Who played 'em and why?!? | Shred With Shifty
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- The Aerosmith axeman recounts how he ripped the blazing lead on the Rocks hit, dishing some critical history along the way.
Behind Steven Tyler’s unhinged howls, Aerosmith’s twin-guitar attack with Joe Perry and Brad Whitford cemented them as one of the greatest hard-rock bands of the ’70s. “Last Child,” the street-strutting, hard-blues hit off their breakout 1976 record Rocks, is one of the greatest demonstrations of this dangerous duo’s interplay. While Perry holds down the funky rhythmic chord stabs, Whitford burns through a volcanic, first-take solo. Did any pedals help snare that screaming tone? Nope. Just a ’57 goldtop Les Paul and a 100-watt Marshall.
That combo just “makes you play real good,” Whitford says with a grin on this week’s episode. Whitford gives Shifty the background story on how Rocks came together between the band’s Massachusetts rehearsal space and the Record Plant in New York. They dig deep on Aerosmith’s influences and the guitar players that shaped Whitford’s lead style, including the shredders that knew when to pause. “Whatever you play, you’re still replicating the human voice for the most part, and you have to take a breath,” Whitford notes.
Later on, Brad’s son Graham-an established player in his own right-joins the episode to talk about raiding his dad’s guitar and amp vault, and Brad muses on a big question: Will Aerosmith’s upcoming tour be their last?
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Producer: Jason Shadrick
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Those train kept a rolling solos are freakn amazing…..each one is so great….the phrasing, note choices, bends etc….simple pentatonic harmony yet so huge and powerful and memorable……fantastic playing
So, of the seven times I have seen Aerosmith live, only once did I see them play this song. It was 2006 at th Honda center in Anaheim California, and it was all Brad!
Some, if not most, of my favorite Aerosmith guitar solos are played by this man.
Thank You Mr. Whitford. I always appreciated your input and style with Aerosmith, and Joe Perry was pretty damn good too. Hearing about the early daze with the Bad Boys From Boston makes the day go better. Great info. Brad is a great dude. You too Chris.
Brad is such a humble, laidback guy. Plus he’s an unsung guitar hero. Great job as usual Shifty!
Brad is humble and gracious. What a gentleman. Steve Hunter is a friend. He speaks very fondly of the session. Like Brad said, it was in & out.
Great story! Simple equipment but brilliant minds. Shifty has seen a few of those.❤
Brad is an under rated guitarist. I saw him play at the Dick Wagner "Remember The Child" tribute concert in Detroit years ago and he was on fire with his lead work. Having said that Hunter and Wagner were monster guitarist as well and had a major influence on my guitar playing. Great clip.
Wagner and Hunter were the peanut butter and jelly of guitarist because they played together so well. There was a reason why they were always hired as a pair
I've heard this story before ..... I'm shocked that they NEVER said it wasn't Joe Perry on that solo......It's like Aerosmith fans were being duped for 4 decades.....
Thank you for this, Shifty!
What a fantastic video have a wonderful day chris also Saturday is my friends birthday ❤😊
Always wondered about "Train Kept Rolling" and Foghat "Honey Hush", who ripped off who?
In high school is older friend of mine knew I would be huge Alice Cooper fan and an Aerosmith fan, so he plays me the guitar solo in the middle of billion Dollar babies, and then the intro to train kept a Rollin , then just turns around and looks at me, I thought about what I had just heard and said that’s the same guitar player, same tone same licks. This was like 1977. Forward to the mid 80s I’m playing in a band at a festival that has Joe perry project on the bill., we had the nerve to ask Joe, who played the solo on the intro to train kept a Rollin, I feel bad now, for putting him on the spot, because he lied and said he did, and he’s my hero, and I’m sitting there, staring at them right in the eye, and he knows I know, and he just looked away and takes a Drag on a cigarette
You are totally right. Licks and tone are the same on both. For years I thought Buxton did Billion Dollar Babies but it sounds so unlike him.
drug addicts lie - and this was absolutely what Perry (and Tyler, and Hamilton) was at this time
@@derekgusoff6768 Glen is only on one track of BDB - he was a drug casualty by then
Hunter & Wagner on Lou Reed's Sweet Jane is also epic.
That whole album is a rock guitar masterpiece.
That train solo was amazing... kind of knew it wasn't Joe because it just wasn't like him.
🔥🔥🔥
Every time I saw Dick Wagner play, it was a lesson. He did song writing seminars at music stores, and I attended two. Our little band opened many a night when the Bossmen or Frost were the main show. When Frost played Detroit clubs all us guitar puke wannabees were down front, watching Dick play. He and Steve Hunter were double dynomite. Alice picked some winners with those two. Alice was sharper than he looked. But Wagner could write, too. Gone to Glory now!
I knew when I was a kid there was no way either Brad or Joe could play like that I'm suspicious about most of the later albums as well
Learning about the music industry and some of our favorite bands is pretty eye opening. I'm not a huge Aerosmith fan but certainly like them. Kinda disappointing to know they got so much praise for their guitar work when it wasn't even theirs... Was a huge KISS fan and it was equally disappointing to learn Ace didn't play on certain tracks as well. That's why it's call "show" business.
Tweed champ? Blackface? Saw an image of a tweed.
Amazing track and tone
More proof of the legitimacy of the fender champ.
I’ve always preferred the original Tiny Bradshaw version. Those lyrics are more cohesive, and it swings…
What Wagner laid down for the second half of the song after the fake audience comes in is equally as amazing as what Hunter played.
I always thought that Wagner did the first solo, Hunter the second.
Sorry but Joe Perry is NOT a “ powerhouse “ guitarist.
If he were , another guitarist would not have been used . JP was Tyler’s friend and had the “ look “ , hence he was in the band but he was not a powerhouse
Was not a KISS fan (other than a few songs) and went to see Aerosmith/KISS in Irvine California back in 2005 or so. They would alter who opened each night on that tour. One night Aerosmith would open nd the next night Kiss would open. It was a "we're equal" headliner tour.
Well, on the night I saw the pair, Kiss opened. WOW !! is all I can say. I became a KISS fan that night. They were tight as fck and the stage show with pyrotechnics was phenomenal. Then Aerosmith took the stage. Whaawhaaawhaaaaaa....
LOL, total let down. Was like watching some backyard party garage band.
Why? Drugs.
That was exactly what I was thinking!
Brad is such a humble, laidback guy. Plus he’s an unsung guitar hero. Great job as usual Shifty!