If someone were to ask me where I come from, I’d tell you it’s the blues. My roots in music started with guys like Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker etc. When I write riffs, they’re all infused with a little blues. I try to listen to a lot of different genres, but the blues is what feels like home.
I would not have expected a record like this from Aerosmith. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them live, I’ve heard and love the hits, but in 2003 I’m not sure you could have convinced me that they could pull off a blues record.
Story time. A whole bunch of years ago I was at The Baked Potato in LA listening to some band playing when in the door walked Tracy Guns and CC Deville. What happened next absolutely blew my mind. They sat in and played a blistering blues set. I wasn’t expecting that at all. That’s how I felt about this record when I heard it the first time. Aerosmith play the blues? Uh, ok?
Yeah, man. Aerosmith plays the fucking blues. This record is absolute fire. Honkin’ On Bobo is a blues record with the Aerosmith twist. And it works. For real. Featuring eleven covers and one original Bobo is said to be inspired by the bands early influences. In between Tyler’s vocals, which add spice and flavor to the genre, he’s playing harmonica. Guest appearances include vocals from Tracy Bonham, Johnnie Johnson on keys and the Memphis Horns. It’s clear the the boys held nothing back making this a legit blues record.
A little icing on this new addition is how rare it is. My local shop got this copy in and posted it for sale last night. I was in the door with cash this morning. A fair (and reasonable) amount of cash. Sometimes you’ve gotta pony up a few bucks to get the good ones. Listening through headphones tonight, I didn’t need all that money anyway.
Vertical Separation 