According to a Yahoo! report, the guest spot didn’t sit well with any band member who wasn’t Tyler. Recalled rhythm guitarist Brad Whitford, someone said, “Wait a minute: So this is an Aerosmith album, right?”
Perhaps that objector was lead guitarist Joe Perry? Quoted in Yahoo!’s article, he didn’t sound all too thrilled about it, saying in part, “If you want to put a ballad
with Carrie Underwood singing on it — is that her name? — fucking do it.
Who cares?”
Yeah, who does care? Not many, judging from the critical
reaction. Here now, a sampling:
“When he duets with his fellow American Idol alum
Carrie Underwood for ‘Can’t Stop Loving You’ (rhymes with ‘because it’s
all I wanna do’), it sounds like the rest of Aerosmith is off hiding in
the next studio.” —Rolling Stone
“Anyone who doesn’t know how to properly use Underwood doesn’t deserve to have her.” —The Washington Post
“But
on the wallpaper-worthy sapfest ‘Can’t Stop Loving You,’ the presence
of guest singer Carrie Underwood only serves as a reminder of Tyler’s
short-lived, ill-conceived stint as an American Idol judge — not to mention the fact that Dimension … still sounds like a watery echo of what the band once was.” —A.V. Club
“Tyler’s ill-advised duet with country singer Carrie Underwood … only underline[s] just how wretched much of Aerosmith’s post-rehab era really was.” —Chicago Tribune
Hey! Read This:
• Blown Away, indeed
• Some Hearts lack compassion
This article appears in Nov 7-13, 2012.