Joe Perry has released a new single with Robin Zander ahead of the January arrival of Sweetzerland Manifesto, his first non-holiday solo album in eight years.
“Aye, Aye, Aye” is actually one of a trio of tracks featuring the Cheap Trick singer, something Perry called a dream come true. “Being friends and fans of each other for 40 years, Robin and I had always talked about writing together,” he told Rolling Stone.
This long-awaited collaboration happened when their famously busy schedules finally synced up. The Aerosmith guitarist said Zander already had an early version of “Aye, Aye, Aye” bouncing around in his head.
“I was in L.A. working on my newest solo record, and Robin was in town with Cheap Trick and called me with an idea for a song,” Perry said. “He sang the chorus over the phone, which was all he had at the time. I dug it and said, ‘Hell yeah, come on up.’ This song turned out to be one of two tracks on the album I hadn’t written the music for before. Robin came up … and six hours later ‘Aye, Aye, Aye’ was born. The song moved along as fast as a ride on a Japanese bullet train. In fact, we were able to track it live that night.”
Johnny Depp, Perry’s Hollywood Vampires bandmate, serves as executive producer on Sweetzerland Manifesto, and also plays drums on a cover of “Eve of Destruction.” Other guests include David Johansen, Terry Reid and Ringo Starr’s son Zak, as well as Perry’s sons Tony and Roman (on the instrumental “Spanish Sushi”).
Sweetzerland Manifesto, which follows 2009’s Have Guitar, Will Travel and 2014’s Joe Perry’s Merry Christmas, is due on Jan. 19. Aerosmith’s most recent studio album dates back to 2012 with Music From Another Dimension!
