The front of
Music From Another Dimension – Aerosmith’s 15th studio album and first of new material in eight years – is styled like a comic book cover replete with anxious vintage couple clutching each other as sci fi creatures wreak havoc on the crowds and cityscape behind them. Perhaps alluding to the turmoil the musicians went through to finally get it started (an injury-prone tour full of canceled shows in 2009 that turned into tensions and a near break-up stretching into 2010, Steven Tyler appearing on
American Idol without informing his bandmates, etc.),
Music From Another Dimension was finally recorded last summer, co-produced by Tyler, guitarist Joe Perry and Jack Douglas (who manned the boards on several early Aerosmith albums including
Toys in the Attic), and hit in November. Another Douglas-produced rock band, Cheap Trick, warms up the stage.
— Leilani Polk