“We had burned so many bridges”: Joe Perry explains how Aerosmith couldn’t even get a record deal when they got back together in the ’80s
Joe Perry has reflected on Aerosmith’s rocky reunion in the 1980s, noting their struggle to land a record deal as the members had “burned so many bridges”.
Speaking in the latest issue of Guitar World, the guitarist looks back on the making of Done with Mirrors — the band’s 1985 comeback album and their first studio release after Perry and Brad Whitford rejoined in 1984.
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“I got a call some years ago about Done with Mirrors being on a list of, I don’t know… top rock records,” Perry says. “I forget what it was. But it was on a list, and people were regarding it as something that reminded them of our first record. I started listening to it, and I was really surprised. I saw it from a whole different viewpoint and saw what they were talking about. It’s really rough and raw, and there are a lot of things about it that reminded me of the first couple of records.”
Though the band had hit the road following their reunion, Perry says Done with Mirrors came together under less-than-ideal circumstances.
“We had just gotten back together. We had done a tour and were getting comfortable playing together again. I had left for almost four years, and Brad had been gone, so we were getting comfortable with being together; that was part of the reason we went out on the road without a record deal. Well, one of the reasons was that we couldn’t get a record deal.”
As Perry explains, “we had burned so many bridges that nobody would sign us. But we wanted to see if we had the old spark. We went out and toured for the Back in the Saddle tour that summer, and the fans showed up for us. That’s it. They were there for us.”
While the fans were still there, finding the creative chemistry again took time, says the guitarist.
“When we got into the studio to do that record, we were still learning how to write again. After doing records like Rocks, Draw the Line and even the first three records, you would think we’d be able to pick up from there and go on, but the pressure was on. People were looking at us like, ‘Okay, what are you going to come up with?’”
Elsewhere, the musician also reveals his mixed feelings about working with producer Ted Templeman, the legend behind Van Halen’s self-titled debut album, on Done with Mirrors.
“We got to work with Ted, who had an amazing reputation, obviously, with Van Halen, which was incredible,” Perry says. “They sounded monstrous, and I guess we were expecting more from him, so we were both kind of nervous. We were nervous to work with him, and he was nervous to work with us, which kind of surprised us.”
He continues: “I always felt like that record could have been better if we had worked on it some more, or if everybody got in the control room together and said, ‘We kind of feel uptight about working with you,’ but I don’t know… it’s just how it went.”
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