Released March 1, 1974
Recorded December 17, 1973 - January 14, 1974 at Record Plant Studios, New York
Label Columbia
Producer Ray Colcord, Jack Douglas
Singles from Get Your Wings
1. "Same Old Song and Dance"
Released: 1974
2. "Train Kept A-Rollin'"
Released: 1974
3. "S.O.S. (Too Bad)"
Released: 1974
Side one
1. "Same Old Song and Dance" Steven Tyler, Joe Perry 3:53
2. "Lord of the Thighs" Tyler 4:14
3. "Spaced" Perry, Tyler 4:21
4. "Woman of the World" Tyler, Darren Solomon 5:49
Side two
1. "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" Tyler 2:51
2. "Train Kept A-Rollin'" Tiny Bradshaw, Howard Kay, Lois Mann 5:33
3. "Seasons of Wither" Tyler 5:38
4. "Pandora's Box" Tyler, Joey Kramer 5:43
Also Included is the Single Version of Same Old Song And Dance From Aerosmith's Greatest Hits
and Train Kept A Rollin' 7" Promo Version Stereo (The Mono is just a fold down)
Song information
Same Old Song and Dance
* Built around a riff Joe Perry came up with while sitting on his amp, Steven Tyler quickly came up with the verse riff. The song appears in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.
Lord of the Thighs
* After the band decided they needed one more song for the album, they locked themselves into their rehearsal room, and came up with this. The narrator is a pimp who recruits a young woman he sees on the street into prostitution. Tyler also plays the piano. Kramer's opening beat is very similar to the one he would tap out a year later in "Walk This Way" The song can be heard on Liberty Rock Radio in Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned.
Woman of the World
* Written by Steven Tyler and his former band, The Strangeurs.
S.O.S. (Too Bad)
* A proto-punk song, it emphasizes the same content punk rock would soon be known for: gritty lyrics, questionable moral content, and straight to the point music.
Train Kept A-Rollin'
* Tiny Bradshaw's 1951 R&B classic, already turned into a rock song by The Rock and Roll Trio (Johnny and Dorsey Burnette and Paul Burlison) (1956) and updated by the The Yardbirds in a 1965 raw British blues version, after whom Aerosmith modeled their version. In the band's early days, it was their signature, show-stopping song, and is still used to end their concerts today. Despite the band's opposition, Douglas put in echo and recorded crowd noises (from the Concert for Bangla Desh) around halfway through to give it a live feel, fading into the next song's synthesized blowing wind/acoustic guitar entrance. The song appears in Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Rock Band.
Seasons of Wither
* In a change of pace from the rest of the album, this song is a slow, mournful ballad inspired by the Massachusetts landscape in the winter.
Pandora's Box
* Joey Kramer's first writing credit, this song was written on a used guitar he found in a dumpster. It was heavily inspired by the Soul musicians of the 60s and 70s. It is a bonus song in the music game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith.
Personnel
* Steven Tyler – lead vocals, harmonica, keyboard, percussion
* Joe Perry – guitar, pedal steel guitar, backing vocals
* Brad Whitford – guitar
* Tom Hamilton – bass
* Joey Kramer – drums, percussion
Additional personnel
* Steve Hunter – guitar on "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Train Kept A Rollin" (not credited)
* Dick Wagner – guitar on "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Train Kept A Rollin" (not credited)
* Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone on "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Pandora's Box"
* Randy Brecker – trumpet on "Same Old Song and Dance"
* Stan Bronstein – baritone saxophone on "Same Old Song and Dance" and "Pandora's Box"
* Jon Pearson – trombone on "Same Old Song and Dance"
* Ray Colcord – keyboards on "Spaced"
Production personnel
* Producers: Jack Douglas and Ray Colcord at The Record Plant
* Executive producer: Bob Ezrin
* Engineers: Jack Douglas, Jay Messina, Rod O'Brien
* Direction: David Krebs, Frank Connelly, Steve Leber
Due to the commercial underachievement of Aerosmith's 1973 self-titled debut, the young band was nearly dropped by their record label. But a rigorous touring schedule helped strengthen their songwriting and tightened their playing even further, so after Columbia wisely decided to back the band again, the classic, Get Your Wings, was released. It didn't prove to be the sudden commercial breakthrough that Tyler and company hoped for, but it did go gold one year after it's release and set the stage perfectly for 1975's Toys in the Attic, which would propel Aerosmith into the rock & roll stratosphere. Comparing Get Your Wings to the 1973 debut is like night and day; it sounds almost like a completely different band — the playing is more aggressive, the songwriting succinct, and singer Steven Tyler had almost fully perfected his instantly recognizable yowl. But the sleaze and grit remained — "Same Old Song and Dance" combines a nasty blues groove with a tale of a drug deal gone bad, both "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" and "Lord of the Thighs" are straight-up rockers, and "Seasons of Wither" remains the band's most haunting ballad. But the best known song is their cover of "Train Kept a Rollin'," which would soon become a perennial showstopper in concert. Get Your Wings also marked the first time that producer Jack Douglas worked with the band; he would remain on the controls on nearly all of their future '70s hits.