reissued on CD in 1993 as a remastered version, the original artwork was used. Recalling the album art, Perry commented in 2014, "Unfortunately the packaging was lame. We didn't even see the cover until the first printing. It was something that Columbia just threw together... The whole thing was sloppy. It marked the start of our education in dealing with labels." Reception The album was not a success when it was released on January 5, 1973. To the band's disappointment, it was not reviewed in Rolling Stone magazine. Moreover, Columbia released Aerosmith at the same time as Bruce Springsteen's debut album, for which they made a greater promotional effort. Critics compared the band unfavorably to the Rolling Stones and the New York Dolls. In a modern review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine described Aerosmith as "truly an American band, sounding as though they were the best bar band in your local town, cranking out nasty hard-edged rock"; he considered "Dream On" "the blueprint for all power ballads" and the album a worthy debut where the band's "sleazoid blues-rock" sound is fully present but not yet perfected as in the next album. Canadian journalist Martin Popoff described the album as "raw, dirty and steeped with squalid integrity", but observed that "every successive release sounds light years ahead in terms of production, songcraft, maturity, everything". In an interview to Classic Rock magazine, Guns N' Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin recalled: "Growing up in Indiana, I loved fucking Aerosmith, man... Smoke a joint, listen to the first record." Aerosmith was considered a big influence on Guns N' Roses and helped shape their sound. Track listing Personnel Aerosmith Steven Tylerlead vocals, piano, harmonica; electric harpsichord and mellotron on "Dream On", flute on "Walkin' the Dog", percussion Joe Perryguitars, backing vocals, second guitar solo on "One Way Street" Brad Whitfordguitars, first guitar solo on "One Way Street" Tom Hamiltonbass guitar Joey Kramerdrums Additional musicians David Woodfordsaxophone on "Mama Kin" and "Write Me a Letter" Charts Weekly charts Certification References Bibliography External links Aerosmith.com Aerosmith albums 1973 debut albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Adrian Barber