Steven Tyler Goes Convincingly Country in Hollywood
(photo: Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
On July 4, 1986, Aerosmith and Run-D.M.C. released their rap-rock collaboration “Walk This Way” – forever altering the course of popular music, but no doubt freaking out more than a few stodgy rock purists in the process. Exactly 30 years and one day later, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler brought his “Out on a Limb” country solo tour to Hollywood, and while it remains to be seen if his latest genre experimentation will be as successful, it definitely was not as jarring.
Onstage at the relatively intimate, 3,400-capacity Dolby Theatre Tuesday, Tyler, now signed as a solo act to Big Machine (label home to Taylor Swift and American Idol soulman-turned-country singer Trent Harmon, two artists known for their genre-hopping) segued seamlessly between the twangy material from his forthcoming country debut, We’re All Somebody From Somewhere, and, well, twangy classics like “Cryin’” and Aerosmith’s famous cover of Tiny Bradshaw’s “Train Kept a Rollin’.” All the while, he was enthusiastically backed by Loving Mary, a seven-piece, bluegrass-inflected combo featuring harmonica, banjo, pedal steel, bongos, and fiddle, and led by longtime Aerosmith collaborator Marti Frederiksen. Yes, Tyler’s “brother” Joe Perry was dearly missed… but maybe not as much as fans might have expected.
And while Tyler was still a total rock star – whippet-thin in tight white jeans; trailing glittery gypsy scarves and charisma; engaging in hilarious, Paul Stanley-level stage banter between songs – he seemed thrilled, and very comfortable, with his new country-rock direction. (Think the Black Crowes, Cinderella, Tom Petty, or even a bit of Robert Plant/Alison Krauss – as opposed to the bland lite-country Bon Jovi toyed with a few years ago, or the bro-country of Kid Rock.) “Going to Nashville was like following the star of Bethlehem for me,” an energized Tyler told the Dolby crowd, beaming.
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Tyler’s new country tunes – “Love is Your Name,” the sweet and upbeat “I Make My Own Sunshine,” the belatedly patriotic July 5th singalong “Red, White & You,” his solo album’s skronky title track – naturally did not go over quite as well as beloved perennial favorites like show-opener “Sweet Emotion,” surprise encore “Livin’ on the Edge,” or a moody, stripped-down version of the still very topical and relevant “Janie’s Got a Gun.” But when Tyler rasped “My Own Worst Enemy,” it seemed like a countrified answer to 1973’s “Dream On” – still exploring the subjects of aging, loss, and regret, and still impactful, four decades into Tyler’s wide-ranging career.
However, the best moments of Tyler’s Dolby show felt like freeform rock ‘n’ roll jam sessions, not country jamborees – like his wailing renditions of Janis Joplin’s/Emma Franklin’s “Piece of My Heart” and Fleetwood Mac’s “Rattlesnake Shake,” or a triple dose of Beatlemania with “I’m Down,” “Oh! Darling,” and “Come Together.” Tyler actually bungled the words to the latter song. But considering that Aerosmith’s raucous recording of the Fab Four’s Abbey Road track was the one saving grace of 1978’s not-so-fab Sgt. Pepper movie – and because Tyler was just so damn charming – his lyrical blunder was easy to forgive.
Tyler is a survivor. He survived the pre-comeback, early-‘80s commercial stagnation of Aerosmith, more than one public feud with his band, a serious stage fall, and two backlash-inducing seasons of American Idol judging. Hell, he even survived that Sgt. Pepper box office bomb. And now, with rock music sadly in decline, he’s still surviving – and he may even thrive as a country artist. Suffice to say, if the Tyler-perpetuated, Perry-refuted claims that Aerosmith will retire from touring after 2017 are true, Tyler still has a career ahead of him.
