SirAlex's Full Review: Let the Music Do the Talking by Joe Perry Project
In 1979, the group Aerosmith was in severe trouble. During all of the fighting that was going during the recording of the band’s sixth album, Joe Perry walked out. He mentioned that he was interested in pursuing a solo career, so he teamed up with Aerosmith producer Jack Douglas for what would become the Joe Perry Project. The Joe Perry Project would release three albums in the four years of Perry’s absence from Aerosmith. The first album was titled Let the Music Do the Talking.
The opening cut is “Let the Music Do the Talking”. This is probably the best song overall on this album, and was eventually redone by Aerosmith when the band reunited in 1985. This version of the song has a certain raw quality not present in the Aerosmith version. That is probably attributed to the hurried manner in which the album was recorded. Joe Perry makes excellent use of his slide technique on this song, a secret weapon of his that always separated him from other rock guitarists.
“Conflict of Interest” features Joe Perry singing some lead vocals. His voice lacks the star quality that is required of a front man, but he is a much better singer than the Project’s lead singer, Ralph Morman. Not only is Morman’s singing not that good, but his lyrics are clichéd and uninspired (especially Rockin’ Train). Joe Perry’s lyrics tend to be very straightforward and to the point. He often writes about his life and experiences in music, for example his lyrics on “Conflict of Interest” and “Life at a Glance”. I find his words to be honest and refreshing, without pretension that is often present in music. Also his words are good, his lyrics don’t really have flare. Aerosmith’s lyrics are often painted with innuendo, sexual metaphors, and clever humor, but Joe Perry’s seem a little stale. Perry also supplied the lyrics to “Shooting Star” and “The Mist is Rising”. Those songs were about his search for love and hiding from his past suffering.
For all of my apprehensions about the lyrics on this album, the music is pretty good. Since Joe Perry has penned the music to most of the Aerosmith tunes, this should come as no surprise. The music on this album is very reminiscent of 70s Aerosmith, especially their album Rocks. However, Joe Perry’s guitar work is heavily influenced by 60s blues and R&B, which is evident on this album. “Rockin’ Train” and “Ready on the Firing Line” are the two songs where those influences are most apparent. “Life at a Glance” is fast and furious, and although it is only two and a half minutes long, shows some of most energetic music on this album (except for the title track).
“Discount Dogs” is a love song which builds up to a powerful chorus. This is Ralph Morman’s strongest vocal performance on this album. “The Mist is Rising” and “Conflict of Interest” are two slow songs and are feature some of best blues based rock music to come out of the early 80s. An interesting change of pace is the funky “Break Song”. This is a short little instrumental that really helps to break up the album.
This is a fun rock and roll album to listen to, but it's not really that good. I bought mostly because of the historical significance of Joe Perry leaving Aerosmith. It doesn’t compare to any of Aerosmith’s albums, although it is very similar to Done With Morrors in a few respects. Joe Perry’s solo record might not have been successful in terms of records sales, but he did earn a strong following of fans. Also, it helped him get in touch with rock and roll again by playing in small venues for several years before returning to the arena rock scene with Aerosmith.
Song Selection:
1. Let the Music Do the Talking
2. Conflict of Interest
3. Discount Dogs
4. Shooting Star
5. Break Song
6. Rockin’ Train
7. The Mist is Rising
8. Ready on the Firing Line
9. Life at a Glance
Top picks: Let the Music Do the Talking, Discount Dogs, Shooting Star
Songs to skip: Rockin' Train, Ready on the Firing Line
Band Members:
Joe Perry: guitars, vocals
Ralph Morman: vocals
David Hull: bass, vocals
Ronnie Stewart: drums
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