Steven Tyler: (It) Feels So Good
With a little time away from the band, Steven Tyler pulls on the happy-go-lucky coattails of pop rock
Before he was an Idol judge, Steven Tyler was a rock star. The Aerosmith frontman is now striking out on his own for a limited time to prep for his tell-all, Hades-loaded autobiography Does the Noise In My Head Bother You? – and coming with the book is his first foray into a solo gig. “(It) Feels So Good” is a flattering, poppy-kind-of rock song and it’s probably the first coming from him. In a recent cover story for Rolling Stone magazine, Tyler comments that he can “hear it coming out of people’s cars this summer.” Don’t expect Aero heads to eat it up, but anticipate Idol fanatics and Katy Perry’s “California gurls” to pop it into their iPods. The song feels too young for the 63-year old rock legend, but his larynx seems to handle the pop/rock number like John Cougar Mellencamp did on “Hurt So Good,” occasionally evoking the prowess of a true rockstar on stage. The Ray Kay-directed concept video is just as bubble-gummy as the audio performance, even if Tyler looks more like Keith Richards and he’s still flirting with girlies half his age. Still, when compared with another Idol judge’s 2011-released material, “(It) Feels So Good” feels good, even if it slightly feels uncomfortable and freaky around the edges.
J MATTHEW COBB
