"You See Me Crying" is a

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romance (love), romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn m ...

by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as the last track on the band's breakthrough album '' Toys in the Attic''. A shorter mix of the song was released as the third single from the album in November 1975, but failed to chart. Consequently, the original single (backed with " Toys in the Attic") is rather rare.

Recording

The song is a complex piano ballad and was heavily orchestrated. Aerosmith and producer Jack Douglas brought in a symphony orchestra for the song, which was conducted by

Mike Mainieri Michael T. Mainieri Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American vibraphonist, known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. He is married to the singer-songwriter and harpist Dee Carstensen. Biography Mainieri was born in The Bronx, Ne ...

. The song itself was written by lead singer Steven Tyler and outside collaborator Don Solomon. Some of the band members became frustrated with the song, which took a long time to complete, due to the many complex drum and guitar parts. Due to the complex arrangement featuring piano and orchestra, Aerosmith rarely plays the song live. The band's label, Columbia Records, was nonetheless very impressed with the song and the recording process. Bruce Lundvall, then-president of Columbia, walked in on the recording sessions for ''Toys'' when the band was working on the song and remarked: "You guys got an incredible thing going here. I just came from a Herbie Hancock session and this is much more fun".

Brad Whitford Bradley Ernest Whitford (born February 23, 1952)Putterford, Mark (1991) ''The Fall and Rise of Aerosmith'', Omnibus Press, Strong, Martin C. (2001) ''The Great Metal Discography'' (2nd edn.), MOJO Books, , p. 11-13 is an American musician who i ...

played

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featu ...

on the song, rather than Aerosmith's usual lead guitarist Joe Perry.

Reception

'' Cash Box'' called it a "a rock ballad sure to raise nodules on your turntable" and that " heavy metal enthusiasts will appreciate the large-scale production as Aerosmith sounds like five major symphony orchestras all playing different songs." ''Ultimate Classic Rock'' critic Chad Childers rated it as Aerosmith's 10th best song of the 1970s, saying that Tyler shows "a knack for rock ballads that would serve him well in the decades to come."

Performance notes

The final version of the song was taken from takes 12, 14, and 15, and the single version of the song was edited down to 3:00.''Toys in the Attic'', 1993, Remastered Liner Notes It has only been performed live once, on June 26, 2009, while in

Wantagh, New York Wantagh ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States. The population was 18,871 at the time of the 2010 census. Wantagh is known as "The Gateway to Jones ...

Jones Beach Theater Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater (commonly known as the Jones Beach Theater) is an outdoor amphitheatre at Jones Beach State Park in Wantagh, New York. It is one of two major outdoor arenas in the New York metropolitan area, along with P ...

, during the Aerosmith/ZZ Top Tour. While Aerosmith were planning the

Back in the Saddle Tour The Back in the Saddle Tour was a comeback concert tour by American rock group Aerosmith, which had been relatively inactive for several years. The tour began on June 22, 1984, in Concord, New Hampshire and ended on January 18, 1985, in Columbus, ...

and recording the '' Done with Mirrors'' album during 1984, Boston DJ Mark Parenteau of WBCN-FM played the song. Tyler liked the song so much, he suggested his group record a cover version, only to be told by Perry, "It's ''us'', fuckhead." Tyler was suffering from memory problems at the time due to heavy drug use.

References

{{Aerosmith, state=collapsed 1975 singles Aerosmith songs Songs written by Steven Tyler Song recordings produced by Jack Douglas (record producer) Columbia Records singles 1975 songs 1970s ballads Rock ballads