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Walk This Way: The Autobiography of Aerosmith
WALK THIS WAY is like nothing you've ever experienced before. This is NOT some whitewashed, overblown hype penned by some fawning fanzine journalist...or a one-sided exposi spewed out by a pissed-off one-time insider. Walk This Way is the real thing an almost day-by-day account of the high and low life of a true rock 'n' roll monster, in the words of the guys who made it happen: Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Tom Hamilton, Brad Whitford and Joey Kramer. Here is a quarter-century of rock godhood, told with no holds barred or punches pulled--the life, the music, the legends, the truth, the hell; the lost weeks and the raunchy, unsafe sex. And, of course, the drugs. "I mean, we're not talking schizophrenia here. Just self-destructive with a sense of humor." --Joe Perry By far and away the most candid rock 'n' roll autobiography ever written, Walk This Way is the complete story of five incomparable and uncompromising musical artists who pulled themselves up from nowhere to become rock icons; who crashed and burned spectacularly in a suffocating cloud of cocaine, crystal meth and heroin; and who rose up gloriously from the ashes to reclaim their rightful title as World Champion Rockers. But much more than a chronicle of violent abuse and brain-numbing excess, it is a breathtaking study in genius--an exhilarating look deep inside the music: what spawned and inspired, birthed and molded the sound that still blows a nation away with the force of a hurricane. This is Aerosmith unbound: where they came from, what they are now, and what they always will be, first and foremost--a truly great American band. Hang on, it's a hell of a ride.
513 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1997
56 people are currently reading
4438 people want to read
About the author
Aerosmith
70 books14 followersAerosmith is an American rock band, sometimes referred to as "the Bad Boys from Boston"and "America's Greatest Rock and Roll Band."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 156 reviews
December 29, 2011
I am re-reading this. It's extremely fascinating. But dating a 14 year old girl when you are 27 IS GROSS.
February 23, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. Aerosmith has quite a remarkable story.
March 7, 2019
Great Book! Worth a read.
July 31, 2007
This book blew me away. It isn't just a biography... but an AUTObiography of the band. It is amazing that these guys lived through the 1970s. It looks long when you first see it... 500+ pages... but once you get started it is like you are sitting in a room with the guys listening to them shoot the shit about themselves, each other, and the industry.
Fantastic stuff.
Fantastic stuff.
Read
September 23, 2011Aerosmith, one of the greatest and most recognizable bands of all time reveal their journey as a band as well as personal struggles during their careers as rock stars. An autobiography of the band takes us into depth of unrevealed secrets that have been obscure for decades.
One of these secrets would most definitely not be drug abuse. Like many other hard rock bands of the classic rock era, Aerosmith had a reputation for drug and alcohol abuse. I find it incredible that the band is still around today, because many bands have often lost members to drug overdose, suicides, or the sad disbanding of itself. These guys just recently broke up after over 30 years of touring around the world, most of the members breaking the 60 year mark. I just think that this book is a great look in a more personal level of the band, and as a huge Aerosmith fan, I really liked the stories and the book over all.
I think this book is a good read for pretty much anyone, because the only reason you would not know of these guys is if you lived under a rock your whole life. The story is worth reading, as it is filled with 30 years of stories and drama, but most of all success.
One of these secrets would most definitely not be drug abuse. Like many other hard rock bands of the classic rock era, Aerosmith had a reputation for drug and alcohol abuse. I find it incredible that the band is still around today, because many bands have often lost members to drug overdose, suicides, or the sad disbanding of itself. These guys just recently broke up after over 30 years of touring around the world, most of the members breaking the 60 year mark. I just think that this book is a great look in a more personal level of the band, and as a huge Aerosmith fan, I really liked the stories and the book over all.
I think this book is a good read for pretty much anyone, because the only reason you would not know of these guys is if you lived under a rock your whole life. The story is worth reading, as it is filled with 30 years of stories and drama, but most of all success.
Read
November 6, 2009The narrative bounces back and forth between all five band members, as well as their wives, girlfriends, and other people close to them. This gives it the flow and ease of a casual conversation. As with a lot of rock music biographies/ tales of excess, this one left me wondering, "How are they all still alive?"
July 31, 2017
On the 26th of June 2017, I saw Aerosmith live for my very first time in Lisbon. To call what happened an "epiphany" or a "fundamental shift" would be a touch too dramatic, but some definite root understanding evolved within me. You see, for over 20 years, Aerosmith have been important figures in my life, not in an "always on my mind" type of way, but truly always in my heart. More often than not, they had me as their sole defender during conversations where others laughed them off as some ancient cheesy stadium rock band, and I just wondered how many of these people could name a song of theirs that wasn't on Armageddon. So when the group announced what was dubbed "their final tour", I knew I had to go, bought the tickets, packed my bags, and naively went on my way, convinced that I was going to see some old dudes who couldn't dance anymore cashing in on former hits, which was fine by me. But of course, I was not only proven wrong on every concern, but was also emotionally touched as all of my memories soundtracked by their records came seeping back. And that's when I clicked: Aerosmith are one of the most important hard rock bands in all of history. And I haven't stopped thinking about them since. I dedicated every spare second I could to revisiting their albums until I'd re-listened to them all in chronological order. I preached the word of the Blue Army to anyone who was within earshot which means this review is probably only going to work as an annoyance to my friends. But with all of the praise leaking out from my pores, I'm sure you can understand why Walk This Way was my most obvious and logical next read, right? I'd already read Steven Tyler's autobiography anyway.
Ok, so the first and most important aspect of this book that you need to know about, is this: if you are not a deeply (deeply!) dedicated fan of this band, then walk the other way. It's quite the endurance test with its length. It takes a couple of hundred pages before it really gets going. It has the customary boring introductions of personal stories that only the people telling the stories care about, except this is like an extended version because there's more than one author here. In fact, it's such a collaborative tale (and I mean, collaborative in the sense that it includes sections written by managers, promoters, label executives, girlfriends, press, drug dealers etc) that you can get quite lost with everyone's names if you don't pay attention. And finally, there are no rocks unturned here, as every single detail imaginable has been included, which I can't envision the casual reader finding much interest in.
BUT I AM NOT A CASUAL FUCKING READER NOW AM I. No, and what's more, I am pleased to announce that I found an even greater respect for the band since closing this cover. Said newly found respect stemmed from the realisation that Aerosmith's success was never handed to them. They didn't get lucky. They weren't best mates having a good time—I'm not even convinced they liked one another whatsoever. Instead, they were pure rockstars before they could even afford rent, on a mission driven blindly by determination, and they earned every bit of fame they got. Furthermore, you must appreciate that we are talking about the best-selling American hard rock band of all time here (officially), which comes with such an educated insight into how the industry has changed so drastically over those decades from every perspective the business requires to run, while the band grappled (and conquered) relevancy throughout (on a side note: this book was released in 1997, just after Nine Lives, which was their last great album anyway, so probably for the best). Why such a mass amount of contributors works in its favour, is because the narrative is passed around so rapidly that you get everyone's side of the story, ready to contradict and sell out their partners' recollections on the very next page, whilst always hovering around the common ground that brought them together in the first place: the music. Well, of course, until the drugs came into play, and as we all know, they came into play in a legendary way, slowly gaining momentum, building weight, dipping the scales in their favour, until it completely toppled them over and they had to start again. It was fascinating to read all of this, because their abuse was up there with worst I've read, and it doesn't take long before you understand why their lifestyle was so unsustainable. Aerosmith have always been a well documented cautionary tale, yet I still found myself rooting for them with all my spirit even though I knew the outcome already. But that's not really what this was about either. Rather, this was a step by step guide on everything they did right, and everything they did wrong, with enough funny anecdotes to keep you entertained without ever becoming a joke. If anything, it was a bit too serious or even scary to learn how close they came to dissolution, complete disintegration, and even potentially death. And I mean, all of them, every person caught up in the Aerosmith whirlwind spent a large majority of this book in proper danger.
When there were only 100 pages left to go, I nearly had a panic attack. It felt like I was down to my last line and I wasn't sure where my next order of Aerosmith was going to come from. But in the end, I have no regrets, and am grateful for this book, as it satisfactorily indulged my addiction, so much so that it felt like food at times. Because the thing about Aerosmith, is that they are the embodiment of the holy trinity: the sex, the drugs, and the rock 'n' roll. But no matter how much of those things they excessively fell into, the rock 'n' roll itself was always about the sex and the drugs anyway, so maybe that's the key to musical immortality? Whatever, I don't know what I'm saying anymore, I'm still coming down. What I do know, however, is that this book inspired me louder than anything I've read for a long time, perhaps ever, and I just want to focus on my own music now.
Ok, so the first and most important aspect of this book that you need to know about, is this: if you are not a deeply (deeply!) dedicated fan of this band, then walk the other way. It's quite the endurance test with its length. It takes a couple of hundred pages before it really gets going. It has the customary boring introductions of personal stories that only the people telling the stories care about, except this is like an extended version because there's more than one author here. In fact, it's such a collaborative tale (and I mean, collaborative in the sense that it includes sections written by managers, promoters, label executives, girlfriends, press, drug dealers etc) that you can get quite lost with everyone's names if you don't pay attention. And finally, there are no rocks unturned here, as every single detail imaginable has been included, which I can't envision the casual reader finding much interest in.
BUT I AM NOT A CASUAL FUCKING READER NOW AM I. No, and what's more, I am pleased to announce that I found an even greater respect for the band since closing this cover. Said newly found respect stemmed from the realisation that Aerosmith's success was never handed to them. They didn't get lucky. They weren't best mates having a good time—I'm not even convinced they liked one another whatsoever. Instead, they were pure rockstars before they could even afford rent, on a mission driven blindly by determination, and they earned every bit of fame they got. Furthermore, you must appreciate that we are talking about the best-selling American hard rock band of all time here (officially), which comes with such an educated insight into how the industry has changed so drastically over those decades from every perspective the business requires to run, while the band grappled (and conquered) relevancy throughout (on a side note: this book was released in 1997, just after Nine Lives, which was their last great album anyway, so probably for the best). Why such a mass amount of contributors works in its favour, is because the narrative is passed around so rapidly that you get everyone's side of the story, ready to contradict and sell out their partners' recollections on the very next page, whilst always hovering around the common ground that brought them together in the first place: the music. Well, of course, until the drugs came into play, and as we all know, they came into play in a legendary way, slowly gaining momentum, building weight, dipping the scales in their favour, until it completely toppled them over and they had to start again. It was fascinating to read all of this, because their abuse was up there with worst I've read, and it doesn't take long before you understand why their lifestyle was so unsustainable. Aerosmith have always been a well documented cautionary tale, yet I still found myself rooting for them with all my spirit even though I knew the outcome already. But that's not really what this was about either. Rather, this was a step by step guide on everything they did right, and everything they did wrong, with enough funny anecdotes to keep you entertained without ever becoming a joke. If anything, it was a bit too serious or even scary to learn how close they came to dissolution, complete disintegration, and even potentially death. And I mean, all of them, every person caught up in the Aerosmith whirlwind spent a large majority of this book in proper danger.
When there were only 100 pages left to go, I nearly had a panic attack. It felt like I was down to my last line and I wasn't sure where my next order of Aerosmith was going to come from. But in the end, I have no regrets, and am grateful for this book, as it satisfactorily indulged my addiction, so much so that it felt like food at times. Because the thing about Aerosmith, is that they are the embodiment of the holy trinity: the sex, the drugs, and the rock 'n' roll. But no matter how much of those things they excessively fell into, the rock 'n' roll itself was always about the sex and the drugs anyway, so maybe that's the key to musical immortality? Whatever, I don't know what I'm saying anymore, I'm still coming down. What I do know, however, is that this book inspired me louder than anything I've read for a long time, perhaps ever, and I just want to focus on my own music now.
September 10, 2024
Stephen Davisin "Walk This Way - Aerosmithin tarina" (Like, 2007) on viihdyttävä rockhistoriikki, jossa yhtyeen jäsenet ja heidän lähipiirinsä kertailevat bändin värikästä taivalta kolmen eri vuosikymmenen aikana. "Sex, drugs and rock'n'roll" on tässäkin tapauksessa se pyhä kolmiyhtenäisyys, jonka nimiin vaennoen kierretään maailmaa ja tehdään miljoonia myyneitä levyjä.
Ja ihan hyvää musiikkiahan Aerosmithilta parhaimmillaan syntyi (ja sitten niitä överiksi meneviä megaballadeja, mutta ei puhuta nyt niistä). Kirjaa lukiessa mieleen nousi aika paljon nostalgisia muistoja, lapsuudenkodissani kuunnellusta A Little South of Sanity -livekokoelman hittibiiseistä aina opiskelupaikan kahviossa taustalla pyörineisiin MTV-musiikkivideoihin.
Suuren rokkiseikkailun kääntöpuolelta löytyy sitten päihde- ja seksiriippuvuutta, repiviä riitoja, katkaisuhoitoja ja terapiaa. Sekoilua romantisoiva puoli hiukan häiritsee. Ei voi kiistää, etteikö kaikesta tuommoisesta syntyisi värikkäitä ja hauskoja anekdootteja, mutta päihdeongelmat ovat läheisille harvemmin mitään riemujuhlaa, ja vaikea on pitää oikeana myöskään aikuisen miehen ja 14-vuotiaan tytön suhdetta, olipa tällä vanhempien hyväksyntä tai ei.
Lukihan tämä ihan mielellään, mutta en taida kirjaa omassa hyllyssäni silti hillota tätä enempää. Nytkin ostamishetken ja lukemisen välillä taisi kulua viisitoista vuotta!
Ja ihan hyvää musiikkiahan Aerosmithilta parhaimmillaan syntyi (ja sitten niitä överiksi meneviä megaballadeja, mutta ei puhuta nyt niistä). Kirjaa lukiessa mieleen nousi aika paljon nostalgisia muistoja, lapsuudenkodissani kuunnellusta A Little South of Sanity -livekokoelman hittibiiseistä aina opiskelupaikan kahviossa taustalla pyörineisiin MTV-musiikkivideoihin.
Suuren rokkiseikkailun kääntöpuolelta löytyy sitten päihde- ja seksiriippuvuutta, repiviä riitoja, katkaisuhoitoja ja terapiaa. Sekoilua romantisoiva puoli hiukan häiritsee. Ei voi kiistää, etteikö kaikesta tuommoisesta syntyisi värikkäitä ja hauskoja anekdootteja, mutta päihdeongelmat ovat läheisille harvemmin mitään riemujuhlaa, ja vaikea on pitää oikeana myöskään aikuisen miehen ja 14-vuotiaan tytön suhdetta, olipa tällä vanhempien hyväksyntä tai ei.
Lukihan tämä ihan mielellään, mutta en taida kirjaa omassa hyllyssäni silti hillota tätä enempää. Nytkin ostamishetken ja lukemisen välillä taisi kulua viisitoista vuotta!
June 21, 2018
If you're like me, you grew up listening to Aerosmith. This memoir is like sitting down with the band and watching their life unfold. It's fantastic, surprisingly down-to-earth and addictive to read. I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!
My Rating: 5 stars
My Rating: 5 stars
February 4, 2011
this book was really great, even thogh it has some really colorful language, i still liked it, ia gave it five stars, this book was about hoe the band Aerosmith was going throgh a rough time, especially the singer or frontman steven tyler were the whole band was suffering a major drug addiction in the early 70's, but manged to get steven to get clean, and after he did, so did the rest of the band and have been clean and sober to this day and that's what i liked about this whole book.
April 9, 2015
Amazing book. It is a must read again for me
August 13, 2020
Great book for fans of Aerosmith
March 25, 2013
I tried, I really tried to like this book and to finish it but at the end of 4-5 months, give or take I had to accept that I did not like this at all. I'm a big fan of music bios because I love to read the debauchery but this did not cut it for me. Perhaps I don't know about Aerosmith but neither did I know about Motley Crue or Dave Mustaine and I found the latter more interesting. From the start I thought Aerosmiths history was long, granted I became very impressed by Steven Tyler but overall I thought the introduction was heavy on history and people and it felt bogged down. I was very impressed by Steven Tylers musical abilities but at the same time I hated, HATED his style because he sounded like a 1980s valley girl, it was disorientating. As for the other authors they were ok but not memorable. Overall, the book had too many voices and they weren't united enough to make one voice, Aerosmith.
I did hear that the audiobook is better so maybe one day I'll give the audiobook a chance. So yeah I did not like it at all but if you like Aerosmith and totally don't mind the way Steven Tyler speaks then sure give it a try. As an alternative I recommend The Dirt by Motley Crue.
I did hear that the audiobook is better so maybe one day I'll give the audiobook a chance. So yeah I did not like it at all but if you like Aerosmith and totally don't mind the way Steven Tyler speaks then sure give it a try. As an alternative I recommend The Dirt by Motley Crue.
April 6, 2011
A fascinating, inspiring, and entertaining story for sure. I have way more respect for Aerosmith after reading this and I've gone back into their catalog and dug out their early albums.
My only complaint is that the editing isn't that great. The stories can be disjointed at times.
Obviously I have to compare this book to The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. The Dirt is a book about degenerate rockstars who got lucky and did some crazy stuff. And the storytelling was amazing. Walk This Way is a book about an unlikely group of guys who had a dream, worked their asses off, made it big, lost it all, and then came back. The story is great, the storytelling is ok.
My only complaint is that the editing isn't that great. The stories can be disjointed at times.
Obviously I have to compare this book to The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band. The Dirt is a book about degenerate rockstars who got lucky and did some crazy stuff. And the storytelling was amazing. Walk This Way is a book about an unlikely group of guys who had a dream, worked their asses off, made it big, lost it all, and then came back. The story is great, the storytelling is ok.
September 21, 2007
Ahhh...Aerosmith---sex,drugs,Liv or die, what more can I say? This book definitely is collector's STUFF! When Zeppelin had doses of excess and hedonism in 'Hammer of the Gods'--Aerosmith almost went to overkill levels---BUT EVERY MEMBER SURVIVED! ( John Bonham of Zep died at age 31). The story when drummer Joey Kramer visited J. Bonham's grave was a spectacular segment of this bestseller---drummer visits late drummer for a tribute. ( Robert Plant did see Aerosmith in one chapter....). Aerosmith will remain rock's most 'JUNKIED,SMACKED' band and have lived to tell THEIR story. Drop the Harry Potter fiction. This book is REAL!
June 2, 2013
I was expecting to enjoy this at lot more than a did. Coming off reading Motley Crue’s biography, I was, however, disappointed. Though I am sure the rock and roll tales of drugs and women were just as decadent, the stories just didn’t compare to that of Vince, Neil and Tommy. The snippets from band members in “Walk This Way” were exactly that, just snippets at a time and the resulting disjointedness was distracting. Not only band members but all range of people were given voice in this way, which detracted from the main players. What was interesting was reading about the origins of songs and their meanings. But why couldn’t the photos be in colour?
April 20, 2019
Great book on the band I read so long ago. I really liked that the story..their story..was told, not just by them but by almost everyone in their orbit. I enjoyed everyone's perspective and I consider it to be one of the better rock Bios out there.
May 28, 2025
This took me way too long to read. I’m a huge fan of Aerosmith, but I found this book to be lacking a sense of excitement and anticipation.
Each member of Aerosmith has a pretty interesting life but I feel like it was just not well written… I didn’t feel excited to learn about what comes next and this may be rude, but not every stage in your life is going to be exciting and have a huge impact on who you are as a person so I did not need to read about every stage of each band members life….
I felt like every time we started to get somewhere we jumped back to the high school years or the very early years for the next person to explain how they got to where they were. Which overtime felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. I also feel like we learned a lot of history about other bands, and how they influenced them, but not enough about the band itself.
Maybe I’m being harsh because I absolutely loved Mötley Crüe’s book and I felt like they didn’t hold anything back in theirs but when reading Aerosmith book I just feel like they were almost scared to talk about the shit they did. Like I’m sorry, Steven Tyler was like 27 dating a 15-year-old at one point and we’re just gonna glaze over it like it’s nothing? No if you’re gonna mention it, you better tell me what made you think this was a good idea and how this affected the band and their reputation. BECAUSE THATS NASTY AF
I also don’t know how many times they said in the book we were close to death or we almost lost our band, but then never fully explained what was the cause or reason for this. All we were told was that it was drugs and alcohol abuse but guess what? I never got a full explanation as to what exactly happened. We only started to get a full explanation near the end but again not in full detail.
I was also a little disappointed to learn that a lot of my favourite songs were written because they were just horny (which hey if that’s the reason fine) or I got no explanation at all. I don’t need some deep emotional meaning behind every single song, but it just felt like there was not a lot about their writing process or what inspired their music.
My other major complaint is that we had a lot of perspectives in this book and a lot of different people telling their sides of the story. Which made it very confusing and felt super long. Honestly at some points I really didn’t care about the opinion of this chick you hooked up with who had one short paragraph in the whole book? Like I wanna know more about what Joe Peri or Tom Hamilton had to say.
Needless to say, considering I was supposed to go to their concert before they officially retired. This was not a satisfying replacement.
Each member of Aerosmith has a pretty interesting life but I feel like it was just not well written… I didn’t feel excited to learn about what comes next and this may be rude, but not every stage in your life is going to be exciting and have a huge impact on who you are as a person so I did not need to read about every stage of each band members life….
I felt like every time we started to get somewhere we jumped back to the high school years or the very early years for the next person to explain how they got to where they were. Which overtime felt like I was reading the same thing over and over again. I also feel like we learned a lot of history about other bands, and how they influenced them, but not enough about the band itself.
Maybe I’m being harsh because I absolutely loved Mötley Crüe’s book and I felt like they didn’t hold anything back in theirs but when reading Aerosmith book I just feel like they were almost scared to talk about the shit they did. Like I’m sorry, Steven Tyler was like 27 dating a 15-year-old at one point and we’re just gonna glaze over it like it’s nothing? No if you’re gonna mention it, you better tell me what made you think this was a good idea and how this affected the band and their reputation. BECAUSE THATS NASTY AF
I also don’t know how many times they said in the book we were close to death or we almost lost our band, but then never fully explained what was the cause or reason for this. All we were told was that it was drugs and alcohol abuse but guess what? I never got a full explanation as to what exactly happened. We only started to get a full explanation near the end but again not in full detail.
I was also a little disappointed to learn that a lot of my favourite songs were written because they were just horny (which hey if that’s the reason fine) or I got no explanation at all. I don’t need some deep emotional meaning behind every single song, but it just felt like there was not a lot about their writing process or what inspired their music.
My other major complaint is that we had a lot of perspectives in this book and a lot of different people telling their sides of the story. Which made it very confusing and felt super long. Honestly at some points I really didn’t care about the opinion of this chick you hooked up with who had one short paragraph in the whole book? Like I wanna know more about what Joe Peri or Tom Hamilton had to say.
Needless to say, considering I was supposed to go to their concert before they officially retired. This was not a satisfying replacement.
August 17, 2020
Great biography of the band! It was well put together and has view points of other people associated with the band. So it is not just from the bands perspective. It goes into a lot of detail and includes magazine reviews and personal interviews with the band from rolling stone, creem and much more.
The story feels like a plane taking off, Aerosmith has a hard take off but gets into the air, from there it is one hell of a ride! With the band you feel like your flying high (really high) but at the same time your being dragged on the ground. After all the the craziness and wild times we come in for a smooth mellow landing. BUT it leaves you with your mind blown and have a hankering for more!
My only real complaint is that during the middle of the story when they gain popularity and the drug abuse really kicks up the story is a little hard to follow. Stephen Davis does his best to piece the whole time period together but with so much going on the timeline jumps around a little.
The story feels like a plane taking off, Aerosmith has a hard take off but gets into the air, from there it is one hell of a ride! With the band you feel like your flying high (really high) but at the same time your being dragged on the ground. After all the the craziness and wild times we come in for a smooth mellow landing. BUT it leaves you with your mind blown and have a hankering for more!
My only real complaint is that during the middle of the story when they gain popularity and the drug abuse really kicks up the story is a little hard to follow. Stephen Davis does his best to piece the whole time period together but with so much going on the timeline jumps around a little.
September 30, 2019
Was expecting a whole lot more from this read. I was a bit disappointed ☹️
January 21, 2022
A pretty engaging oral history-style biography of Aerosmith. Hooolllly shit, was Steven Tyler gacked out of his mind for years on end.
June 10, 2025
Very good book . And in depth
July 2, 2020
I saw a poll somewhere asking which autobiography was better - Walk This Way by Aerosmith or The Dirt by Motley Crue. Aerosmith did what they did first. Motley did it more notoriously. I've read both, and the winner is Aerosmith.
I don't want to put spoilers in. So I'll just encourage anyone who enjoys a good, pretty unbelievable but absolutely true story to give it a try. Think drugs. Sex. Relationship drama. Internal fighting. External fighting. Illegitimate children, at least one of which turned into a movie star. More drugs. A famous intervention. Counseling and therapy. Albums that sold 8-12 million copies each.
Motley's book is raunchier and details so much insane behavior at times it's difficult to believe it was true. And the material is put out there in a sort of braggadocious way, like they were proud of the terrible way they acted, especially toward women. Aerosmith's book is less raunchy, focuses more on the personalities and the internal politics and struggles, as well as stories that go behind the scenes of how some of their most beloved songs came about. And when it describes the drugs and the booze and the out-of-control heights their egos went to, it's not written as if they're bragging. You can easily imagine the band members shaking their heads in dismay while they were remembering what happened and writing about it, thinking about how close they came to blowing everything.
I don't want to put spoilers in. So I'll just encourage anyone who enjoys a good, pretty unbelievable but absolutely true story to give it a try. Think drugs. Sex. Relationship drama. Internal fighting. External fighting. Illegitimate children, at least one of which turned into a movie star. More drugs. A famous intervention. Counseling and therapy. Albums that sold 8-12 million copies each.
Motley's book is raunchier and details so much insane behavior at times it's difficult to believe it was true. And the material is put out there in a sort of braggadocious way, like they were proud of the terrible way they acted, especially toward women. Aerosmith's book is less raunchy, focuses more on the personalities and the internal politics and struggles, as well as stories that go behind the scenes of how some of their most beloved songs came about. And when it describes the drugs and the booze and the out-of-control heights their egos went to, it's not written as if they're bragging. You can easily imagine the band members shaking their heads in dismay while they were remembering what happened and writing about it, thinking about how close they came to blowing everything.
July 15, 2007
This book is unique because each member of Aerosmith (plus others) contributes to the story. Their names appear with their narrative, and it's nice to get the different views on things.
The story starts off a little slow, with everyone talking about their roots and their early days as musicians. Interesting, yes, but not what we REALLY want to read.
Things start to get interesting when Aerosmith starts to come together. They worked very hard to get where they are today. The stories about their wild behavior will entertain you and maybe even shock you.
I really enjoyed the stories about A&R man John Kalodner. He was quite the character and had a big hand in making Aerosmith big again.
This is a good book if you're at all interested in Aerosmith, or interested in hearing tales of excess and craziness. It was nice to hear the story from ALL the members of Aerosmith.
Favorite part: Their early days before the fame hit.
Favorite character: Steven Tyler, of course! He's the star.
The story starts off a little slow, with everyone talking about their roots and their early days as musicians. Interesting, yes, but not what we REALLY want to read.
Things start to get interesting when Aerosmith starts to come together. They worked very hard to get where they are today. The stories about their wild behavior will entertain you and maybe even shock you.
I really enjoyed the stories about A&R man John Kalodner. He was quite the character and had a big hand in making Aerosmith big again.
This is a good book if you're at all interested in Aerosmith, or interested in hearing tales of excess and craziness. It was nice to hear the story from ALL the members of Aerosmith.
Favorite part: Their early days before the fame hit.
Favorite character: Steven Tyler, of course! He's the star.
May 22, 2016
A book of obvious interest to Aerosmith fans. The book is written in an interview format, starting with each band member's early years and each person is included in the narrative as they are involved. The interviews were conducted starting in 1993 and ending in about 1997, although the writer Stephen Davis adds postscripts that go through about 2001, when Aerosmith was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The major topics throughout the book are of course, the music and looming just as large for many years, the drug problems of all five band members. They break up with each other, with various wives and girlfriends, with managers, and their struggles to end bad habits. Interesting, but glad I'm not part of that world. I'm amazed they have been able to bounce back from their demons.
**#55 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2016**
The major topics throughout the book are of course, the music and looming just as large for many years, the drug problems of all five band members. They break up with each other, with various wives and girlfriends, with managers, and their struggles to end bad habits. Interesting, but glad I'm not part of that world. I'm amazed they have been able to bounce back from their demons.
**#55 of 120 books pledged to read/review during 2016**
March 25, 2016
They were told how to walk, how to dress, how to style their hair, how to rock...and they defied the odds. This is the autobiography of Aerosmith told from the perspective of every member of the band in addition to producers and other important persons in the band's history. As in every rock biography, it covers your basics of sex, drugs, and rock n' roll. However, Aerosmith isn't your typical band of misfits...they were a true gang of underdogs that fought their way to the top of the charts and into the hearts of rockers everywhere. It was really neat to hear the stories told from everyone involved. Loved hearing how all those songs we all love so much were written. A truly triumphant story for any Aerosmith fan to enjoy.
May 27, 2009
Tell all book that will send shivers down your swine. The fact that these folks are still alive is the miracle. This is definitely a slice of life from the music scene during the 70s and 80s when everyone was on dope and cocaine including agents, managers, and producers. Most interesting sections are told by Steven Tyler who although flamboyant was a musical prodigy and really has a good "Don't do drugs" message unlike Joe Perry. Steven's daughter, Liv Tyler, who learned who her father was in her teens has the best one-liner in the book when she calls the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame induction "a prom for F-ups."
January 16, 2016
Great insight on how, when and where Aerosmith began and what the guys did for a living before Aerosmith. I liked how each person told his own side of the story. I am amazed they did not kill each other or themselves with all the drugs and alcohol consumed. All the woman who used and were used does not surprise me. It truly paints a ugly side of Rock and Roll but also show the perks side of fame. If you are a Aerosmith fan you are going to love this book, if you are a music fan you will enjoy this book.
June 1, 2021
Questo mi sa che è l'anno degli Aerosmith eh? Dopo l' autobiografia di Steven Tyler, eccomi con Walk This Way.
Perché gli Aerosmith? Perché sono una delle più grandi band made in USA e forse una delle migliori band rock che questo mondo abbia mai partorito... E perché li ascolto praticamente da quando ero una bambina e li adoro.
Nati dall'amore per gli Yardbirds e Chuck Berry, la risposta americana ai Led Zeppelin... somigliano ai Rolling Stones? Bah a parte una vaga somiglianza tra i cantanti, direi anche no. Sono più divertenti, più zozzi, più FERAL!
Questo bel mattonazzo è proprio pieno di informazioni, una biografia corale che racconta tutta la storia della band attraverso le voci di Steven, Joe, Brad, Tom e Joey, ma in cui hanno ampio spazio un sacco di altre persone che giravano intorno a loro: ex membri, produttori, manager, mogli, fidanzate e così via. Ognuno mette il suo mattoncino, da quando i nostri erano degli emeriti sconosciuti, giovanissimi ma con l'animo che traboccava già rock'n'roll... Fino a circa 30 anni e 12 album dopo: una band di fama mondiale che riempie gli stadi e che ha venduto milioni di dischi.
Nel mezzo li si vede comporre insieme le prime canzoni, suonare a feste di liceo, poi Boston, i primi album, arrivare al successo con "Toys in the Attic" e suonare davanti 30.000 persone... E poi la fama, le copertine, le dipendenze da soldi, da droga, da sesso. L'inferno della droga, quando i "Toxic Twins" sniffavano qualsiasi cosa gli si mettesse davanti (e il guaio è che c'era tanta gente che metteva loro davanti taaanta roba), la caduta sempre più in basso, quando non si sapeva se si sarebbe riusciti a concludere un concerto prima che qualcuno svenisse sul palco. Persone divorate dall'eroina e dall'alcool, incomprensioni che diventano voragini, la musica perde la sua carica, l'ispirazione è persa... Sembra che il sogno sia diventato un incubo e che la fine sia inevitabile...
Ma gli Aerosmith risorgeranno più forti di prima, sfornando i loro migliori album: Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get a Grip.
E non solo. Lasciano alla musica una bella eredità, una delle più clamorose è rappresentata dai Guns'n'Roses: loro stessi dicono che gli Aerosmith sono stati la loro più grossa influenza... E poi... Dai! Guardate Slash come si pone sul palco! È Joe Perry con i capelli più lunghi e più ricci! 😁
Sono 500 pagine di sex drugs & rock'n'roll, condite da un po' di vita privata ma non troppa. A regnare, è la personalità esplosiva di Steven Tyler, è una cosa che si sente da tutti quelli che prendono parola qui dentro. E poi il suo rapporto con la sua anima affine, Joe Perry, più che un amico un fratello.
Altra cosa che ho apprezzato molto sono quei bei paragrafi in corsivo, in cui si racconta, album dopo album, come si svolgevano i concerti, tra setlist, coreografie e aneddoti a tema. Lo so che mi ripeto... Ma quanto vorrei rivederli!!
Per il resto... Let the music do the Talking 😉😎
Perché gli Aerosmith? Perché sono una delle più grandi band made in USA e forse una delle migliori band rock che questo mondo abbia mai partorito... E perché li ascolto praticamente da quando ero una bambina e li adoro.
Nati dall'amore per gli Yardbirds e Chuck Berry, la risposta americana ai Led Zeppelin... somigliano ai Rolling Stones? Bah a parte una vaga somiglianza tra i cantanti, direi anche no. Sono più divertenti, più zozzi, più FERAL!
Questo bel mattonazzo è proprio pieno di informazioni, una biografia corale che racconta tutta la storia della band attraverso le voci di Steven, Joe, Brad, Tom e Joey, ma in cui hanno ampio spazio un sacco di altre persone che giravano intorno a loro: ex membri, produttori, manager, mogli, fidanzate e così via. Ognuno mette il suo mattoncino, da quando i nostri erano degli emeriti sconosciuti, giovanissimi ma con l'animo che traboccava già rock'n'roll... Fino a circa 30 anni e 12 album dopo: una band di fama mondiale che riempie gli stadi e che ha venduto milioni di dischi.
Nel mezzo li si vede comporre insieme le prime canzoni, suonare a feste di liceo, poi Boston, i primi album, arrivare al successo con "Toys in the Attic" e suonare davanti 30.000 persone... E poi la fama, le copertine, le dipendenze da soldi, da droga, da sesso. L'inferno della droga, quando i "Toxic Twins" sniffavano qualsiasi cosa gli si mettesse davanti (e il guaio è che c'era tanta gente che metteva loro davanti taaanta roba), la caduta sempre più in basso, quando non si sapeva se si sarebbe riusciti a concludere un concerto prima che qualcuno svenisse sul palco. Persone divorate dall'eroina e dall'alcool, incomprensioni che diventano voragini, la musica perde la sua carica, l'ispirazione è persa... Sembra che il sogno sia diventato un incubo e che la fine sia inevitabile...
Ma gli Aerosmith risorgeranno più forti di prima, sfornando i loro migliori album: Permanent Vacation, Pump, Get a Grip.
E non solo. Lasciano alla musica una bella eredità, una delle più clamorose è rappresentata dai Guns'n'Roses: loro stessi dicono che gli Aerosmith sono stati la loro più grossa influenza... E poi... Dai! Guardate Slash come si pone sul palco! È Joe Perry con i capelli più lunghi e più ricci! 😁
Sono 500 pagine di sex drugs & rock'n'roll, condite da un po' di vita privata ma non troppa. A regnare, è la personalità esplosiva di Steven Tyler, è una cosa che si sente da tutti quelli che prendono parola qui dentro. E poi il suo rapporto con la sua anima affine, Joe Perry, più che un amico un fratello.
Altra cosa che ho apprezzato molto sono quei bei paragrafi in corsivo, in cui si racconta, album dopo album, come si svolgevano i concerti, tra setlist, coreografie e aneddoti a tema. Lo so che mi ripeto... Ma quanto vorrei rivederli!!
Per il resto... Let the music do the Talking 😉😎
November 6, 2018
I want to preface this review by saying that when I started it, I was also reading Joe Perry's autobiography at the same time, which I enjoyed much more and finished reading much sooner, so I had already read about a lot of the ups and downs of the bands. That may have colored my opinion of this book. And although I had all of their albums at one point (up to and including Pump). they were never my favorite band, and as time has passed, I find that I almost never listen to them. That said, I've read books about other bands that I liked/knew less and enjoyed them more, so the fact that I'm not their biggest fan shouldn't necessarily affect my enjoyment of the book.
I found this book overly long. I didn't really like Steven Tyler. And every time that Steve Davis (Aerosmith's co-writer) takes over from the band, he's really boring. He tends to ramble, trying to tie Aeromsith's story in with world events at the time, but it just comes off pretentiously. And he makes a Spinal Tap reference, getting it completely wrong. Did he ever see the movie? Or read a synopsis? A good editor could have made this much more readable. I really felt that the book crawled along, with only brief flashes of interest, and spent too much time on uninteresting anecdotes.
I found the fact that he basically adopted a 14 year old girl to have sex with rather upsetting, and the fact that nobody seemed to want to speak out about this. He basically blows it off by saying "well, I stole her childhood, but I was on drugs, so I don't feel guilty - you don't think clearly on drugs." Then he arranges for her to get an abortion and dumps her. Nice. I also think all the warm talk about when Liv Tyler finds out he's her father is kind of crap as well - he avoided taking any responsibility for her for the first 14 years, and then acts like it's a great moment when she figures out she's really his daughter and he lets her use his last name.
I come away with the impression that there are four decent guys in Aerosmith, and one scumbag. That does better than Motley Crue in The Dirt where you finish thinking "well, Mick Mars seems like a decent guy." I would recommend that Joe Perry book and give this one a miss.
I found this book overly long. I didn't really like Steven Tyler. And every time that Steve Davis (Aerosmith's co-writer) takes over from the band, he's really boring. He tends to ramble, trying to tie Aeromsith's story in with world events at the time, but it just comes off pretentiously. And he makes a Spinal Tap reference, getting it completely wrong. Did he ever see the movie? Or read a synopsis? A good editor could have made this much more readable. I really felt that the book crawled along, with only brief flashes of interest, and spent too much time on uninteresting anecdotes.
I found the fact that he basically adopted a 14 year old girl to have sex with rather upsetting, and the fact that nobody seemed to want to speak out about this. He basically blows it off by saying "well, I stole her childhood, but I was on drugs, so I don't feel guilty - you don't think clearly on drugs." Then he arranges for her to get an abortion and dumps her. Nice. I also think all the warm talk about when Liv Tyler finds out he's her father is kind of crap as well - he avoided taking any responsibility for her for the first 14 years, and then acts like it's a great moment when she figures out she's really his daughter and he lets her use his last name.
I come away with the impression that there are four decent guys in Aerosmith, and one scumbag. That does better than Motley Crue in The Dirt where you finish thinking "well, Mick Mars seems like a decent guy." I would recommend that Joe Perry book and give this one a miss.
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