Worth the wait? Not really.
Having spent thirty five years as Aerosmith's guitarist and it being twenty years since his last solo album, it's probably about time Joe Perry released something under his own name!
Now admittedly I'm not the biggest fan of Aerosmith but I recognise that they have had some pretty 'big' standout tunes over the years. With this in mind it could be argued that some of the tracks on this album didn't make Aerosmith albums because they're not in the same style, but it's more likely because they aren't good enough. Whatever your opinion of Aerosmith when they pull out the big riff it sticks in your mind and alas there is nothing on this album that performs a similar feat.
In its favour 'Joe Perry' doesn't pander to the author's ego and merely become a platform for self indulgence. The guitar work is not overproduced and retains a nice raw feel in many places, throughout it is very much in the rock and blues mould occasionally moving into the heavier side of rock / metal. There is some exploration into new territory away from Aerosmith, most notably on 'Pray For Me' which captures something of a late sixties feel with eastern overtones.
Obviously there are some tracks that stand out more than others, the pick of the bunch is 'Ten Years' which is a slower song with a nice relaxed feel and a good melody. 'Can't Compare' is a decent tune with a good melody in the chorus, 'Lonely' is similar and is more upbeat, but I do have to stress that these are the better tunes out of a mediocre bunch and in themselves are far from classics. In the main we are presented with mid to up tempo blues rock songs. There is an instrumental in the form of 'Twilight' but it just rambles along and doesn't really go anywhere.
The cover of The Doors 'Crystal Ship' is nothing short of criminal, if you must do covers then at least try and inject something new into the song, do it in a different style or add something special. This is a woeful version with flat vocals and poor arrangement that totally manages to lose all the charm of the original and should have been left on the cutting room floor.
What's clear from this is why Joe Perry is the guitarist and not the lead vocalist in Aerosmith; his vocals lack punch and passion, what your left with on almost everything this record has to offer is a feeling that it was 'alright'. It's not rubbish, but after a twenty year absence of solo material you might be forgiven for expecting something a bit more. This will no doubt be of interest to hardcore Aerosmith fans but I suspect that even amongst them, there will be few that will find much in this album to justify more than four or five plays before it's consigned to the collection.
Incidentally if you purchase this online you get a free bottle of Joe Perry's 'Rock Your World' hot sauce (limited to one per order mind you), go figure.