Aerosmith star Steven Tyler has completed the goal he set for himself before he turns 70: releasing his first solo album.
The 68-year-old, who has led the bad-boy rock band for decades, has surprisingly turned to country music.
“I just thought, ‘Instead of (an) Aerosmith album, why don’t I just write something here and see what I get?’” Steven said.
“It was something I’ve always wanted to do.”
He has now released We’re All Somebody From Somewhere, a 15-song, twangy CD that features his vocals backed by such un-Aerosmith instruments as mandolin, Cajun accordion, fiddle and trombone.
“If I could achieve one thing,” he said, “it would be that I opened the door to country being allowed to rock a little bit more.
“As you know, no great story ever started off with ‘I had a salad last night.’ It is sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll.”
On the album, Steven belts out the pro-immigration title song, singing: “Some white, yellow, black, or red / We’re all somebody from somewhere.”
Might he be getting a little political in his old age?
The song, he said, is about developing empathy and understanding other people’s pain. “We’re all getting so caught up in our phones and texting. You’ve got to remember who people are.
“I’ve never been one to go political. It’s been more about life and spirituality.”
The album doesn’t mean the end of Aerosmith, Steven insisted.
“I love Aerosmith more than anything. My kids and Aerosmith are the two biggest loves in my life, short of an occasional girl in the front row who exposes her breasts,” he said.
Steven said the band is still together and planning to tour South America in the autumn.
“Maybe we’ll do another record before. Maybe. I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said.
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