#18
Sedona Sunrise
6.2


Sedona Sunrise is a previously unreleased track that was including in Devil's Got A New Disguise. The song is a very laidback, somewhat romantic country rock tune.

#17
Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees)
6.83

Steven Tyler got the inspiration for the title for Falling In Love (Is Hard On The Knees), from a bumper sticker he saw a few years previously. The song was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and record producer/writer Glen Ballard. Glen Ballard had originally been the producer and a songwriting collaborator for the Nine Lives album, but was replaced by Kevin Shirley halfway through the recording process of Nine Lives.

Falling in Love was released as the first major single from Nine Lives in 1997. The song is primarily a rocking number, yet has many overdubs and other instruments to maintain a pop sound and appeal to mainstream audiences, including synthesizer-produced horns.

The song was a popular radio hit around the world, reaching #35 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart (where it remained for five weeks), #22 on the UK singles chart, #46 in Australia, and #2 in Latvia.

#16
The Other Side
7.5

The Other Side was written by Steven Tyler and Jim Vallance. It was released in 1990 as the fourth single from the band's highly successful 1989 album Pump.

Peaking at #22 on the Billboard Hot 100, the song marked a first for Aerosmith, as it became the fourth song from a single album of theirs to chart in the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100. Only Get a Grip has equaled this feat.
Additionally, the song reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, the third single from Pump to do so.

On the album, a 0:49 second instrumental called "Dulcimer Stomp" acts as an interlude before the song begins. This is often cut out on radio, but not always.
The song features a notable horn section, as well as a memorable chorus line repeated several times throughout the song ("Lovin' you has got to be like the devil in the deep blue sea" and the background refrain of "Take me to the other side"). A very bluesy guitar and piano solo also highlights the middle of the song.

#15
Sweet Emotion
7.5

Sweet Emotion was released in 1975 as the first single from the band's breakthrough smash Toys in the Attic. The song began a string of pop hits and large-scale mainstream success for the band that would continue for the remainder of the 1970s. The song was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and bassist Tom Hamilton.

When Sweet Emotion was released as a single in 1975, it peaked at #36 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's breakthrough single and the first Top 40 hit for the band. The day it hit #36 on the U.S. chart, July 19, 1975, Aerosmith was booked at a gig in New York City's Central Park, called the Schaefer Music Festival. The song was so successful that the band decided to ride the heels of success and re-release their first single, "Dream On", which had originally charted at #59 in 1973. The re-released version went on to hit #6, the highest chart performance in the 1970s for the band.

Many Aerosmith fans believe that Steven Tyler wrote all of the lyrics to the song about the tension and hatred between the band members and Joe Perry's wife. While this is partially true, Steven Tyler himself has said that only some of the lyrics were inspired by Perry's wife. It was stated in Aerosmith's tell-all autobiography Walk This Way and in an episode of Behind the Music that growing feuds between the band members' wives (including an incident involving "spilt milk") may have helped lead to the band's original lineup dissolving in the early 1980s.
In the film Be Cool, John Travolta determined that Steven Tyler wrote "Sweet Emotion" because the emotion he felt as being a father for the first time. This interpretation cannot be true because Tyler's first born, Liv Tyler, was born in 1977; 2 years after the song was written.

The video for the re-released version is said to be based on a phone sex conversation. In the video, it shows a young man under his covers with a magazine which is advertising a phone sex line. The boy and girl talk about each other for a bit, until it goes into a shot of the band performing in someone's basement (This portion of the video was actually recorded in the band's old apartment on 1325 Commonwealth Ave. in Boston) It switches in between Aerosmith performing Sweet Emotion and the phone conversation. At the very end, it is revealed that the sexy woman the young man is talking with is not what he sees her as in his mind. She is shown to be an overweight older woman with a baby living in a poor house.

The beginning of the song is a repeating bass riff by Tom Hamilton that continues throughout the rest of the song. There is also usage of a talk-box in the beginning by Joe Perry, which has become one of the more popular and famous uses of the guitar talk box in popular music (Joe Perry can be heard saying the title). Eventually Steven Tyler joins in, saying "Sweet Emotion" slowly, in sync with the talk-box, or vocoder. After that, the song kicks into a more rocking number with dueling guitars, and rapid-fire angry-sounding lyrics by Steven Tyler. The chorus in the song consists of a repeating guitar riff followed by a slow singing of "Sweet Emotion" twice. The band supposedly used a packet of sugar as the percussion instrument for the intro. In live performance this sound is duplicated by Steven Tyler with maracas.
On Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, the 1980 compilation album, "Sweet Emotion" appears in edited form. The bass solo and vocoder part that opens the song has been cut, and the track begins with the chorus that precedes the first verse. The guitar solo at the end of the song was also exised, and the track concludes with the chorus, which repeats as the song fades out. This same edit was used for the original single release of the song, which was quickly replaced in subsequent pressings with the album version from Toys in the Attic.

Ever since its inception, the song has been a live staple at Aerosmith concerts, and even to this day, the band almost never omits it from the setlist. Live, this song is Joe Perry's feature solo spot, of late complete with elaborate lights, smoke, theremin, and a variety of guitar tricks, as well as an extended guitar solo. The song is also a feature live spot for Tom Hamilton, as it is one of the more prominent Aerosmith songs featuring an opening bass solo. He often does an extended bass solo before the band goes into the song. In concert, Steven Tyler is also known to substitute racier lyrics such as "I'll be cummin' in your hand" instead of "I'll be eatin' from your hand"; has also on occasion replaced "I can't say baby where I'll be in a year" with "I've got the garage but I'll park it in the rear" (a seeming reference to anal sex); and is also known to grab or point to his crotch, during the lyrics "my get up and go". Steven Tyler also often encourages the crowd to chant "yeah...yeah...yeah..." during the repeating guitar riffs preceding the choruses.

The song has been included on almost every Aerosmith compilation and live album, including Aerosmith's Greatest Hits, Pandora's Box, Pandora's Toys, O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Devil's Got a New Disguise, Live! Bootleg, Classics Live I, A Little South of Sanity, Greatest Hits 1973-1988 and Rockin' the Joint.

The song is frequently cited as Aerosmith's signature song, including in the World Almanac and Book of Facts, and regularly competes with "Dream On" and "Walk This Way" for the title of Aerosmith's "signature song" elsewhere.

It is often included on "greatest song" lists or "greatest rock song" lists, including a ranking of #408 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

The song was re-recorded, and re-released as a single in 1991, in coordination with the release of the band's box set Pandora's Box. This version of the song was slightly different from the original and the aforementioned video was also released in conjunction. The re-released version reached #36 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and #74 in the United Kingdom.

#14
Angel
7.8

Angel was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and professional songwriting collaborator Desmond Child. It was released in 1988 as the second single from the band's massively successful 1987 album Permanent Vacation. It quickly climbed to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second highest chart performance for any Aerosmith single.

A classic heavy metal power ballad, it incorporates many of the stylings of rock ballads, including driving electrical guitar riffs by Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, pianos and violin sounds (from a keyboard), an emotional delivery of lyrics by Steven Tyler, a strong rhythm by bassist Tom Hamilton, and well-placed steady drum beats by Joey Kramer.

The music video for "Angel" focuses primarily on a character played by Steven Tyler who is hypnotized by an intangible angel, presumably his ex-lover. There are also scenes of him playing the piano.
The other band members can be seen playing their instruments on city streets, and there is a notable guitar solo by Joe Perry on a rural highway.

While Aerosmith tends to favor "What it Takes", "Dream On", and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" as their signature ballads in concert, "Angel" still gets the occasional rotation into the setlist.
Angel has been featured on a number of compilations including Big Ones and O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits as well as the live album A Little South of Sanity. It also appeared on international versions of their "best of" 2006 album "Devil's Got a New Disguise", but not on the U.S. version.

#13
Devil's Got A New Disguise
7.8

Devil's Got A New Disguise is a previously unreleased track which was included in the album with the same title.

#12
Dream On
7.8

Dream On is the first single by Aerosmith from their 1973 debut album, Aerosmith. Written by lead singer Steven Tyler, this blues-influenced power ballad became their first major hit. The song is a piano ballad in the key of F minor. Although it peaked at #59 when it was originally released as a single in 1973, it became a Top 10 single in 1976, peaking at #6, when it was re-released as a single. This song was first played live in Willimantic, CT at the Shaboo Inn.

Long a concert staple, the song's piano part has been played live by Tyler. The band has also played "Dream On" with an orchestra on a couple occasions. In the early 1990s, the band performed the song live with an orchestra for MTV's 10th Anniversary. A coinciding video directed by Marty Callner was also created. Additionally, in 2006, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry performed the song live with the Boston Pops Orchestra at their Fourth of July spectacular. On September 19, 2006, Aerosmith dedicated the song to captured Israeli soldier Ehud Goldwasser. On September 22, 2007, at a concert in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Aerosmith dedicated the song to one of their fans, Monica Massaro, who had been murdered earlier that year.

Dream On was one of the band's biggest hits of their career and the highest charting single for them in the 1970s. Consequently, the song appears on almost every Aerosmith greatest hits and live compilation, including Live! Bootleg, Greatest Hits, Classics Live I, A Little South of Sanity, Young Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology, O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, Rockin' the Joint, Devil's Got a New Disguise, and both of the band's box sets.

The song "Dream On" is part of the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list. It is also ranked #172 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. It frequently rivals "Sweet Emotion" and "Walk This Way" for the title of Aerosmith's signature song.

Dream On was for a short time featured as a downloadable song in Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock. It is going appearing in the next spinoff, Guitar Hero Aerosmith.

#11
I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing
8

I Don't Want to Miss a Thing was taken from the Armageddon soundtrack and debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 (the band's first ever such song after 28 years together). The song stayed at number one for four weeks from September 5 to September 26, 1998, introducing Aerosmith to a new generation of fans. The song also stayed at #1 for several weeks in several other countries. The song rose steadily up the charts in the UK, peaking at number four in November 1998 and becoming Aerosmith's highest charting song in the UK to date.

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was written primarily by Diane Warren. She stated in her compilation album Diane Warren Presents Love Songs that the song was originally meant for Celine Dion.

The song was nominated for both an Academy Award for Best Song and a Razzie Award for Best/Worst Original Song. It remains one of Aerosmith's most popular songs.

The music video for this song was shot in the Minneapolis Armory in 1998. It features the band playing the song intertwined with scenes from Armageddon. It features a cameo appearance by Liv Tyler, who incidentally is Steven Tyler's daughter and plays Grace Stamper in the film. Liv previously had a role in the music video for the band's other song, "Crazy".

The video begins with shots of the moon and several meteorites passing by and then a view of earth before zooming in to show Steven Tyler singing. The shots interchange between the band and Mission Control viewing the band singing via their monitors. As the video progresses it reveals that the band is playing in front of what appears to be the fictional Space Shuttle Freedom. Along with Aerosmith, a full hand orchestra plays in sync with the melody. As Freedom takes off from the launch pad smoke surrounds the orchestra and Aerosmith. Finally, as a tearful Grace touches one of the monitors to reach out to Steven Tyler/Harry Stamper (in the film portrayed by Bruce Willis), the screen goes out.

#10
Livin' On The Edge
8.3

Livin' on the Edge was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Mark Hudson. It was released in 1993 as the second single from the band's commercially successful album Get a Grip. The single reached #18 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, where it remained for nine weeks, making it Aerosmith's most successful single on that chart.

The song is one of Aerosmith's most successful attempts at tackling social issues. It reflects on the sorry state of the world ("There's something wrong with the world today"), religion ("We're seeing things in a different way and God knows it ain't his"), racism ("If you can judge a wise man by the color of his skin,) a line from the Yardbird's ("Mister You're A Better Man Than I"), among other things. However, the lyrics in the song also suggest that the world is still worth living in ("We could tell 'em no, or we could let it go, but I would rather be a-hangin' on").

According to the band's autobiography Walk This Way, the song was inspired by the 1992 Los Angeles Riots.

The song was written by Mark Hudson, who notes that he wrote the song while strumming a guitar and thinking about what John Lennon might have said about the social issues of the day, if he were alive.

The video for "Livin' on the Edge" is notable for a number of things, including depicting vandalism, theft, and violence among school-aged youth, cross-dressing by educators, a naked Steven Tyler holding a zipper by his crotch with half his body painted black (To give the effect he pulled down a zipper, unzipping his body) and lead guitarist Joe Perry playing a lead guitar solo in front of an oncoming train. The video was praised for its groundbreaking theatrical scenes and special effects. This was also the only major Aerosmith video from Get a Grip to not feature Alicia Silverstone, who would act in the band's next three videos ("Cryin'", "Amazing", and "Crazy"). The video did, however, feature acting by a young Edward Furlong.

"Livin' on the Edge" has always remained a staple at Aerosmith concerts ever since its release.

During the Get a Grip Tour, lead singer Steven Tyler would often sing a portion of "She Cried" (a song by Jay and the Americans) before going into "Livin' on the Edge". Dramatic performances, often involving Tyler screaming "There ain't no life nowhere" and then breathing heavily over a bright light, would also often be involved during the brief interlude in the song.

"Livin' on the Edge" was famously performed at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards and at Woodstock '94.

Additionally, the band performed a chilling rendition of the song as part of its set at the United We Stand benefit concert held in Washington D.C. shortly after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

#9
Walk This Way
8.3

Walk This Way was written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry. It was originally released as the second single from their 1975 album Toys in the Attic. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1977, part of a string of successful hit singles for the band in the 1970s.

In addition to being one of the songs that helped break Aerosmith into the mainstream in the 1970s, it also helped resurrect their career and revolutionized rock and roll and hip hop music when it was re-made in 1986 with rappers Run-D.M.C. on their album Raising Hell. It became an international hit and won both groups a Soul Train Music Award for Best Rap - Single in 1987.

The song was covered by UK girl groups Sugababes and Girls Aloud as the official Comic Relief single in 2007

The song starts out with the famous two measure drum beat intro by Joey Kramer, followed up the equally famous guitar riff by Joe Perry. The song then goes into the verse, with a steady drum beat and bassline by Tom Hamilton forming as the backbeat, with dueling guitars by Joe Perry and Brad Whitford. The lyrics, which tell the story of a high school boy losing his virginity, are sung quite fast by Steven Tyler, with heavy emphasis being placed on the rhyming lyrics (i.e. "so I took a big chance at the high school dance"). This rap-style delivery -- which may explain why the song worked so well as a rap song when it was re-made 11 years later -- was ahead of its time. Between the elaborately detailed verses, the chorus primarily consists of a repetition of "Walk this way, talk this way". In collaborations, the other singer often says "talk this way" every alternate line of the chorus. Live in concert, Steven Tyler often has the audience, combined with members of the band, sing "talk this way". There is also a lengthy guitar solo at the end of the song, and in concert, Steven Tyler will often harmonize his voice to mimic the sounds of the guitar. In the Run-D.M.C. cover, the turntable is added in to reflect the additional hip hop influence on the record.

While the band were working on Toys in the Attic, having written the music for the song but having difficulty coming up with lyrics for it, they decided to take a break and see Young Frankenstein, where the "Walk This Way" gag provided the basis (or phrase) for the lyrics.

Both versions of the song, the original Aerosmith version and the second Aerosmith/Run-DMC remake version, appear on various Aerosmith compilations.

In 1986, the rap group Run-D.M.C. performed a cover of "Walk This Way" with Steven Tyler and Joe Perry guesting on vocals and guitars. The 1986 version of the song is often credited as helping break rap into mainstream popular music as it was the first rap song to hit the Top 5 in The Billboard Hot 100, and the remake demonstrated how elements of rap music can be part of rock and pop songs. It also samples briefly the opening drum intro of the original in a middle section of the song. This version of "Walk This Way" charted higher on the Hot 100 than the original version, peaking at #4. It was also one of the first big rap singles in the UK, reaching a peak of #8 there. The landmark collaboration catapulted Run-D.M.C. into mainstream stardom and would influence rap music for years to come. The song paved the way for other pop acts to introduce elements of hip hop into their music. It pioneered the trend of rap/sung collaborations that is so present on American Radio in the late 1990s and 2000s. The collaboration also introduced a fusion of hard rock and hip hop, later known as rapcore, to a wide audience for the first time. The song also marked a major comeback for Aerosmith, as they had been largely out of mainstream pop culture for several years, and their 1985 comeback album Done with Mirrors, flopped. After this comeback, however, Aerosmith would follow up with a string of multi-platinum albums and Top 40 hits, starting with the album Permanent Vacation and single "Dude (Looks Like a Lady)" in 1987.

#8
Crazy
8.5

Crazy was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Desmond Child. It was the final single from Aerosmith's wildly popular 1993 album Get a Grip. It was released as a single in 1994 and peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #7 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

The song's lyrics are about a woman who comes and goes and is unfaithful, and the woman's "crazy ways" drive the narrator "crazy."

The video for the song (which was directed by Marty Callner) received heavy rotation on MTV and was one of the most requested videos of 1994. It featured the third appearance of Alicia Silverstone in the band's videos, as well as the career debut of Steven's then-teenaged daughter Liv Tyler. The decision to cast Liv in the video for "Crazy" was based on the video's creators having seen her in a Pantene commercial, with absolutely no knowledge her father was in the band. The video was very film-like and depicted the two as schoolgirls who skip class and run away, driving off in a black Ford Mustang convertible. The two use their good looks to take advantage of a service station clerk, and needing money, enter an amateur dance competition. The video is noteworthy for its very risque and suggestive sexual scenes, many of which may suggest lesbianism in the characters. The video also shows the similarities in stage moves of Steven Tyler and daughter Liv. In the end, the girls win the amateur dance competition. They continue their joyride the following day, where they encounter a young farmer tilling land in the countryside. They persuade him to join them in their journeys, where they all go for a skinny dip in a lake, and nearly abandon him. The final seconds of the video show the word "Crazy" spelled out in cursive in the cropland by the still-running tractor.

A slightly altered director's cut of the video appears on the video compilation Big Ones You Can Look At.

The song was the second highest chart performance for the band out of all the singles for Get a Grip. The song also earned the band a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal in 1994. This was the band's second Grammy win for Get a Grip and third Grammy award overall.

The video for "Crazy" was selected #23 in VH1's Top 100 Music Videos of All Time.

Despite the song bringing much success for the band in the mid 1990s and appearing on a number of compilations including Big Ones, A Little South of Sanity, O, Yeah! The Ultimate Aerosmith Hits, and Devil's Got a New Disguise, the band has rarely performed it during their constant touring the past five years. It was recently resurrected on their 2007 World Tour due to overwhelming demand from fans.

#7
Janie's Got A Gun
8.5

Janie's Got a Gun" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith and written by Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton. It was released as the second single from Pump in 1989. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990, and also made it to #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song also reached #1 in Australia, their first single #1 there, and one of two #1 singles for the band in that country.

On the album, "Janie's Got a Gun" is preceded by a 10-second instrumental called "Water Song", which features the work of professional instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch, who uses a glass harmonica, wind gong, and bullroarers to produce the special effects heard at the start of the song.

Steven Tyler came up with the main riff of "Janie's Got a Gun" using a low-tone setting on his keyboard. Co-songwriter Tom Hamilton then came up with the bassline. The guitars and drum parts were configured in later, and Steven Tyler was responsible for writing the lyrics.

The song is about a girl named Janie who takes out revenge on her father after being sexually abused; it is one of the few Aerosmith songs to deal with a heavy social issue. Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler says that he came up with the title and melody before he knew what direction he wanted the song to take. It had taken nine months to finish the lyrics; after Tyler read a Newsweek article on gunshot victims, he was able to connect the song with the theme of child abuse/incest. The line "He jacked a little bitty baby" was originally "He raped a little bitty baby," but was changed for commercial purposes. In addition, the line "...and put a bullet in his brain" was sometimes changed to "...and left him in the pouring rain" for the radio airplay version.

The video, released in 1990, was directed by noted video director and later film director David Fincher.

The video was very groundbreaking at the time, featuring gruesome realistic scenes that would later be the basis for many videos of the 1990s. The video made even more explicit the abovementioned references to incest; early in the video, the actor playing the father is shown exiting his daughter's room, and cuts to a shot of the girl crying. The actress playing Janie is Kristin Dattilo of The Chris Isaak Show fame. Dattilo was then 19 years old. Actress Lesley Ann Warren played Janie's mother

I'll do the rest tomorrow....if I remember :cheer: