Even the biggest bands in music had to start somewhere, and for living legends Aerosmith, that road started with the recently discovered early rehearsal recording, now available as Aerosmith – 1971: The Road Starts Hear.
In the first of many announcements celebrating the 50th anniversary of the four-time GRAMMY® winning and Diamond-certified rock legends Aerosmith, one of their earliest recordings, Aerosmith – 1971: The Road Starts Hear, makes its CD and digital debut today. This rare recording from 1971 was recently discovered in Aerosmith’s Vindaloo Vaults and was originally only available as a limited-edition cassette and vinyl release for Record Store Day in 2021, which quickly sold out.
In addition to the music, The Road Starts Hear includes previously unseen archived photos, images of the original tape box, and liner notes written by Rolling Stone’s David Fricke with new interviews and comments from the band about this long-forgotten recording. The recording itself features the original (and current) members of Aerosmith on seven extraordinary tracks, a historic document showcasing the early, unbridled talent of the future R&R Hall of Famers including a nascent version of “Dream On,” which only became one of the biggest songs in rock music history.
It also has early recordings of more gems from their landmark debut LP like “Somebody,” “Movin’ Out,” “Walkin’ The Dog,” and “Mama Kin,” plus The Road Starts Hear also has “Reefer Head Woman,” which would later be recorded for 1979’s Night In The Ruts plus the track “Major Barbara,” which went on to be featured on 1986’s Classics Live.
The landmark early recording was made with Joe Perry’s Wollensak reel-to-reel tape machine in 1971 by Mark Lehman who owned the infamous van and became Aerosmith’s one-man road crew, either in the band’s Boston rehearsal room in front of a few select friends, or at a rehearsal the band did during a soundcheck for an early show. All that is certain is that the tape captures a young, hungry rock band one year before being discovered by Columbia Records.
Celebrating their 50th anniversary, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame members Aerosmith have sold more than 150 million albums around the world, produced genre-defining music videos such as "Amazing," "Crazy," "Janie's Got A Gun," "Livin' On The Edge," and "Love In An Elevator," and launched extravagant record- shattering global tours, most recently with their smash hit Las Vegas residency. The band has broken numerous boundaries, including becoming the first rock band with a massive commercially successful hip-hop collaboration with Run DMC on "Walk This Way" and the first hard rock band to appear during a Super Bowl Halftime Show with their 2001 performance, and in 1999, Aerosmith became the first band to have their own themed attraction at Disney World in Florida and later Paris with the launch of the Rock 'N' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.