Done with Mirrors

Untitled

Done with Mirrors is the eighth studio album by American rock band Aerosmith, released November 9, 1985. The release marked the return of Joe Perry, who'd left the group in 1979, and Brad Whitford, who'd left the band in 1981, to the fold. It was also the band's first album released by Geffen Records. It was intended as their "comeback" album, but it didn't live up to commercial expectations.

In keeping with the title, all the text on the album (except for the catalog number and UPC) was written back-to-front and could be read normally by holding it up to a mirror. All but the original CD pressing flip the artwork, so it can be read without a mirror, and replaced the photo of an illusionist bending forks with one of the band, the band's logo also being prominent on the new cover. As a result, the original CD (which came housed in a longbox) is considered desirable by fans. All text inside the booklet of the first CD-pressing is also back-to-front.

The title is a double entendre, referring both to illusions that are "done with mirrors," as well as members of the band quitting their drug use (such as cocaine, which is traditionally snorted off of a mirror).

"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 lyric and melody.

Joe Perry has criticized the album and called it his least favorite Aerosmith album.

Track listing

All songs by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton and Joey Kramer, except where noted

No.	Title	Music	Length
1.	"Let the Music Do the Talking"	Perry	3:44
2.	"My Fist Your Face"		4:21
3.	"Shame on You"		3:22
4.	"The Reason a Dog"	Hamilton	4:13
5.	"Shela"	Whitford	4:25
6.	"Gypsy Boots"		4:16
7.	"She's on Fire"		3:47
8.	"The Hop"		3:45
9.	"Darkness"	Tyler	3:43

"Darkness" does not appear on the vinyl LP.

Personnel

• Steven Tyler - Lead Vocals, Percussion
• Joe Perry - Guitar, Backing Vocals
• Brad Whitford - Guitar
• Tom Hamilton - Bass
• Joey Kramer - Drums

Production

• Producer: Ted Templeman
• Engineer: Jeff Hendrickson
• 1st Assistant Engineer: Tom Size
• 2nd Assistant Engineer: Gary Rindfuss
• 3rd Assistant Engineer: Stan Katayama
• Analog Mastering Engineer: Howie Weinberg
• Digital Mastering Engineer: Ken Caillat
• Production Coordinator: Joan Parker
• Band Equipment installation assembler #1: Jay Fortune
• Band Equipment installation assembler #2: Toby Francis
• Band Equipment installation assembler #3: Patrick O'Neil
• Album Cover Concept: Jeffrey Kent Ayeroff
• Art Direction and Design: Norman Moore
• Photography: Jim Shea

Charts

Album

Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1985	The Billboard 200	70

Singles

Billboard (North America)

Year	Single	Chart	Position
1985	"Let the Music Do the Talking"	The Billboard Hot 100	48
1985	"Shela"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	20
1985	"Let the Music Do the Talking"	Mainstream Rock Tracks	18

Certifications

Organization	Level	Date
RIAA - USA	Gold	July 21, 1993

See also

• Done with Mirrors Tour

External links

Done With Mirrors at MusicBrainz