10 Hard Rock Albums Everyone Forgets About

It sometimes seems impossible to become one of the biggest artists in the world, but Aerosmith somehow was able to do it twice. After being the kings of boogie rock in the back half of the '70s, their lengthy hiatus without guitarist Joe Perry left them in the dark, only to come storming back with a vengeance on albums like Pump and Permanent Vacation for the hair metal crowd. That's not how the reunion was originally supposed to go.

Before the outside songwriters got brought in to give us such gems as Angel and Dude Looks Like a Lady, Aerosmith already had an album in the can with Done With Mirrors, which didn't exactly set the world on fire upon its first release. In hindsight though, it's a mystery why this was forgotten by the public, having the same kind of swagger that all good Aerosmith albums are known for, with one foot always trailing slightly back into the blues. There are also some offshoot tracks that signal the more experimental side of the band as well, like the almost psychedelic feeling of a track like She's On Fire.

If there's anything to take out of an album like this, it would have to be a song like Let the Music Do the Talking, starting as a leftover from Perry's solo years and recontextualized into one of the best songs that Aerosmith ever had. With a record like this, Aerosmith weren't looking to just have a mini reunion. They were out for blood and wanted to prove they could still kick some ass.