Aerosmith reworked “Dream On” with the Southern California Children’s Chorus to honor the Boston Marathon Bombing victims. The Toxic Twins Steven Tyler and Joe Perry sing with the choir in a giant church, creating a terrifying performance.
Tyler’s piano and Perry’s guitar create a harsh and ominous atmosphere in this new arrangement. Tyler’s sorrowful vocals and Perry’s dark guitar sections create a compelling dirge. With faultless background vocals, several dozen young singers in the choir enhance the composition. The 52 million-view YouTube performance is below.
Tyler pours his heart into the song and sings well. Perry cranked up his guitar effects to fill out the tone and enhance the atmosphere. The piano section is substantially larger than in the rock version, and Perry entirely reworks the lead guitar to fit the stripped-back atmosphere.
Aerosmith started in 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, and The Toxic Twins still live there, thus the bombing affected them. Photos of the bombing victims in happier times with their names and ages add to the video’s poignancy. The video below plays “Dream On”’s studio recording.