US hard rockers AEROSMITH entered guitarist Joe Perry's The Boneyard studio in suburban Boston and their main studio, Pandora's Box, early this summer with long-time producer Jack Douglas to begin recording their 14th studio album and first set of original material since 2001's Just Push Play and first studio album since 2004's blues covers CD, Honkin' On Bobo.

Douglas stated about the process in an online update: "The new album should be out around May 2012. I know that's a long wait, but after the South American tour and Japan in October, November and December, we will just get back to work on it in mid-January. For those who are asking, this album will be raw, nasty, tough rock with a good deal of the old Aerosmith 'tongue in cheek.'"

About re-teaming with Douglas for the as-yet-untitled new album, bassist Tom Hamilton remarked recently: "For those of you who don't know who Jack is, he's the guy who we worked with, producing our best albums of the '70s - Get Your Wings, Toys In The Attic and Rocks. And it's really gonna be cool, because there's no one that knows more about the soul of this band and the creative part of this band. We worked with him on Honkin' On Bobo', but that wasn't all original material - most of that was not original material. This time it's gonna be all-new Aerosmith songs. When people say, 'What was it like to work with Jack back then?' all I can say is we just laughed the whole time; there was always laughter going on, and fun, but at the same time really digging deep to get performances that were even better than we thought we could do."

The classic Columbia Records catalog recordings (1973-1987) of Aerosmith will be available for the first time digitally on the iTunes Store beginning Tuesday, September 6th.

An essential canon of music from one of the world's greatest and most enduring rock bands, Aerosmith's recordings for Columbia Records in the 1970s and 1980s defined an epic career trajectory and the cultural epoch that surrounded it. Over the years, Aerosmith's patented blend of knowing pop-craft and roiling libidinous id has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, with more than 66 million of those in the US alone.

The classic Aerosmith catalog will be available to purchase and download on iTunes and other digital retailers as full albums or individual tracks.

The band's treasured catalog releases include:

Aerosmith (1973)

Get Your Wings (1974)

Toys In The Attic (1975)

Rocks (1976)

Draw The Line (1977)

Live! Bootleg (1978)

Night In The Ruts (1979)

Aerosmith's Greatest Hits (1980)

Rock In A Hard Place (1982)

Classics Live (1986)

Classics Live II (1987)

Miscellaneous tracks include:

'Subway' (b-side of 'Sweet Emotion' remake)

'On The Road Again' (from Aerosmith sessions)

'Major Barbara' (from Get Your Wings sessions)

'Rattlesnake Shake' (Live Radio Broadcast 1971)

'Krawhitham' (from Draw The Line sessions)

'I Wanna Know Why' (Live Texxas Jam)

'Big Ten Inch' (Live Texxas Jam)

'All Your Love' (from Draw The Line sessions)

'Soul Saver' (from Rocks sessions)

'Adam's Apple' (Live Indianapolis 1977)

'Kings And Queens' (Live Boston 1978)

'I Live In Connecticut' (from Night In The Ruts sessions)

'Let It Slide' (from Night In The Ruts sessions)

'Downtown Charlie' (from Night In The Ruts sessions)

'Shit House Shuffle' (from Night In The Ruts sessions)

'Riff And Roll' (from Rock And A Hard Place sessions)

'Chip Away The Stone' (alternate version)

'Helter Skelter' (from Toys In The Attic sessions)