Joan Jett and The Blackhearts Bad Reputation Nation
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JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS - SINNER Review
from: 411mania.com

Click to enlarge The 411: JOAN JETT’s SINNER is a throwback to her early 80’s work, yet manages to sound vibrant and even relevant at times. When Jett rocks and wails, the album hits on all cylinders, but when she tries something different, things just come off ear-piercingly bad. Thankfully, most of the album is straight ahead, gender-be-damned rock that could please fans of modern bands like Jet and The Donnas. In other words, people who still love rock ‘n’ roll.

Let’s do the time warp again…

My Story

Is it sacrilege to say that I don't like "I Love Rock ‘n' Roll"? Well, if it is, I'll see you in hell. At least The Beatles will be there, too. It's not that I don't like JOAN JETT's attitude. I just find the song too simplistic and, well, stupid. Not to mention dated. How long has it been since a dime got you any plays on a jukebox? Fuck, a dollar will barely get you a song these days. But I digress.

I'm not a huge JOAN JETT fan, but I understand her place in rock history. But does having a well-known novelty song and a place in rock history guarantee her relevance today?

Their Story

In 1981, the rock world's eyes were on a brash youngster named JOAN JETT. She had gotten her start with teenage all-girl rock band The RUNAWAYS in the late-70's. The outfit was the first real female punk act and had a measure of success throughout their brief history, most notably with the minor hit "Cherry Bomb".

After the RUNAWAYS disbanded in 1980, Jett moved to New York City, where she met producer KENNY LAGUNA. The pair put together Jett's first solo album, which she self-released that year. The independent LP wound up doing so well that Boardwalk Records signed Jett and re-released the album as Bad Reputation. The record managed to nearly crack Billboard's Top 50 (it topped off at #51) and spawned a couple of hit Mainstream Rock songs in the title track and "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)". While the RUNAWAYS had been a mix of metal and snotty punk, Jett used her solo album as a way to lend more traditional rock ‘n' roll with a punk sensibility. The result became what has been her signature sound for the last 25 years.

Following the success of her first solo disc, Jett decided she needed a tough backing band to strengthen her sound. After a round of auditions, Jett decided on the trio of drummer Danny O'Brien, guitarist Eric Ambel and bassist Gary Ryan. The BLACKHEARTS were born.

Unfortunately, the original lineup didn't last long. O'Brien didn't like spending so much time playing in New York and soon exited, making way for new drummer Lee Crystal. It was with this line-up that Jett returned to the studio to team with Laguna on her second album. By September of 1981 the album was nearly completed. Around this time Eric Ambel also made his exit from the band. He was promptly replaced by guitarist Ricky Byrd, who re-recorded many of Ambel's guitar parts for the new album.

I Love Rock ‘n' Roll hit stores at the end of 1981 and its title track (a cover of a song by UK act The Arrows) began its climb up the charts early the next year. Fans loved the new, crunchier sound that was coming out of this bigger and louder Jett album and it showed. By March, "I Love Rock ‘n' Roll" hit #1 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for seven weeks. JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS became the first female-fronted band to have a #1 album on the charts. The next single, "Crimson And Clover", performed similarly well. The big sells (so big that Jett had to sign on with MCA just to handle international distribution) and radio play even led to "Do You Wanna Touch Me" re-entering the charts and going Top 20. No doubt JOAN JETT had arrived.

1982 saw the quick follow-up, the unassumingly titled Album, the first record released on Jett and Laguna's Blackheart label. The LP didn't spawn any singles that matched "I Love R'n'R" ("Fake Friends" and "Everyday People" both barely cracked the Top 40), but it sold very well, mainly due to the hype surrounding Album's sexual content, which actually got it banned from several US record stores.

Glorious Results Of A Misspent Youth was released in 1984. Most notably the album contained a new Blackhawk's version of The Runaway's signature track "Cherry Bomb". Glorious Results was also the beginning of the end of Jett's collaboration with MCA. The label refused to release any singles or promote the album, which led to poor international sales, a market that Jett had historically done well in. Jett and producer Laguna began to battle for the BLACKHEARTS' release from MCA, which they eventually won.

Jett and her band signed with Epic Records in 1986, leaving the independent Blackheart label open for possible future endeavors. The band's first Epic album, Good Music, was a more mellow affair, as Jett was beginning to pull in the reins on her punk sound in favor of laid back rock. Fans weren't too impressed though, and besides the hit single "Roadrunner" (which was recorded in over 60 different versions to incorporate different cities), the album didn't really go anywhere.

Undeterred, Jett had other projects going in full force. 1987 saw her film debut, starring alongside Michael J. Fox in the movie Light Of Day. The movie did well, and Jett's role was a standout (she played a singer, what a stretch). It also helped the Blackheart's next release, 1987's Up Your Alley. Alley marked a new era for the BLACKHEARTS, as both original member Gary Ryan and Lee Crystal left during recording. They were replaced by jazzy bassist Kasim Sulton and drummer THOMMY PRICE. The change didn't hurt things though, as Alley spawned Jett's biggest hit since "I Love R'n'R" in "I Hate Myself For Loving You". The song wound up hitting #6 on the charts, and Up Your Alley became Jett's first platinum album since her debut with The BLACKHEARTS.

Jett & The BLACKHEARTS entered the 90's with an all-cover album, 1990's The Hit List. The album failed to chart itself or any singles, but it is notable for Jett's concert staple cover of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". Jett returned to original material with 1991's Notorious, but that too was met with lukewarm sales. In response, Jett and the gang were dropped from Epic Records.

With her new freedom, Jett stepped away from recording for a while, choosing instead to pursue more acting opportunities. It was around this time that the Riot Grrrl movement began to gain a national spotlight. Feminist DIY-punk bands like L7, Babes In Toyland and 7 Year Bitch began to gain national exposure, citing the RUNAWAYS and Jett as influences of the loose genre. Jett, in turn, did what she could to support and mentor the bands.

In 1994, Jett signed on with Warner Bros. and began working on her first album in nearly four years. During the downtime, the BLACKHEARTS underwent a radical change, as both longtime guitarist Ricky Byrd and bassist Kasim Sulton handed in their notice, replaced eventually by Tony Bruno and Sean Ray Koos, respectively. The resulting album, Pure And Simple, was a return to Jett's early days, a stripped down rock ‘n' roll record with a punk attitude. Not surprisingly, critics hailed the album as Jett's best in years.

Following the album, Jett took even more time off from the BLACKHEARTS, and stayed very busy. Notably, Jett played a tribute show with band The Gits, whose lead singer had been raped and murdered by an unknown assailant. The live recording was put to record with Evil Stig ("Gits Live" spelled backwards). Jett also pursued several TV and independent film acting roles during those next five years. BLACKHEART RECORDS stayed busy in the meantime, re-releasing expanded editions of Jett's first four albums, as well as her first compilation, 1997's Fit To Be Tied: Great Hits By JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS.

1999 saw Jett's return to The Blackheart's with the comp album Fetish. The record was the first to feature Dan Cangialosi on guitar, who replaced the short-lived Tony Bruno. Fetish contained several carnally themed catalog numbers, as well as three new tracks, and it was quite the descent into S&M culture for Jett, who had only touched on the obscene and sexually explicit on previous albums. The record hardly made a blip on the commercial radar, but critics were interested in seeing where Jett would go with the new sound.

Much of the new millennium has been spent by Jett behind the scenes. She's worked as a producer on a few albums, toured Japan some (her best market) and laid pretty low. 2004 saw the release of the Japanese-only disc Naked, a set of new songs with the new incarnation of the BLACKHEARTS. The album was eventually revamped and expanded to become Jett's first widely-available disc in seven years, and is being released to coincide with Jett's headlining spot on the 2006 Vans Warped Tour.

The Album

On June 13, 2006, Blackheart released SINNER, the tenth studio album by JOAN JETT AND THE BLACKHEARTS and their first full studio release since 1994's Pure & Simple. The CD is enhanced and contains footage of Jett in the studio as well as lyrics.

The Band: 7.5
JOAN JETT: guitar, vocals
THOMMY PRICE: drums
DOUGIE NEEDLES: guitar
Enzo Penizzotto: bass
KENNY LAGUNA: keyboards

I wasn't sure what to expect when I put in this CD. I mean, JOAN JETT is in her late-40's now, far removed from the 20-year old that once screamed "I love rock ‘n' roll" and garnered herself major attention. And the BLACKHEARTS have gone through quite the evolution, too, with drummer THOMMY PRICE as the most senior member, and he's only been around since the "I Hate Myself For Loving You" days. Well, my questions were all for naught, as I was greeted head on with the sort of crunchy, punky straight up rock that you'd expect from a JOAN JETT record.

JOAN JETT has aged really well. She can still sing as great as ever, still sounds vital and still looks pretty hot. Her voice still has that attitude you associate with punk and she still plays the simple 3-chord rock that got her to the dance. The new BLACKHEARTS are a worthy back-up band, with new guitarist Dougie Needle pulling out some great licks and fills to amp up the proceedings and veteran THOMMY PRICE holding things down tightly with newcomer Penizzotto on bass.

Honestly, for the most part, I can't get over how much this album just sounds like something from the late 70's. I guess it helps that Jett's longtime producer KENNY LAGUNA is onboard again, keeping things, well, pure and simple. Jett herself lends some great background vocals, too, and some of these songs turn into perfect sing-a-longs ala Jett's crowning achievement "I Love Rock ‘n' Roll". If that's not an endorsement for how rocking this record sounds, well, I don't know what is.

The Songs: 7.0
1. Riddles
2. A.C.D.C.
3. Five
4. Naked
5. Everyone Knows
6. Change The World
7. Androgynous
8. Fetish
9. Watersign
10. Tube Talkin'
11. Turn It Around
12. Baby Blue
13. A 100 Feet Away
14. Bad Time

No doubt, Jett's music lends itself to the frivolous lyric-wise. And that's fine sometimes, right? Well, Jett has decided to expand on her normal "love and rock" material on this set, and the results vary.

"Riddles" kicks things off and, despite sounding pretty good, is a little too slow and silly to be a "politically charged" rouser. Political songs bore me, I'm sorry. There are two kinds of political numbers: "Look what's happening to ME" and "look what's happening to US". "Me" I can handle, but don't try to tell ME what's going on with US, you know? The Bush sample on the track is hilarious, though.

"A.C.D.C." is the best ass-kicking girl rocker this side of The Donnas, and it has to do with a bi-sexual love triangle. Heady themes for a overdriven rock number, but hey, it works. As do songs like "Tube Talkin'", "Turn It Around" and "A 100 Feet Away".

When Jett slows things down and gets personal, she also shines. "Watersign" is a genuinely gorgeous ballad, a great blend of power rock and Jett's power vocals. "Bad Time" makes for a similarly great album closer.

There are some bad moments, though, and boy are they bad. "Change The World" is skin-crawlingly cheesy, and "Androgynous" is about the dumbest homosexuality infomercial of all time. Then there's "Fetish", a growling S&M number that reminds you of all the bad sides of a dominatrix. Seriously, you think it will be sexy, but it's just nasty. More akin to a combat boot to the face than a spiked heel to the chest.

In all, though, Jett has done a great job in recapturing her old sound on this album. It's sure to disappoint folks who were hoping for a new direction after 25 years, but hey, you go with what works. This works exceedingly well.

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