Retro Spins: Aerosmith - Done With Mirrors

I inherited my appreciation for Aerosmith from my brother, and coincidentally all of his albums. He blared these guys daily from 1989 through the day he finally moved out of our parent's house in 1995. However, unlike my brother, I find myself more so appreciating their non-hits. You know, the stuff that hasn't been overplayed for fifty years...Wow, has it really been that long?

Because of my stance on their music, I was really looking forward to having a listen of their 1985 album, Done With Mirrors. I looked at the back of the jacket and said, "Great. I know none of these songs." However, just to prepare myself, I contacted my brother and asked, "What are the hits on this album?" He told me there were none, but that Let The Music Do The Talking, was the only real standout track for him. Things were sounding better by the minute.

I threw the album on and was immediately treated to the track he just told me. It was great! This was followed by My Fist Your Face, which I equally loved. Man, this was getting good!

The album continued to rock on from there. Shela got added to my shuffle list, but I really didn't hear much more that made the cut.

Overall, and if for nothing else, I got to hear some new Aerosmith stuff. Well, old Aerosmith stuff that I wasn't familiar with. It was a decent album. Not their best, but a good entry. It served its purpose. It laid the foundation for the ground paved with their follow up, Permanent Vacation and on through Nine Lives, or Just Push Play, if I'm being generous in how good their latter stuff lasted.

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Order Of Battle: My Cartoons On DVD Part 2

 

Due to the increasing size of my cartoon collection, I have found it necessary to break them up into a series of groups. This will be an ongoing post of my cartoons on DVD and Blu-Ray that start with the letter B, as I obtain them. All photos are actual scans.

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RIP Kevin Conroy

 

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Retro Spins: Laura Branigan - Self Control

My first attempt at Laura Branigan left me very disappointed. Her debut album was expensive and beyond the hit Gloria offered nothing for me. Hopefully, this will change as I continue through her discography in today's Retro Spin.

It's a solid tie between Gloria and Self Control as my all time favorite songs from Branigan, and as it were, the latter of those tracks just so happens to be on today's particular album. Of course, that would make sense considering I'm listening a record with the same name, 1984's Self Control from Laura Branigan.

Everything starts off on a high note with The Lucky One. This song struck notes with me as sounding more so like something Meat Loaf would have sang. It may have been why I dug it all the more. Self Control followed, only solidifying a high expectation for the album.

I recognized Ti Amo as one of Branigan's hits, but quite frankly it's not a song I'm all that excited about. It's okay, but definitely not a powerhouse. Heart also wasn't bad. It was pretty jammin' and had a pretty good tempo to it. Definitely a toe tapper.

The singer provides a "pretty" rendition of Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow, a song originally made popular in 1961 by The Shirelles as, Will You Love Me Tomorrow. However, it doesn't do the original version any justice. Further, while I know the song's been remade numerous times over the years, you really can't improve on the original. It's a classic.

The last single from the album, Satisfaction, was pretty much the last thing I knew from Self Control. It was never one of my favorites, but it's poppy and fits in with the album's layout. As for the remaining tracks, Silent Partners, Breaking Out, Take Me and With Every Beat Of My Heart, they're nothing special. They feel like filler.

Overall, Self Control was better than Laura Branigan's debut album. Still, the singer isn't pushing me over the edge like I was hoping. I was really wanting to find the next best thing I missed from the 80's, and I'm just not finding that with her. It's really disappointing, and I have to say a lot of this letdown is driven by how expensive her CD's have become.

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Order Of Battle: My Cartoons On DVD Part 1

 

Due to the increasing size of my cartoon collection, I have found it necessary to break them up into a series of groups. This will be an ongoing post of my cartoons on DVD and Blu-Ray that start with the letter A, as I obtain them. All photos are actual scans.

Click "HERE" to go back to the home page. For more posts related to this one, please click the labels below.