Though Aerosmith is not on tour, the "Walk This Way" band's guitarist, Joe Perry, has kept himself quite busy. He just released his new memoir, "Rocks: My Life In And Out Of Aerosmith," about his career working with his own band and being in Aerosmith. Just in time for the holidays, Perry has released a special Christmas themed EP for fans to enjoy, featuring actor and budding musician Johnny Depp on rhythm guitar. The EP, titled Joe Perry's Merry Christmas, covers four iconic Christmas songs, "White Christmas," "Run Run Rudolph," "Silent Night" and "Santa Claus Is Back In Town."
Joe Perry gives each track a bluesy, rock twist, singing the vocals and working with a band to reshape the instrumental to match his own vision -- one that has led him straight to the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame. The EP has two instrumentals and two vocal tracks. "Silent Night" and "White Christmas," the most evocative of the group were chosen to remain as instrumentals, while the full blues rock sound was evoked over "Run Run Rudolph" and "Santa Claus Is Back In Town."
He spoke with Rock Cellar Magazine about his intentions to create the EP and why now was the time to do.
"I have wanted to do a Christmas CD with Aerosmith for years, but it seems we never have the time to record one," Perry says. "When my ROCKS book tour ended, the timing was right-we were in LA with access to a studio with some really talented friends and it all fell together. I was finally able to record some Christmas classics for the fans."
If you are tired of the standards and want a fresh new cover from one of America rock guitar icons, then this EP is for you. You can grab it on Joe Perry's website or iTunes. Below is an early version of "Run Run Rudolph" that you can listen to.
