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Who knew that all it would take for Aerosmith to get right back at it again would be a bit of studio time with one of Doncaster’s most famous sons? But in a year that has seen YUNGBLUD go from a very big deal to a genuine worldwide phenomenon – thanks partly to his top charting album Idols and even more so his show-stopping performance of Changes at Black Sabbath’s Back To The Beginning show - there are few artists better to consider associating and collaborating with right now.
What started as Dom Harrison contacting Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to see if they fancied adding their own lick of paint to his nine-minute epic Hello Heaven, Hello quickly developed into a proper body of work, the first with Aerosmith's name attached to it since 2012's Music From Another Dimension.
And that has evolved into a very public show of respect and admiration between the two parties over the last six months, most notably during a thrashing Ozzy Osbourne medley at the MTV VMA Awards.
It would be easy to be cynical about such a combination - of one of rock and roll's most celebrated assets and the new-ish kid on the block trying to hit the high notes together - but as One More Time booms and blasts, from an Aerosmith standpoint it becomes abundantly clear that this is some of their best work in nearly a quarter of a century. It's also some of YUNGBLUD's best work of his whole career.
A couple of big statements, but these are some big songs.
Meeting somewhere between the cocksure and country-fried noddling that has inspired much of Aerosmith's sound over the years and the breezy Britpop sensibility that has bolstered much of Dom's own output, there is as much timelessness as timeliness to these concoctions.
It only takes a few seconds of My Only Angel to feel that; the hedonistic howls of Tyler and Harrison battling each other for pole position hit like a freight train of exhilarating proportions. Problems has as much 80s pomp as it does 90s brashness, culminating in a vortex of fret-bashing and banshee croons, whilst Wild Woman is dusty and decadent, lust hanging off every sun-stained chord played and devlish word uttered. A Thousand Days then fills in the ballad quota, talk of heaven-sent loving meets acoustic-led longing in emotionally rousing style.
Though it's in a new mix of Back In the Saddle - nearly 50 years since it first appeared on Rocks - where the real measure of this melding of worlds comes to roost. The licks are sharper, the croons more savage, and the bodacious intent of the track more sensational than ever; the smiles plastered across the faces of all pushing their limits on it are evident even through the speaker.
To come back from the tour life-ending injury that Tyler suffered in 2023, to be in a place where such commanding delivery is possible is a testament not just to his own tenacity but clearly to the energy and exuberance that YUNGBLUD has brought to the party here. They really are bringing out the best in each other, and you can't make up a connection like that.
As rock music continues to find its footing and mount a genuine resurgence within the zeitgeist, it is moments like this, built from internal admiration and the playful want to cross generational gaps and learn from who is waiting on the other side, that will go a long way to supplying the concrete that makes it stick.
But without any of that and in terms of these 20 minutes of rock and roll euphoria, One More Time signals that Aerosmith are far from done and that it would be a detriment, if you are so inclined, to be still writing off YUNGBLUD. Your best bet is to jump on board and enjoy the ride. That's what these two are doing, and they are clearly loving it.
One More Time is out now via Capitol Records.
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