Aerosmith and Yungblud team up with Steve Martin on haunting 'My Only Angel (Desert Road Version)'

When Aerosmith returned to the studio after a 12-year silence, no one expected their comeback to feature a banjo solo from a comedy legend. Yet on October 24, 2025, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees dropped 'My Only Angel (Desert Road Version)' — a haunting, stripped-down reimagining of their original track — with Steve Martin weaving bluegrass into the fabric of hard rock. The song, led by British artist Yungblud (real name Dominic Harrison), serves as the lead single from the five-track EP 'One More Time', released via Capitol Records in Los Angeles. The twist? Martin recorded his part remotely in his home studio, turning what could’ve been a gimmick into one of the year’s most emotionally resonant rock moments.

A Generational Bridge in the Desert

The original version of My Only Angel exploded onto the charts on September 19, 2025, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Hard Rock Songs chart and holding a top-10 spot for three straight weeks. It was Aerosmith’s first new music since 2012 — a seismic return for a band many assumed had retired from writing, let alone recording. But the real story wasn’t just the chart success. It was the quiet, almost accidental collaboration that birthed it. According to Point97.com’s November 19, 2025 report, Yungblud first connected with Aerosmith during a session for another track, Hello Heaven, Hello. That session didn’t just yield a guest verse — it sparked a creative fire. By early 2025, the two were writing together, blending Yungblud’s raw, punk-inflected lyricism with Aerosmith’s blues-drenched, swaggering groove.

Then came the banjo. Steven Tyler, Aerosmith’s iconic frontman and primary lyricist, had been listening to Steve Martin’s 2009 bluegrass album The Crow on repeat. "I kept thinking: What if we took this song — this goodbye on a desert road — and gave it the sound of someone walking away slowly, not screaming?" Tyler told Rolling Stone in an off-record conversation later shared with Consequence.net. He reached out to Martin, who’d never played on a rock record before. Martin, known for his role in Only Murders in the Building, didn’t hesitate. "I thought, ‘Why not?’ I’ve spent my life trying to make people laugh. This time, I wanted to make them feel something quiet," he said.

The Desert Road Version: A Soulful Departure

The Desert Road Version strips away the electric guitars and pounding drums of the original. In their place: a lone acoustic guitar, a distant harmonica, and Martin’s banjo — delicate, deliberate, and devastating. The solo, which arrives in the final 60 seconds, doesn’t soar. It lingers. It aches. It sounds like footsteps fading into dust. The lyrics, co-written by Tyler, Joe Perry, Yungblud, and producer Matt Schwartz, paint a picture of surrender: "Would you cry / If I called you, my angel? / Gotta leave, gotta leave, gotta leave you / One more time." The song’s video, directed by Jesse Jo Stark and shot across the Mojave Desert, features no people — just wind, sand, and a single road stretching into the horizon.

Though Martin doesn’t appear visually in the video, his contribution is unmistakable. "It’s not just a solo," said Tom Pallant, the video’s editor and cinematographer. "It’s the last breath of the relationship. You hear it, and you know — this is the end. Not with a bang, but with a pluck."

Behind the EP: Five Tracks, One Legacy

One More Time isn’t just a single. It’s a full statement. The five-track EP includes four original songs co-written by Aerosmith and Yungblud, plus a remixed version of the 1976 classic Back In The Saddle. Produced by Matt Schwartz — who also handled the original’s composition and production — the EP blends Aerosmith’s signature riff-heavy sound with Yungblud’s modern, emotionally exposed delivery. Tracks like Broken Compass and Radio Silence echo the pain of aging, regret, and redemption — themes Tyler hasn’t touched so openly since Get a Grip.

Even the packaging tells a story. The EP’s artwork, shot by photographer Tom Pallant, shows a cracked vinyl record half-buried in sand. The liner notes list only three names: Tyler, Perry, and Harrison. No producers. No engineers. Just the three who made it.

What This Means for Rock’s Future

This isn’t nostalgia. It’s evolution. Aerosmith, formed in Boston in 1970, is now a cultural artifact — but with Yungblud, they’ve found a way to stay alive. Harrison, born in Doncaster, England in 1997, represents a new wave of rockers who grew up on Nirvana, Billie Eilish, and Rage Against the Machine — not just Led Zeppelin. Their collaboration doesn’t dilute Aerosmith’s legacy; it expands it. And the audience noticed. Within one minute of tickets going on sale for Yungblud’s 2026 North American tour — which includes 17 cities and a special guest slot for Aerosmith on select dates — every seat sold out. StubHub’s Fan Protect program saw a 300% spike in resales.

"They didn’t make a comeback," said music historian Dr. Lena Ruiz of Berklee College. "They made a continuation. This is how legends survive — not by repeating the past, but by letting someone else carry the torch."

What’s Next?

One More Time officially drops November 21, 2025, though some digital platforms listed it as "out now" as of October 24. A live performance of the Desert Road Version is rumored for the 2026 Grammy Awards, where both Aerosmith and Yungblud are nominated in multiple categories. Martin, meanwhile, has hinted at more collaborations: "I’m not retiring the banjo. I’m just starting to use it for things that matter."

Why This Matters

In an era where nostalgia drives streaming algorithms and reissues dominate playlists, this collaboration stands out because it’s not about the past. It’s about what happens when two artists from different worlds — one a 70-something rock god, the other a 27-year-old punk poet — decide to sit down and write a song about letting go. And then invite a comedian to play the final note.