10 More Songs That Are Huge Outliers On Rock Albums
4. Dream On - Aerosmith (Aerosmith)
For over 50 years, the Boston Bad Boys Aerosmith have been rocking their way across the world, sending crowds into a frenzy with their hot licks, crude lyrics, and general rowdiness.
And yet, their first big hit was a philosophical contemplation on the very nature of life itself.
Their first album, which was just called Aerosmith, dropped in 1973 and actually struggled to find a foothold in the music scene. One good thing that came from it was the song Dream On, which is still in regular rotation amongst the band’s most beloved cuts.
Whilst the rest of the album is very old school rock ‘n’ roll, Dream On is softer, with more emphasis placed on the lyrics and Steven Tyler’s clean singing. The frontman himself admitted that he borrowed the chord progression from classical music, which is not something you can say about Dude (Looks Like a Lady).
It might not sound like anything else they were producing at the time, but without the success of Dream On, there would be no Aerosmith as there is today, so clearly it didn’t matter all that much.