Done With Mirrors
| Done with Mirrors | ||||
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| Studio album by Aerosmith | ||||
| Released | November 9, 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Studio | The Power Station Fantasy Studios |
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| Genre | Hard rock, blues rock | |||
| Length | 35:50 | |||
| Label | Geffen | |||
| Producer | Ted Templeman | |||
| Aerosmith chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Done with Mirrors | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
| Kerrang! | |
| Rolling Stone | (unfavorable) |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Done with Mirrors is the eighth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released November 9, 1985. The release marked the return to the band of guitarists Joe Perry, who had left the group in 1979, and Brad Whitford, who had left the band in 1981. It was also the band's first album released by Geffen Records. It was intended as their "comeback" album, and while it got good reviews during its release, it did not live up to commercial expectations.
"Let the Music Do the Talking" was a new recording of the title track of the first album by The Joe Perry Project, with altered lyrics and melody.
In an interview, Brad Whitford revealed that producer Ted Templeman wanted to capture the band's aggressive "out of control freight train" sound by removing the red light that indicated that the band was recording (a technique he used to capture Van Halen's sound). He informed the band to run through the songs in the studio and recorded them without the band's knowledge. Whitford referred to the nerves generated when knowingly recording songs as "the red light blues".
Templeman later explained having to record the album in an unfamiliar studio negatively affected the final product.
"I had a great time making that record, and Steven was one of the most amazing guys. But we had to do that record in Berkeley because they didn’t want those guys to score (drugs). They didn’t want them to be in L.A. or San Francisco. I wasn’t familiar with the board. As a producer, if you know your room and the mic preamps, you know how things are going to sound. I don’t think I made Joey’s drums sound as good as they could have, or Joe’s guitar."
Joey Kramer, who was a guest on VH1 Classic's That Metal Show, expressed his dislike of Done with Mirrors, claiming that the band "never really finished it". Joe Perry was similarly dismissive of Done with Mirrors in an interview with Noisecreep, stating that he "really didn't like [the album]."
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