"Rag Doll"

One thing I like about a song like "Rag Doll" is that it's basically harmless. It's racy but not raunchy. It's seamy, but not sleazy. Sexually charged but not exploitative. It's a funny, weird little fantasy with those Steven Tyler-askew lyrics about "leaving by the backdoor - man." (Always referencing other stuff in his stuff, that guy.) It's also, I think, partly a metaphor for being rejuvenated as a band? And also somewhere he finds time for a Mae West impression, adding to the burlesque atmosphere. It couldn't be done nowadays, we're all too self-conscious and afraid to upset people - you'd either stop way short or go way further. But it's sly and funny, a fitting vehicle for Steven Tyler's particular charisma. Either you get it or you don't.

It's also a weirdly put-together song, not quite verse-chorus-verse, just looping back around over a few disjointed thoughts that are mostly suggestive and really sold by the vocal delivery and the sonic template: those omnipresent horns and pounding, grooving drums. And that guitar. Slide guitar! Pedal steel! Where was the steel guitar in the 1980s? Nobody was using it. Even today, you only hear it lightly dappled in the background of cheesy country songs, but Joe Perry absolutely crushes that thing, making it nice and dirty. And the whole rest of the song just relies on the band's innate groove. I think this song is the key to the whole process behind this album, to basically cub the band'/s worst impulses while also corralling their unique skills.