"Joe Perry – 'Have Guitar, Will Travel.'" - Album Review.

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We all have heroes growing up. For me it was Joe Perry of Aerosmith. He wasn’t the best guitar player, but he was good and more importantly he was cool and mysterious…which is a cliché nowadays, but only a few guys could and can still pull it off and Joe Perry is one of them.

The other day I was over at www.joeperry.com looking at his hot sauces. Being that this guy is my childhood hero I had to try out some of his hot sauce. His Mango Peach hot sauce was being sold in a bundle with “Have Guitar, Will Travel,” the new Joe Perry Project album, so I picked it up. The album came out in October, but I never got a chance to pick it up and listen to it.



When I got the album in the mail I immediately put the album in my computer and listened to it. My computer only gets so loud and has crappy speakers. I listened to the whole album on my laptop and I must admit I was disappointed. As I was listening to the album I was also reading the CD booklet. In the booklet Perry says to turn it up…it sounds great louder. Later that day I went for a drive, I popped “Have Guitar, Will Travel” in and cranked it up. I swear to God it was like listening to an entirely different album.

The first song was “We’ve Got a Long Way to Go” which sounds nothing like an Aerosmith song, it kind of sounds like a mixture of Collective Soul and Cheap Trick. If I had to guess I’d guess it’s the most produced track on the album. The track is tight with an amazing guitar solo at the end. It’s probably the only song catchy enough to get radio play (which is more of an insult to what the radio plays).



Perry takes the lead vocals on the next track “Slingshot.” This was the song that made me start believing in the album again. When I turned the volume up, this song came to life. Perry’s vocal is turned down and almost gets lost within the music, which really adds to the song. What I love the most is that it sounds like a band is playing the song live and they just hit record rather than laying down separate tracks for each instrument. I love everything Aerosmith has ever done, but if I had any complaints it’d be that “Just Push Play” seemed over produced. I still like the album though.

Aerosmith is known for their ballads, in the 70’s their ballads were darker (“Seasons of Wither”). “Do You Wonder” and “Oh Lord (21 Grams)” are definitely in that vein. My personal favorite song on the album is a cover of the old Fleetwood Mac song “Somebody’s Gonna Get (Their Head Kicked in Tonite”). This song was terrible when I first heard it on my laptop, but it’s a lot of fun when it’s blaring through real speakers. The song is so much fun.

Other notable tracks are “Heaven and Hell” which is a busy song. I love the drum work on it. It’s kind of a slow dark song with upbeat drumming which makes it that much more haunting. I love the subject matter as well, you can’t believe in Heaven if you don’t believe in Hell. The instrumental track “Wooden Ships” stands out for me. It reminds me of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” mixed with a Jeff Beck instrumental track. While my opinion may be biased, I think “Have Guitar, Will Travel” is a solid and fun rock record. Is it Aerosmith? No, but it’s definitely going to remain on my MP3/in my CD player for awhile.

BYLINE:

Bob Zerull is the Managing Editor of Zoiks! Online. He writes pop culture commentary, does interviews with bands, and reviews music and stand-up concerts. He also administers Zoiks! Online's Facebook page. Follow Bob on twitter at bzerull.

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