Aerosmith has a pretty huge discography, so it’s only natural that a few solid tunes would fall into the “underrated” category. And while the following five songs are surely loved by diehard Aerosmith fans, I think they deserve to be as well-known as some of the band’s biggest hits. Let’s dive in! You might just recognize a few of your personal favorite Aerosmith tunes.
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“Seasons Of Wither”
Who doesn’t love a good power ballad? “Seasons Of Wither” comes from Aerosmith’s 1974 album Get Your Wings, and it’s a surprisingly tender song inspired by the natural beauty of Massachusetts in the winter. Steven Tyler wrote the song while he was in a particularly raw mood, took a few drugs, lit some incense, and played a guitar Joey Kramer found in a dumpster.
“Sick As A Dog”
If you were a young guitarist in 1976, this might have been the track that made you want to learn to shred. It’s a standout yet underrated song from Rocks. “Sick As A Dog” was apparently inspired by “Mr. Tambourine Man” by The Byrds, according to co-songwriter and Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton.
“Uncle Salty”
“Uncle Salty” is a darker but more meaningful song in Aerosmith’s discography. That riff is absolutely killer, for one thing. But Tyler’s lyrics, inspired by the sadness of childhood abandonment and abuse, are devastating. It’s an earnest song, and I’m surprised it hasn’t been praised more.
“Nobody’s Fault”
This track from 1976 is one of the band’s heaviest tunes, and Steven Tyler’s voice is surprisingly vicious. Where many bands would be afraid to go this far, Aerosmith made it look easy. And “Nobody’s Fault” is a really good song, even without the context of the band’s other work.
“Kings And Queens”
“Kinds And Queens” gets more love nowadays than it probably got in 1978, but it really deserved more love from the start. Though, it wasn’t totally ignored. This Draw The Line track made it to the Billboard Hot 100 chart, after all.
“This one was just about how many people died from holy wars because of their beliefs or non-beliefs,” Tyler said in the liner notes of the compilation album Pandora’s Box, which featured this song. “With that one, my brain was back with the knights of the round table…”
Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns
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