Joan Jett & The Blackhearts - Bad Reputation
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Free Music Notes for Bad Reputation
Free Music Review: 1 of 2 Blackheart Records re-release
Hit: 5 Stars
BONUS material! Another GREAT CD by Joan Jett. I LOVE the remake of "Hanky Panky". And the live video footage..... well worth it.Free Music Review: Must have Joan Jett
Hit: 5 Stars
One of the best Joan Jett albums ever. I had to replace my cassette that long ago wore out, glad to find it on CD finally.Free Music Review: The Great Covers Make Up For the Mediocre
Hit: 4 Stars
I may have a somewhat biased opinion of this LP, due to the fact I originally received it as a present at my 14th birthday party and it became the soundtrack for the entire evening.
Joan Jett originally recorded this, her second solo LP, BEFORE she formed The Blackhearts, but it was re-released AFTER "I Love Rock and Roll" went #1 in 1982.
This is a pretty solid effort, considering Joan was barely 21 at the time. She penned one song alone and co-wrote four others. The rest are all various covers, and they range from excellent to mediocre.
Two of Joan's biggest musical influences are apparent in her sound and her selection of material: Gary Glitter and Tommy James & the Shondells.
The two Gary Glitter covers are among the best on the album along with the rocking title track.
The title track of "Bad Reputation" starts off with a bang, and is the best of the four songs she co-wrote. It was featured as the theme of excellent short-lived (and highly recommended) cult series "Freaks and Geeks". Joan's manic, angry vocals make this a great start to the album.
"Make Believe" starts off slow and quiet, and Joan doesn't really come across as that great a singer when she's holding back. Thankfully, the chorus rocks on this one and this is where Jett shines.
"You Don't What You've Got" has a drum solo that is very evocative of The Shondells.
The band sounds particularly tight on "Too Bad on Your Birthday", which is good but not outstanding.
The two Gary Glitter covers are among the strongest tracks. Joan sounds so strong and confident on "Do Ya Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah") than many people, including myself, would have never guessed it wasn't all hers and just a cover. Joan has said she regrets donning a bikini in the video, but I think she has a cute body and certainly nothing to be ashamed of, not like the plastic silicone pool floats of today. At the end when Joan ad-libs it sounds as though a few expletives escape her lips, but I can't tell for sure. On "Doing All Right With the Boys", one would be hard pressed to detect it wasn't the original as the "My Sharona"-type drumming kicks off. Both these songs are high points and "Boys" should have been a hit single.
The galloping chorus of "Let Me Go" is its best feature, which sounds like The Shondells' "Mirage".
"Don't Abuse Me" is the only song Joan penned by herself and is an upbeat rocker that appropriately starts off with "Before I was in a rock-and-roll band, I couldn't get the time of day".
"Jezebel" is another serviceable rocker, not great but good.
The two oldies' covers of "Shout" and "Wooly Bully" are the album's low points. It's not that Joan does a bad job, she just doesn't bring anything new or interesting to them except on the former when she says "You make me wanna...take my pants off". On "You Don't Own Me", Joan sounds soft and vulnerable, despite the defiant lyrics. This one won't make you forget the Lesley Gore version, but at least it's miles better than the dreadful Blow Monkeys' rendering of the song that appeared on "Dirty Dancing".
The sequencing of the songs is great because the good/weak are spread out so that the album never really lags. It's a good listen but may take a few spins to truly appreciate.
Free Music Review: joan jett states it proudly
Hit: 4 Stars
This came out right after the end of the runaways. It had some great songs on it. Some were cover versions like 'do you wanna touch me' and 'you don't own me' and she does a great job on them she brings new life into them. But 'bad reputation' is a pure classic song. and with that song she is out to conquer the world. she's in your face and she's ready to stomp the hell out of doubters. The next cd would be a more focused effort and a classic but this one comes really close to it in some ways. Personally I can't find a bad song on here and the new added ones really just add more to the whole scene. Joan has decided here to be less punky and more straight forward rockin and that's a wise move. The fact that she recorded 'wooly bully' shows how artists in those days really enjoyed a wide variety of rock! So don't worry about your reputation get this one and some runaways cds too for some great girrrrrrrl rockin.Free Music Review: Not As Good As I Thought It Would Be!!!
Hit: 3 Stars
This was an okay CD. The only songs I liked were Bad Reputation, Shout, and Wooly Bully. I think Joan Jett has a really good voice, but I just didn't care too much for the songs. I probably wouldn't recommend BAD REPUTATION!!!
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