Other Side
Recording Artist: Aerosmith
Writers: Steven Tyler
Jim Vallance
Date Written: December 1988 - January 1989
Albums: Pump (Geffen, 1989)
Big Ones (Geffen, 1994)
A Little South Of Sanity (Geffen, 1998)
Young Lust (Geffen, 2001)
O, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (Columbia, 2002)
Gold: Aerosmith (January 11, 2005)
Devil's Got A New Disguise (Columbia/Sony, 2006) / *European edition only
20th Century Masters - The Millenium Collection (November 6, 2007)
Charts:

#1 - Billboard Album Rock Tracks Chart / 1990 (16 weeks on the chart)
#22 - Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart / August 18, 1990 (15 weeks on the chart)
#35 - The Record (Canada) / February 3, 1992 (6 weeks on the chart)
#46 - UK Top 40 / October 1990 ?
#70 - Australian Chart

Awards: Best Metal/Hard Rock Video - MTV Music Video Awards, September 5, 1991
Audio 1:
  Steven Tyler: vocal
Joe Perry: guitar
Brad Whitford: guitar
Tom Hamilton: bass
Joey Kramer: drums
  Bruce Fairbairn: trumpet
Henry Christian: trumpet
Tom Keenlyside: tenor sax
Ian Putz: baritone sax
 
Produced by Bruce Fairbairn. Recorded at Little Mountain Sound Studios, Vancouver Canada, April-June 1989.
Audio 2:
  Above: The "music minus vocals" demo I recorded for Steven in December 1988. I'm playing piano, guitar, bass and drums. The horns (trumpet, tenor and baritone sax) are sampled and played on a keyboard.
Comments:

  Vinyl single sleeve for
"The Other Side"
I wrote the music track for this song between Christmas and New Year 1988. I recorded a quick demo (Audio-2 above) and mailed it to Steven Tyler in Boston (see the story for "Deuces Are Wild").

Steven added vocals in his home studio and a week later he mailed me a finished cassette recording for my comments.

I had a listen. At first I was disappointed ... Steven had taken what I intended to be the verse and used it for the chorus.  It sounded wrong! Upside-down. Backwards.  I phoned Steven to express my disappointment, but he wasn't the least bit concerned.

"It's perfect the way it is", he said. "Listen to it again. You'll see!".

It took me a day or two, but Steven was right. It sounded much better his way! In fact, this is a perfect example of Steven's genius: he doesn't think like the rest of us ... he sees things from a completely different perspective. It just took me a while to catch up to him!
The "music minus vocals" demo I recorded for Steven in December 1988.
 
Holland-Dozier-Holland scan the universe for more songs that resemble "Standing In The Shadows Of Love" >
An unfortunate "wrinkle" surfaced in the early 1990's. Holland-Dozier-Holland (the songwriting team responsible for many of Motown's biggest hits) claimed that the melody for "The Other Side" closely resembled their song, "Standing In The Shadows Of Love".

Motown had already successfully sued KISS for "I Was Made For Lovin' You", claiming that it, too, sounded like "Standing In The Shadows Of Love". As a result, Steven's lawyer recommended we not fight the charge. That's why the credits for "The Other Side" read: Tyler-Vallance-Holland-Dozier-Holland.
Lyrics: Lovin' you has got to be
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Like the devil in the deep blue sea
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Forget about your foolish pride
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Oh take me to the other side
(Take Me To The Other Side)

My mama told me there'd be days like this
And man she wasn't foolin'
'Cause I just can't believe the way you kiss

You opened up your mouth with bated breath
You said you'd never leave me
You love me, you hate me,
I tried to take the loss
You're cryin' me a river but I got to get across

Lovin' you has got to be
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Like the devil in the deep blue sea
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Forget about your foolish pride
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Oh take me to the other side
(Take Me To The Other Side)

I'm lookin' for another kind of love
Oh Lordy, how I need it
The kind that likes to leap without a shove
Oh honey, best believe it

To save a lot of time and foolish pride
I'll say what's on my mind, girl
You love me, you hate me,
You cut me down to size
You blinded me with love and,
yeah, it opened up my eyes

Lovin' you has got to be
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Like the devil and the deep blue sea
(Take Me To The Other Side)
My conscience got to be my guide
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Oh honey, take me, take me, take, take, take, take
Take me to the Other Side

I'm lookin' for another kind of love
Oh, Lordy, how I need it
The kind that likes to leap without a shove
Honey, you best believe it

Now I ain't one for saying long goodbyes
I hope all is forgiven
You loved me, you hate me,
I used to be your lover
You know you had it coming, girl
So take me to The Other Side

Take me to The Other Side,
Take me to The Other Side
Lovin' you has got to be
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Like the devil and the deep blue sea
Take Me To The Other Side)
My conscience got to be my guide
(Take Me To The Other Side)
Oh honey, take me to the other side