SHREDnews

By: Jonny Drybanski

Have Guitar, Will Travel, the latest solo project from Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry takes listeners on a gut thumping journey through the roots of classic rock and roll, while highlighting Perry’s guitar chops.

A concise collection of hard hitting rock and blues, Have Guitar, Will Travel is a solid effort, but doesn’t quite stand up to the larger than life reputation of Joe Perry. Album single, We’ve Got a Long Way to Go enlists the help of a young German vocalist known as Hagen. His vocals soar over this relentlessly pulsing number, giving it an edgier sound in comparison to Perry’s Jim Morrison-esque crooning. The entire song builds upon a single distortion drenched riff courtesy of Perry, growing in depth as the full band merges in and finishes with the same phrase, bringing the song full circle. Slingshot is a heavy swinging blues-rock party, delivering exactly what one may expect from a rock and roll legend like Perry. The album, though expertly constructed and executed, consists of songs that seem mostly generic and rather bland to my ears, and don’t bring anything that really challenge listeners if they have already heard an Aerosmith record, or previous Joe Perry projects.

Heaven and Hell serves as the centerpiece for this record, clocking in at 7:19, the verses and chorus take a backseat to the instrumental work, allowing Perry to stretch out into his solos, experiment with effects, and essentially have a good old fashioned jam. Unfortunately, the boring vocal work gets in the way of the much more enjoyable work of the band, which seems to be a recurring theme on this album. Wooden Ships however, gives listeners a much need break away from the record thus far, and allows them to enjoy a strictly instrumental hard rock song, making it one of the best cuts on the disc. Another highlight is the country/folk rock power ballad Do You Wonder, again featuring strong vocals from Hagen.

Have Guitar, Will Travel sounds like an album that came to be because there was nothing better to work on. It may as well have been called, “Have Guitar, Might As Well Record Some Stuff“. That aside, perhaps Joe said it best himself, “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture… the music speaks for itself”, so for fans of Joe Perry’s previous work, this album will certainly not disappoint you, nor will it break any new ground.

Album Rating: 6/10
Top Tracks – We’ve Got A Long Way to Go
-Do You Wonder
-Wooden Ships
-Heaven and Hell
For Fans Of:
Aerosmith, The Doors

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