Customer Reviews

Bad Reputation

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Ok, release date for this remaster says 1998, but this is the first time I've ever seen this on CD where it wasn't a 45 dollar import. And I've been looking. BAD REPUTATION was Joan Jetts first, and without a doubt best album.
This disc came together when Joan Jett decided that the band she was in at the time, The Runaways, were becoming too pop oriented. She may have only been eighteen at the time, but she was sick of the boundaries put up by being in a teenage-girl group (even though, they started out pretty sleazy). Joan Jett packed up her stuff and hired her own producer to help her put together this amazingly hot rock and roll album.
The cuts here are perfect for a young Joan Jett. Some old school rock tracks like Wooly Bully and Hanky Panky are a ton of fun to rock out to. THen theres those sexy cuts like DO YOU WANNA TOUCH ME, MAKE BELIEVE and the title cut. I frikin dig that voice. I always wanted her to pop out of the stereo and smack me around. YEAH!
This is before the Blackhearts and has a little bit of a different feel than say, I love Rock and Roll.. but its so good, you will forget about the other stuff. Very raw, and mostly fast paced rockers!
This for a while has not been easy to get your hands on. Its available now,.. you should get it.

I have always been surprised at how little radio airplay Joan and her band receive, especially because like more popular bands like Cheap Trick, she too picks catchy melodies you can remember and rocks them up in similar fashion. She has always been "Rock 'n'Roll" and this album proves it!

The remastering job is very clear and crisp, the vocals better sounding than my original LP, and the bonus tracks make this a real "keeper".

For anyone looking to introduce someone to Joan Jett and The Blackhearts, this CD along with "Ï Love Rock And Roll" are the two to do it with! Buy it, and turn it up!

yes, you heard me.
This is a punk album through and through.
It is loud, it is fast, it is angry, it is simple, it is in your face. It's harder than The Ramones, but it still has that same general sound. It's wonderful. If you like Sham 69, The Ramones, Sex Pistols, The Jam, Richard Hell & The Voidoids, then this album is perfect for you. Get it. Get it NOW.

I grew up with Joan Jett, and LOVE her music. I could not find this for a long time. I originally had it on cassette, wow, shows my age, lol, but it no longer played. If you like Joan Jett, you have to add this to your collection.

I love this CD!! Joan's best album ever! It's clear to hear what her hero is (and one of my all time favourite singers, Suzi Quatro). I LOVE the title track, Bad Reputation, including the live version at the end of the album. Just amazing.

"Bad Reputation" (1980) #51.
Joan had just left the Runaways in '78, she started doing her first solo album in '79. Originally put out as an import, it sold a very strong 18,000 copies and it got a domestic release in the states in 1980. This album had some hard rockers, 60's covers and girl anthems. Co-produced by Richie Cordell (Mony Mony) fame. She also brought in 2 Sex Pistols bassist Steve Jones and Paul Cook. This album gave us some tracks in, "Bad Reputation" #48 MSR, "You Don't Know What You've Got" (one of her best tunes), and her excellent covers, "Make Believe", "Too Bad On Your Birthday", "You Don't Own Me", the Glitter classic "Do You Wanna Touch Me(Oh Yeah)", #20 hot 100 and the party anthems "Shout" and "Wooly Bully". On the extra tracks Eddie Cochan's "Summertime Blues" #24 MSR was another fantastic cover. Joan would hit big in '81.

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.

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.

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.

BONUS material! Another GREAT CD by Joan Jett. I LOVE the remake of "Hanky Panky". And the live video footage..... well worth it.