The Back-Burner: Aerosmith Outtakes & Demos

“Heart Of Passion” is an unreleased ballad from Aerosmith’s Nine Lives era. The demo tape is dated 18 May 1996, and it appears linked to the Glen Ballard mixes that were rushed by the label for review during the South Beach sessions.

Musically, it is a gentle, slow-burning track with an almost Christmas-like warmth, running at roughly 92 BPM. The arrangement is built around a clavichord-style keyboard tone, the kind of sound Steven seems to favour and has used live in moments like “Dream On”. Underneath that, the demo carries a supporting bed of synth pad textures and what sounds like a MIDI bass following the progression.

Guitars play a clear role in shaping dynamics. The verses sit on clean guitar that follows along with the chords, keeping the song grounded and intimate. When the chorus arrives, the tone shifts sharply into heavy, distorted power chords, giving the hook its lift and impact. Across the chorus, you can also hear high-hat bell-style timekeeping that helps lock the tempo. In the chorus B section, on the “Well I don’t want no more” passage, additional bongo-style percussion comes in to extend and colour the groove.

All of these elements point to a mix that still feels like a reference or work-in-progress rather than a finished master. The instrumental balance keeps much of the backing supportive and slightly recessed, while Tyler’s voice sits front and centre. He is the dominant instrument here, pushing into impressively high notes in the chorus and carrying the emotional peak of the track.

Structurally, the song moves through multiple sections in a way that is more harmonically involved than many riff-driven Aerosmith cuts. It follows a big, emotional ballad arc that recalls the multi-section chord movement of Get a Grip’s “Amazing”. The opening drops straight into the verse with keyboard and vocal, then shifts into a second verse section before a melodic pre-chorus sets up the chorus. After a brief pause, the second verse arrives and the chorus returns with more weight, helped by the added rhythmic layers in the later chorus section.

From there, the demo opens into a looser vocal jam with unfinished lyrics that reads like a bridge idea. It has a slightly jazzy feel and leads into another break before the chorus hits again after a reprise of the verse’s B section. After the final pause, the song comes full circle by returning to a softer version of the verse’s A section to close.

Lyrically, it is classic romantic ballad territory. Love is framed as both a rush and a risk. The narrator sounds swept up at first, then pivots into the realisation that love can turn brutal, ending with a blunt decision to walk away.

So why was it left behind? Beyond the obvious “unfinished” character of the recording, the track also feels closer to a Tyler-led pop ballad than a full-band Aerosmith cut. It leans hard into melody and mood, and it could almost sit comfortably on a Disney-style soundtrack.

Authorship is still not fully confirmed publicly, but an ASCAP registration lists Richard Supa and Steven Tallarico as writers of a work titled “Throws of Emotion”, a phrase heavily repeated in the chorus. That raises a strong possibility that “Heart Of Passion” was simply a working title used on the tape.

There is also a brief, telling moment in backstage footage from the 2007 tour. Steven can be heard warming up with Russ Irwin and recalling the chorus melody, but he cannot remember the song’s name. When he asks Irwin to play it, Irwin seems unsure which song he means and plays a similar progression from one of his own compositions, and the moment quickly drifts away.

A couple of fan covers circulate online in different keys, but they largely follow the demo’s structure. It is a small reminder of how close this song came to having a life beyond the tape.

Heart Of Passion

Love is the passion of the heart,
Sometimes the arrow finds its mark,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Somehow to make it be alright,

The light creeps in, the day begins,
With voices in my head,
With sweet regret, I can’t forget,
The scent of her in bed,

And every end, the heart must bear,
It’s like a friend who turns and walks away,
From here it’s like a tear,
But sometimes pain’s too much,
A price to pay…

Love loves too high,
In the throes of emotion,
I could have died,
In the throes of emotion,

Sometimes the love you get ain’t good enough,
Although your love is tough,
And ’cause it calls your bluff,
Is that what people say that love is for?
Well I don’t want no more,
That is why I’m out the door…

Love is the passion of the heart,
Sometimes the arrow finds its mark,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Somehow to make it be alright,

Love loves too high,
In the throes of emotion,
I could have died,
In the throes of emotion,

Una, una, una, una, una, una, una, una, una,
una, una, una, una, una, una, una, ahhhh!

Una, una, una, una; una, una, una, uuu,
Labadabatau, labadababadabu…

When your heart is torn,
From the rose’s thorn,
And you’re frozen in your fears,

Your nightmare dreams,
Are full of screams,
And no one ever hears,

Love loves too high,
In the throes of emotion,
I could have died,
In the throes of emotion,

Sometimes the love you get ain’t good enough,
Although your love is tough,
And ’cause it calls your bluff,
Is that what people say that love is for?
Well I don’t want no more,
That is why I’m out the door…

Love is the passion of the heart,
It’s like a bridge into the dark,
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Somehow to make it be all right…

Chords:
Verses:
F – A# – C – F – F – A# – C
Dm – Am – A# – C – F
Dm – F – Dm – F – A# – C (x2)
Pre-chorus:
Dm – A# – G – C
F – A# – G – C
Chorus:
F – D# – A# – C
F – D# – A# – C
A# – G# – D# – C#