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Producer Jack Douglas Talks About Upcoming Aerosmith Album

Over the past few months, Aerosmith has been revealing details about the upcoming album – their first of new material since 2001’s Just Push Play. Old sounds will be revisited on the disc, which Joe Perry described as: “definitely has a feel like some of the early stuff.”

Perry’s general statement aside, producer Jack Douglas, who produced many of Aerosmith’s previous hits, is back and spoke recently about the progress of the album to Ultimate Classic Rock. Although the group started recording on their own, Douglas was brought in to give direction. Describing the overall feel of the release, he said: “It’s about freeing your mind and going wherever that journey takes you. It might take you to some very new, strange places. It may take you back to places you used to know.”

Since Douglas returned to the studio, the group got back in shape by recording a less well-known Yardbirds song and 15 tracks have been put together so far. Rather than be satisfied with a by-the-numbers sound, however, Douglas suggested Stephen King be a lyrical source of inspiration: “They looked at me like I was crazy. I said, ‘No, I’m serious. If there’s anyone who’s going to inspire him, it’d be Stephen King. Steven [Tyler] doesn’t need melody – he needs someone who’s going to inspire him as a wordsmith. I don’t want a guy who’s just writing hits right now.’”

Back in September, bassist Tom Hamilton provided an update of the recording process and touring plans. At the time, he stated: "We're finished with the basic tracks. We've cut 13 basics and we're gonna sit with that for the moment. The bass parts are done, subject to some adjustments in the future. The drum tracks are all done, and we're starting to do guitar overdubs. It's fun. I enjoy going down to the studio and hanging out with the other guys while Joe [Perry] and Brad [Whitford] do their work. So that's probably what we're gonna be doing for the rest of September. And then we're gonna start rehearsing and getting ready for the tour in South America and Japan, which will take us to the end of December. And then sometime between now and then, Steven's [Tyler] probably gonna start singing some vocals and then get really intense about it when we get back from Japan. We can see and hear the album in our minds; we can kind of tell what's going on. And I like to describe it as being crunchy on the outside with a creamy center."

Presently, the album is tentatively scheduled for a May release.

"Producer Jack Douglas Talks About Upcoming Aerosmith Album" was originally published to Aerosmith on KOvideo