| "S.O.S. (Too Bad)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Aerosmith | ||||
| from the album Get Your Wings | ||||
| B-side | "Lord of the Thighs" | |||
| Released | February 20, 1975 | |||
| Recorded | December 17, 1973 – January 14, 1974 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant, New York City | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:51 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Steven Tyler | |||
| Producer(s) | Jack Douglas | |||
| Aerosmith singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"S.O.S. (Too Bad)" is a song by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was released in 1975 as their third single from their second album Get Your Wings.
Background
Written by Steven Tyler, it is a hard rocking song focusing on sex and sleaze, with a chorus of "I'm a bad, lonely school boy, and I'm a rat, and it's too bad, can't get me none of that." The song starts off with a fast drum beat and basic guitar riff, then slows down, and builds up once again, with Steven Tyler's rapid-fire, fierce lyrics accompanying. The song's lyrical content and musical styles are in the vein of "blooze", a grittier hard rock version of blues music, often with lyrics focused on sex, drugs, and urban life.
"S.O.S. (Too Bad") has been described as a proto-punk song, with numerous elements presaging the punk rock explosion, including dark lyrical themes.[1]
Record World said "Here comes [Aerosmith's] hard rock supreme to the rescue."[2]
The song has remained a fan favorite and has been a staple in the setlists on Aerosmith's most recent tours, the Rockin' the Joint Tour and the Route of All Evil Tour.
References
- 1 2 Aerosmith. p. 86. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ↑ "Single Picks" (PDF). Record World. March 8, 1975. p. 26. Retrieved 2023-03-10.
