Editing Done with Mirrors (section)

== Reception ==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4|5}} <ref Name=AM1>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000649812 |label=Review |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |access-date=7 April 2020}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
| rev2score = B+<ref name="Christgau">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=A&bk=80|chapter=A|access-date=August 16, 2020|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s]]|publisher=[[Pantheon Books]]|year=1990|isbn=0-679-73015-X|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
| rev3 = ''[[Martin Popoff|Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal]]''
| rev3Score = 7/10<ref name="martin" >{{cite book | last1 = Popoff | first1 = Martin | author-link1 = Martin Popoff | title = The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 2: The Eighties | publisher = [[Collector's Guide Publishing]] | date = November 1, 2005 | location = [[Burlington, Ontario]], Canada | isbn = 978-1-894959-31-5 | page=13}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''The Daily Vault''
| rev4Score = A<ref name=vault>{{cite web |url= http://dailyvault.com/toc.php5?review=322 |title=The Daily Vault Music Reviews : Done with Mirrors |first=Christopher |last=Thelen |work=dailyvault.com |year=2019 |access-date=16 February 2019}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|3|5}}<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|last1=Larkin|first1=Colin|title=Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music|date=1997|publisher=Virgin Books|location=London|isbn=1-85227 745 9|chapter=Aerosmith|page=23}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Great Rock Discography]]''
| rev6score = 6/10<ref name="Strong">{{cite book |last1=Strong |first1=Martin C. |title=The Great Rock Discography |date=2006 |publisher=Canongate Books |location=Edinburgh |isbn=1-84195-827-1 |chapter=Van Halen |page=10}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''[[Kerrang!]]''
| rev7Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine| last = Russell| first = Xavier| magazine = [[Kerrang!]]| title = Smith's Krisp| issue = 107| publisher = Morgan Grampian| date = November 1985| location = London, UK| pages = 18–19}}</ref>
| rev8 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev8Score = (unfavorable)<ref name="Guterman">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/done-with-mirrors-255512/ | title = Done With Mirrors | last = Guterman | first = Jimmy | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]| date = 1985-12-05 | access-date = 2012-05-14}}</ref>
| rev9 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev9Score = {{Rating|2|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/aerosmith/albumguide |title=Aerosmith - Album Guide |first=Greg |last=Kot |author-link=Greg Kot |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |access-date=November 28, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628221501/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/aerosmith/albumguide |archive-date=June 28, 2011}}</ref>
}}

''Done with Mirrors'' received mostly positive reviews.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How Aerosmith Got Their Wings Back on 'Done with Mirrors' |date=9 November 2015 |url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/aerosmith-done-with-mirrors/}}</ref> In ''[[The Village Voice]]'', [[Robert Christgau]] wrote that, given the "bad records" Aerosmith had made in the preceding decade, he did not expect to enjoy the "touching reunion" of ''Done with Mirrors'', but praised it "against all odds", saying: "if you can stand the crunch, you'll find more get-up-and-go on the first side than on any dozen random [[garage rock|neogarage]] EP's."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Christgau |first1=Robert |title=Christgau's Consumer Guide |journal=The Village Voice |date=April 29, 1986 |url=https://robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv4b-86.php |access-date=July 23, 2024}}</ref> Also reviewing it for ''The Village Voice'', Eddy considered it superior to other then-recent comeback albums by [[Tina Turner]], [[the Clash]], [[Stevie Wonder]], [[Aretha Franklin]], [[Bob Dylan]] and [[John Fogerty]].<ref name="Eddy" /> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' reviewer Jimmy Guterman wrote that unlike the best [[Heavy metal music|heavy metal]] albums, ''Done with Mirrors'' is "the work of burned-out lugheads whose lack of musical imagination rivals their repugnant lyrics." He found "Let the Music Do the Talking" to be an enjoyable, derivative opening song, but criticised the remaining songs for their "vicious sexism" as well as Perry's "rote and lazy" guitar leads and Tyler's "arena shouts".<ref name="Guterman" />

[[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] called it the finest Aerosmith album since ''[[Rocks (Aerosmith album)|Rocks]]'' (1976), saying that unlike its immediate predecessors, ''Done with Mirrors'' is "powered by the same smart-assed lyrics and filthy guitars that formed the core of Aerosmith's best songs." He also considers it superior to ''[[Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album)|Permanent Vacation]]'' (1987), the album that revived the group's commercial and critical fortunes.<ref name="AM1" /> In ''[[Martin C. Strong|The Great Rock Discography]]'' (2006), [[Martin C. Strong]] describes ''Done with Mirrors'' as Aerosmith's "best effort since the 70's heyday,"<ref name="Strong" /> while ''[[Rough Guides|The Rough Guide to Rock]]'' (1999) contributor Michael Andrews wrote that it "signalled a return to form", highlighting "Let the Music Do the Talking" as its finest track.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Andrews |first1=Michael |editor1-last=Buckley |editor1-first=Jonathan |editor2-last=Duane |editor2-first=Orla |editor3-last=Ellingham |editor3-first=Mark |editor4-last=Spicer |editor4-first=Al |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |date=1999 |publisher=Rough Guides |location=London |isbn=1-85828-457-0 |pages=10–11 |edition=2nd |chapter=Aerosmith}}</ref> [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]], in ''[[The Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]'' (1997), called the album "a tentative first step" for Aerosmith, following the classic lineup's reformation but prior to Tyler's and Perry's drug rehabilitation programmes and the success of "Walk This Way" and ''Permanent Vacation''.<ref name="Larkin" />

Reviewing the album for the book ''Aerosmith'' (2011), Eddy deems it to be "the last uncompromisingly hard-rocking album Aerosmith made". He finds it superior to ''[[Rock in a Hard Place]]'' (1982), its predecessor, because ''Done with Mirrors'' is "almost entirely the guitarists' and the rhythm section's record, all big, fat chunky funky boxy [[boogie rock|boogie]] riffs. The songs are too concise to get complicated, and they don't need to. There may be no other Aerosmith album that so fully opts for rhythm over melody. Which isn't to say the songs aren't catchy, just that the band's [[Beatles]]-pomp side is nowhere to be found."<ref name="Eddy" /> He considers the opening two songs to be the best and says, while the remaining songs are not "earthshaking", the record "just keeps on punching."<ref name="Eddy">{{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Chuck |editor1-last=Bienstock |editor1-first=Richard |title=Aerosmith: The Ultimate Illustrated History of the Boston Bad Boys |date=2011 |publisher=Voyageur Press |location=Minneapolis |isbn=978-0-7603-4106-3 |pages=126–127 |chapter=Done with Mirrors Album Review}}</ref>

===Band opinions===
On [[VH1 Classic]]'s ''[[That Metal Show]]'', [[Joey Kramer]] expressed his dislike of ''Done with Mirrors'', claiming the band "never really finished it".<ref>{{cite web |year=2009 |title=That Metal Show Season 3 Episode 8: Ratt |url=http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist/1627078/459708/That_Metal_Show_Season_3_Episode_8_Ratt/That_Metal_Show_Season_3_Episode_8_Ratt_Part_2/index.jhtml |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100410135948/http://www.vh1classic.com/view/playlist/1627078/459708/That_Metal_Show_Season_3_Episode_8_Ratt/That_Metal_Show_Season_3_Episode_8_Ratt_Part_2/index.jhtml |archive-date=2010-04-10 |access-date=2011-09-01 |work=[[That Metal Show]] |publisher=[[VH1]]}}</ref> Joe Perry was similarly dismissive: "''Done with Mirrors'', as far as I'm concerned, is our least inspired record. But I've heard fans really like it so I'm not gonna stand there and tell 'em, 'No, it sucks.' We had to do that record to get to the next one so it served its purpose. I just don't think it's up to the standard of some of our others."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Yates |first=Henry |date=February 2015 |title=Heavy Load |magazine=[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]] |issue=206 |page=138}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Epting |first=Chris |title=Joe Perry Reveals Which Aerosmith Albums He's Not a Fan Of (Exclusive) |url=http://www.noisecreep.com/2012/12/06/joe-perry-aerosmith-albums/ |access-date=27 December 2012 |work=[[Noisecreep]] |date=6 December 2012 |publisher=[[AOL]]}}</ref> In 1987, Perry said that "''Done with Mirrors'' was the best record we could do at the time, but it wasn't the best record we can do. We should have had a month with those tracks as they sit on that record, instead of having one week which is what we had."<ref name="Eddy" />

===Accolades===
In 1991, Eddy ranked ''Done with Mirrors'' at number 409 in his list of the 500 best [[heavy metal music|heavy metal]] albums. Believing the record was the only mid-1980s musical 'comeback' that lived up to its hype, he highlighted the chaotic opening song where Perry's guitar works similarly to a [[horn section]], "My Fist Your Face" for its "hyperbolically misogynous [[rap]] about teenybop hookers and [[Betty Boop]]", the [[AC/DC]], Police and ZZ Top touchstones on the succeeding songs, the belated "show-offy" ending of "Gypsy Boots", and the "[[Chuck Berry]]-gone-heavy danceability" of "The Hop".<ref name="Eddy2">{{cite book |last1=Eddy |first1=Chuck |title=Stairway to Hell: The 500 Best Heavy Metal Albums in the Universe |date=1991 |publisher=Harmony Books |location=New York |isbn=0517575418 |page=177}}</ref> He added: "Rocking too hard for [[album-oriented rock|AOR]], it died on the charts, and the band got scared", leading to their commercial reinvention on ''[[Permanent Vacation (Aerosmith album)|Permanent Vacation]]'' (1987).<ref name="Eddy2" />