Out On a Limb
directed by Casey Tebo
starring Steven Tyler
Momentum Pictures
Legendary Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler embarked on a solo side project in 2016, which saw him tread a slightly different musical path to that of his former band. Out On a Limb is director Casey Tebo’s endearing portrait of Tyler following the release of his debut country-flavoured solo album We’re All Somebody From Somewhere.
Mixing interview footage with close friends and band members from his solo band The Loving Mary with live concert footage from the Ryman Auditorium, Out On a Limb puts the music front and centre without really delving into some of the interesting side issues raised by Tyler’s solo career.
That’s because the first couple of minutes apart, we don’t hear from Tyler apart from when he’s on stage (sounding fantastic and looking great, by the way). There’s no doubt that being surrounded by a youthful, killer band full of energy has given Tyler a revived passion for music and proves that he still has one of he most powerful and distinctive voices in rock.
And although the interviews with friends and associates like Slash and Robert DeLeo are often interesting and illuminating (if occasionally sycophantic), it would have been better to hear more from Tyler himself on the self-doubt he experienced and the risks he admits he took by ‘doing something new again’.
However, most fans of Tyler and Aerosmith will be watching Out On a Limb for the live footage, and to hear his new band’s brilliant interpretation of classics like “Dream On” and “What It Takes”. The excellent new material doesn’t sound that much of a departure in a live setting, retaining many of the blues rock elements of Aerosmith with a country twist.
Away from the stage, Tyler is as affable as you would expect – there’s a great sequence in which he takes a ride in supersonic jet StarFighter at Kennedy Space Center, and we also see him joking around at a friend’s bbq.
But the main attraction of Out On a Limb is seeing Tyler in his natural habitat on stage, taking chances while remaining authentically faithful to his considerable musical legacy.
Momentum Pictures’ Out On a Limb is available now on VOD and Digital HD.
