The initial sessions for Aerosmith’s “Permanent Vacations” album were led by legendary producer Rick Rubin in 1986. The exact date for these sessions is unclear as Aerosmith were on the Done With Mirrors tour from January-August 1986, especially as DWM wasn’t released until Nov 1985 (yet Steven and Joe recorded their parts for their 1986 Walk This Way remake with Run-DMC on March 9, 1986, and these sessions are rumoured to have taken place before then). There were at least five songs in the Rick Rubin demo sessions:
- Love me like a Bird Dog
- Take it Easy
- One Time
- Joe’s Funky
- Hollywood
On May 22, 2019 journalist Geoff Edgers, author of a detailed book about the making of the “Walk this Way” 1986 remake, who interviewed Rick Rubin for his book, confirmed via Twitter that Rick had a vague memory of trying to help the band in early 1986, but that the effort went nowhere and they run out of time (possibly because of the band being on tour). The Twit has since been deleted.
His book speculates on the information provided in the bootleg called “Love me like a Bird Dog” that leaked during the late 90s:
Aerosmith had been one of Rubin’s favorites in high school. He followed them closely enough to go see the Joe Perry Project play live in 1979. He even made an aborted attempt to help the reunited band record a few new songs. (A bootleg of those sloppy demos, Love Me Like a Bird Dog, suggests they were done in early 1987, though everybody involved believes it was before “Walk This Way.” No records of the session seem to exist.)
Geoff Edgers, Walk This Way: Run-DMC, Aerosmith, and the song that changed American music forever, 2019
Since 1986 Rick has remained friends with the band and has often been in conversations to produce one of Aerosmith’s albums, and Steven’s 2016 solo album.
The Back-Burner: Aerosmith Outtakes & Demos 