''Have Guitar, Will Travel'' is the fifth solo album by Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, released on October 6, 2009 on Roman Records. In addition to Perry (lead guitar, vocals), the album features German vocalist Hagen Grohe, Joe Perry Project bassist David Hull, pianist Willie Alexander, Hammond organ player Paul Santo, and drummers Marty Richards, Ben Tileston and Scott Meeder. According to Perry, one of the reasons for releasing another solo album is "because you can get out there and do whatever you want and you don't have to answer to anybody." The album's first single was "We've Got a Long Way to Go." The title is a

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of the phrase "

Have Gun – Will Travel ''Have Gun – Will Travel'' is an American Western series that was produced and originally broadcast by CBS on both television and radio from 1957 through 1963. The television version of the series starring Richard Boone was rated number t ...

", and also possibly a reference to the 1960 album of the same name by

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. In February 2010, the album received its UK release alongside issue 142 of ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

'' magazine. Editor Scott Rowley states that: "To our knowledge, it's the first time that a music magazine has given away a complete album." The issue featured an exclusive interview with Aerosmith and a 'track-by-track' interview with Perry about ''Have Guitar, Will Travel''.

Background and recording

For Joe Perry's next solo album, he originally planned to contact notable musicians and record an album featuring 'guest appearances'. Perry states that he considered contacting the likes of Jimmy Page,

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Scott Weiland Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from ...

Robin Zander Robin Wayne Zander (born January 23, 1953) is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Cheap Trick, but is also a solo artist. Zander was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 as a ...

but ultimately decided not to. Following aborted plans to record Aerosmith's fifteenth studio album with producer

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, Perry decided to record another solo album with his newly assembled band which included vocalist Hagen Grohe, bassist David Hull, pianist Willie Alexander, organ player Paul Santo, and drummers Marty Richards, Ben Tileston and Scott Meeder. Perry's wife, Billie Perry, discovered vocalist Hagen Grohe on

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after hearing about

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discovering their vocalist

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in a similar manner. In early 2010, Perry stated that "after Steven blew the friggin' Aerosmith record we got on a bus and headed down south to play Brendan O'Brien the new material and he said, 'Yeah, agen Grohehas pipes.' So we thought, 'Fuck it, let's put out our own record. We can't count on Tyler anymore, he's a fuckin' burnout.'" The track "Do You Wonder", was originally written for Aerosmith's thirteenth studio album, '' Just Push Play'', by Perry and frequent producer

Marti Frederiksen Martin Harold "Marti" Frederiksen (born July 1, 1962) is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. He writes and produces music primarily in rock, country, and pop. He is best known for his work with many artists and bands incl ...

, but was never finished. Upon showing the track to producer Brendan O'Brien, whilst working on material for Aerosmith's fifteenth studio album, O'Brien is said to have "loved" the track, and pushed for its inclusion on the forthcoming album. However, when the album sessions never came to fruition, Perry decided to include the song on ''Have Guitar, Will Travel''. Perry's wife, Billie, wrote the track's lyrics. Perry stated in a recent interview with ''

'': "Fuck it! It's been almost ten years, Brendan thinks it's got potential, I think I'll put it on my record."

Reception

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critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described the album as "the sound of Joe Perry cutting loose in his home studio," and stated that the album "has a warmth that latter-day Aerosmith albums have often lacked."

Track listing

''Music and lyrics by Joe Perry unless otherwise noted'' #"We've Got a Long Way to Go" – 4:34 #*The first track to feature synthesizer work by Joe Perry. #"Slingshot" – 4:20 #"Do You Wonder" - 5:14 (Music: Joe Perry,

; Lyrics: Billie Perry) #"Somebody's Gonna Get (Their Head Kicked in Tonite)" - 4:10 (

Jeremy Spencer Jeremy Cedric Spencer (born 4 July 1948) is a British musician, best known for playing slide guitar and piano in the original line-up of the rock band Fleetwood Mac. A member since Fleetwood Mac's inception in July 1967, he remained with th ...

) #"Heaven and Hell" – 7:19 #"No Surprise" - 4:53 #"Wooden Ships" – 4:56 #*An

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to inst ...

track dedicated to Les Paul. #"Oh Lord (21 Grams)" – 3:27 #"Scare the Cat" – 4:47 #"Freedom" - 3:50

Bonus tracks (Japanese Pressing)

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Cover) #" Dream On (Reggae Mix)

Personnel

The following people contributed to ''Have Guitar, Will Travel'':Have Guitar, Will Travel liner notes

Musicians

* Joe Perry - guitar, vocals, synth, percussion, programming, sound effects, production *Hagen Grohe - vocals * David Hull - bass *Ben Tileston - drums, percussion, glockenspiel *Marty Richards - drums *Scott Meeder - drums *Willie Alexander - piano * Paul Santo - Hammond organ, pipe organ, percussion, engineer *Glen McCarthy - sound effects *Choir on "Oh Lord" - Brian Greenwood, Vivian Doughty, Kerri McLennan, Charlotte Cipolletti, Kelly McElduff, Mike Bernard, Phil DellaNoce, Dan Creed, Pat Dauwer, Lauren Mack, Roman Perry, Hagen Grohe

Recording personnel

*Pablo Arraya - recording, engineer, mixing *Tom Tapley - basic track recording *Daniel Imana - mixing assistant *Dave Kutch - mastering

Artwork

*John Douglas - cover painting *Stephanie Alexander - photograph cover is based on *Billie Perry - photography *John Bionelli - additional photography *John Shipp - additional photography *

Ross Halfin Ross William Halfin (born 11 August 1957) is a British rock and roll photographer. Since the late 1970s he has worked for some of the biggest acts in rock and heavy metal, including Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Black Sabbath, The Who, Kiss, Metallica, ...

- back cover photograph, headstock photo *Rena DeBortoli - design

References

External links

Official Website
{{Authority control 2009 albums The Joe Perry Project albums