keepers 3
keeper avg .333
I hear a lot of Permanent Vacation, this album's follow-up and true comeback album, in much of the sound of this one. Instrumentally I think it's indistinguishable except for an extra layer of studio gloss. If anything it's raw and immediate in comparison, due to Ted Templeman's stealthy recording technique. True, there is no blockbuster like "Angel" or "Dude", but "Let The Music Do The Talking"***** is energetic and catchy, a hell of a good song despite borrowing part of Aerosmith's own "Draw The Line" (and being recycled from Joe Perry's 1980 solo album of the same name). "My Fist Your Face"**** is the kind of tongue-in-cheek head-banger that Aerosmith would crank out throughout the subsequent years, as is "Gypsy Boots"****. And I can totally hear Whitford's hand and the busy riffing of "Shela". Of course, there are the cute stylistic diversions, such of the Bon Jovi blues of "She's On Fire", the swinging "The Hop", and New York bluesy "Darkness" (not on the original vinyl release). Even though members of the band have said they don't like the album, there are some bright spots, and compared side by side I can't see a big difference in quality between Done With Mirrors and the much more popular Permanent Vacation.
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