Toys in the Attic by Aerosmith (1975)

This album begins with the shimmer I associate with cymbals recorded backwards, then bursts into the sort of tough guitar riff that dominates the rest of the production. It’s a great introduction.

When I moved to college in 1979 my mom gave me my first true stereo system. When I set it up in my dorm room I grabbed the first album handy to christen the new stereo, and that was Toys in the Attic. Ever since, I’ve associated that shimmer with settling into a new place.

“Walk This Way” burst out of top-40 radio in 1975. It was very different from anything else at the time. Rock critics know that Aerosmith was an obvious tribute to the early-70s Rolling Stones, but that doesn’t mean that Aerosmith didn’t sound fresh in their time. In the mid-70s it wasn’t always clear where the Stones were headed, but if you liked Exile on Main Street, Aerosmith offered a version of that sound that was less world-weary (Aerosmith would get weary later) even if that meant that Aerosmith was less multi-dimensional.

My favorite song on this album, and of all Aerosmith songs, is “Sweet Emotion.” I love the rumbling bass that defines it, and the way the guitar riff punctuates the verses. The band performed this on Saturday Night Live about twenty years after this album appeared and I was a very happy thirty-something.

At some point in the 1970s some producer decided that all rock albums should end with a power ballad. This album ends with “You See Me Crying.” It’s not a particularly good song on its own, but as the last song on this album I love it. It’s the quintessential last song on a 1970s rock album.