever you want, no problem', and it seemed exactly the cue Saul wanted from Darlene at that moment. 'I saw, thank you' he replied breathlessly and began to browse through the girl's collection one by one: 'Exile on Main St.', 'Presence' and the debut of the New York Dolls quickly passed before him, sparking his imagination.

However, one album particularly piqued his interest. Black cover, and five solid 'diamonds' with the title 'Aerosmith-Rocks'. The needle of the turntable began to transmit unfamiliar, clear, primitive sensations. 'Back in the saddle' with its wall of boogie r'n'r guitars by Perry/Whitford and sizzling vox by Steven Tyler filled the room.. It was an innocent heart-stopping moment, the instant that carved a before and after in Saul. 'Rocks', indeed. The five from Boston conquered the US charts and gained success with the general public in 1975, with the classic 'Toys in the Attic', a work that contributed to their status as a flag-bearing 'hard/rock' band in the States. The blues of the fathers, Robert Johnson shaking hands with sulfur-scented characters of contemporary Rock (Joe Perry's heroes: Keith Richards and Jimmy Page) at the corner of that devious crossroads; a continuous, lustful and 'toxic' orgy with hard/blues electricity and 50s rock & roll postcards. The rocks keep rolling with the bluesy stride of the sly 'Last child' (preceded by the near-twin 'Fame' by the Bowie/Lennon duo a few months earlier..) and embellished by Joe's circular 'solo', then 'Rats in the cellar' unleashes a supersonic dance between Chuck Berry and punk beginning to pound on the old gate. 'Combination' is gritty, granite-like, and 'combines' Zeppelin power with a wild Stones flair, fueled by a rhythm section sharp as a hammer - Tom Hamilton on bass and Joey Kramer on drums. A chain of 'jingle' guitars opens the speeding train of 'Sick as a dog', 'Nobody's fault' (with its clear allusions and 'Presence' à la Zeppelin, in that very 1976..) is a sonic barrage with all the hallmarks of the coming heavy, a German bone-crushing tank and 'Get the lead out' the future Aerosmith copyright; the 'winged' mold used in the following decades for dozens of aerodynamic rock tracks.

Under the aegis of Columbia Records, produced by Jack Douglas and with the 'Toxic Twins' Tyler & Perry teetering on the brink from the studio sessions; an unhealthy and 'toxic' atmosphere, marked by rivers of drugs and alcohol. The street-hardened sound, compact with urban malaise: 'sick dogs' in the seedy backlot of a night club on the fringes of the city. This is Aerosmith in 'Rocks'. Saul still had that afternoon adrenaline on his skin, but it wasn't Darlene's inviting look and thighs as she boredly sipped her Bud with ice, lying astride the sofa. No, it wasn't her curvaceous form that attracted and thrilled him. He wanted to listen once more, and then again, to the seal of those rocks that had overwhelmed him: 'Home tonight'. An electric and poisoned ballad, the sob of Perry's guitar you wished would never end, well beyond the 3'13'' that nailed Saul Hudson; and a new world unfolded on the horizon. Darlene didn't take it so well, that evening..

The boy said goodbye euphorically, left, and said nothing more. There was a poisonous air in the room, after listening to that vinyl. Something toxic.