Day: January 16, 2025
Seven Rock Albums Turning 40 In 2025
Aerosmith, ‘Done With Mirrors’
In a better world, this album would have launched Aerosmith’s comeback. After a half-decade apart, guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford returned to to the fold and help the group record the most underappreciated album in their career. Done With Mirrors was a lean, mean return to form for one of America’s best ’70s rock bands, but the album failed to capture the public’s attention. Two years later, the band reclaimed their commercial stature with the use of outside songwriters and more ’80s-friendly production on the massively successful Permanent Vacation.
Motley Crue, ‘Theatre of Pain’
Motley Crue solidified their status as one of metal’s biggest acts with the follow up to their 1983 commercial breakthrough Shout at the Devil. Although the band themselves are rather critical of the album, Theatre of Pain’s increased emphasis on pop hooks helped the band break through to a more mainstream audience with the help of the hit singles “Smokin’ in the Boys Room” and “Home Sweet Home.”
Phil Collins, ‘No Jacket Required’
Already a star both as a solo artist and as Genesis’ frontman, Phil Collins exploded into megastardom with No Jacket Required, which sold over 25 million copies worldwide on the strength of singles such as “Sussudio,” “One More Night” and “Take Me Home.”
Heart, ‘Heart’
The Wilson sisters jumped head first into the ’80s with their self-titled album, using outside songwriters, pop-friendly keyboards, hairspray and high-budget MTV videos to pull themselves out of a commercial slump. Though they’d express regret over the commercial concessions in later years, the plan certainly worked, giving the band a five-times platinum album and their first-ever No. 1 single, “These Dreams.”
Ratt, ‘Invasion of Your Privacy’
Ratt proved that 1984’s “Round and Round” wasn’t a fluke with their 1985 follow-up Invasion of Your Privacy, which boosted the band’s unique mix of sleazy rock guitars and pop-smart hooks with higher production values. “Lay It Down” and “You’re in Love” were the big hits here, but the overall quality showed that Ratt would be a force to deal with going forward.
AC/DC, ‘Fly on the Wall’
Never a band to follow trends, AC/DC stuck to their straight-ahead winning formula on 1985’s Fly on the Wall. The album didn’t rack up the sales or acclaim of their earlier ’80s work, but contains a handful of gems for true believers including “Sink the Pink,” “Shake Your Foundations” and “Playing With Girls.”
Rush, ‘Power Windows’
Rush’s experiments with futuristic musical instruments continued on 1985’s Power Windows, as they added sampling and electronic drums to their palette on songs like “The Big Money” and “Mystic Rhythms.” The result was their eighth straight platinum album.
Arsenal 2 Tottenham Hotspurs 1
Arsenal moved to within four points of Premier League leaders Liverpool with victory over Tottenham in the north London derby at Emirates Stadium.
The Gunners, who have played a game more than Liverpool, were desperate to return to winning ways after losing at home to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg and then going out to Manchester United on penalties in the FA Cup third round. Arsenal suffered another setback when, totally against the run of play, Son Heung-min’s shot was deflected off William Saliba past keeper David Raya after 25 minutes. The response came from a familiar route, Gabriel rising to meet Declan Rice’s corner at the far post five minutes before the interval after Spurs keeper Antonin Kinsky failed to collect, the last touch coming off Dominic Solanke for an own goal.
Arsenal were ahead four minutes later when Leandro Trossard’s bobbling low shot beat Kinsky, who should have done much better. Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the second half, but once again lacked the cutting edge to completely put the game to bed. And although they closed out the win to keep themselves firmly in the title race, they were almost caught right at the end when Pedro Porro hit the outside of the post from a tight angle. Arsenal’s fans and their manager reacted with what looked like huge relief as well as celebration when the final whistle sounded on the north London derby. And this was a reflection of how Arsenal, even though they got a vital victory that keeps them on the heels of pacesetters Liverpool, made this a lot more difficult than it needed to be.
The sight of Gabriel hurling his shirt into the crowd showed just how important these three points were after two huge cup disappointments at home, but Arsenal still suffered familiar flaws that made the closing stages needlessly tense. Arsenal dominated huge portions of this game – but to win it, they needed another set-piece and a shot by Trossard that should have been saved by Kinsky. No-one could question the commitment and desire from Arsenal, or their superiority over a labouring Spurs, but once again a lack of cutting edge and a habit of over-elaborating when they got into danger areas drew groans of frustration from their supporters.