Customer Reviews

Queens of Noise

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The Runaways got a lot of press back in their heyday. People either loved 'em or hated 'em for their own reasons. The Runaways may only be remembered as a bad thing to some but there were plenty of us that totally dug their music, and it wasn't such a bad thing that they were all pretty "foxy" to boot. They had fans like myself who will always cherish those days gone by. When I hear songs like "California Paradise" it reminds me of seeing The Runaways play The Whiskey or The Starwood. This album brings back so many great memories of my youth living in the San Fernando Valley. Now I'm a geek working in the Silicon Valley and only The Runaways can revitalize what's missing in my life. What I really loved about The Runaways on this record was how Cherie Currie sang most of the mellow stuff and Joan Jett sang mostly the harder rock and roll stuff, and then they'd switch! It's still exciting to hear Joan sing soft, and then hear Cherie rock out on this record. And I don't have to remind you how mind-blowing it was to witness these teenage girls (who could have been my classmates at SFVH if they weren't rock stars instead) play some explosive rock and roll, especially Lita Ford and her impressive guitar work. I love this whole entire record, but if I had to chose only a few as my favorites: "I Love Playin' With Fire" "Hollywood" "Queens of Noise" and "Take It or Leave It". The Runaways can still rock this ex-teenager's world.

...for all of these years. You know when you hear about something, in this case a band, and always mean to give it a listen? I finally did. I love this band. Joan Jett has a sharper edge on her Runaways stuff (which I love) then on her solo records. The drummer (Sandy West) is amazing - her playing actually blew me away just a little more than Lita's 17 year old guitaring. Singing of teen angst among great, strong drums and rhythm guitar. Mysterious ballads from Cherie Currie, with smoky, sexy vocals (MUCH better than her awful solo stuff), and a wild album cover to boot. The opening track is amazing, Joan singing the title track. My other favorites are "Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin", "Hollywood" (Joan is TOTALLY punk rock on it), and Take it or Leave it (wild, screeching back-up vocals---great!)

This is the 2nd (and last)LP by the original Runaways. It has much better production than the 1st album and the songs are not as repititive as on the first. The sound has a bit more pop sheen to it, but you get the feeling Joan and Lita (and svengali Kim Fowley, a guy for those not in the know)weren't just writing around riffs they were capable of playing, that more was going into these songs (even if they were from outside writers). All members seemed to have improved on their instruments quite a lot since the 1st LP. The title track is a great piece of pop bliss and I love toward the end where the background singers do call and response with Cherie, they sound great. Take It Or Leave It is their typical tough girl song and it rocks. Midnight Music sounds like a dead ripoff of Make Your Own Kind Of Music, an early seventies piece of pop drivel by Mama Cass Elliot, and it doesn't improve here. Born To Be Bad, another tough girl anthem is really great, it starts off as a ballad and slams into the chrous as a hard rock/metal power chord fest. Other great songs are I Love Playin' With Fire which is a metallic rocker (and should have been a hit single),Heartbeat, an early power ballad & Johnny Guitar shows off Lita's improving guitar skills as a pseudo-bluesy number. All in all its a much more listenable affair with every song being listenable and much more enjoyable than their first album.

"Queens of Noise", the second album by The Runaways, is probably the best of all the albums. I know it is one of my all-time favorite albums. This is straight-ahead rock n roll. Litas lead-guitar licks are as good any males, if not better. Joans rhythm guitar playing and animalistic growls are what real rock n roll is all about. The rhythm section of Jackie Fox (bass) and Sandy West (drums) are faultless. Cherie Currie shows off her vocals nicely on the ballads "Midnight Music" and "Heatbeat". This line-up is the best and probably best remembered. I'm still hoping for that Runaways reunion. By the way, does anyone out there know what ever happened to Jackie Fox? She was always my favorite Runaway. If you want good straight-ahead rock n roll, then by ths album. You won't be sorry.

Originally released in 1977,this was THE '70's all-female band's third effort.Melodic,yet hard edged rock,with that 'girl's night out' vibe to it.Choice cuts are the title track "Queens Of Noise","Neon Angels(On The Road To Ruin)","California Paradise" and the in-your-face "Johnny Guitar".Line-up:Lita Ford-guitar&vocals,Joan Jett-guitar&vocals,Cherie Currie-lead vocals,Jackie Fox-bass and Sandy West-drums.Should appeal to fans of Girlschool,L7,The Donnas and Hole.Semi-recommended.

I loved the first album by the Runaways. It was a great record that just was in your face rock and roll with young teen girls playing it hard and loud. By this time they had matured in playing ability and put forth a slicker disc. I personally loved every album this band every put out. This one had the classic 'queens of noise' song and other great ones as well. It's a great listen and joan jett , lita ford , sandy west , and cherie currie, put out a great disc with this one. The male rock press was savage against them back then because they were females! this was insane because this was a by any standards a great rock band. Today a band this good would be applauded but the runaways , were following on from other all girl bands who played in the man's world of rock circa 1950-1980. Only they really made it bigger than what came before (fanny was another pioneer) and they finally broke down the door. In fact this album was played at many a party back in 1977. This was a band making a aor disc that was just excellent in playing and singing. It's hard goddess rock at it's best. As these girls could sing and play very well. On their first one there was a few awkward moments but many great songs including the ultra classic "cherry bomb'
; just ploughing out at you; on this one they really moved forward. And soon would come the truly great live cd 'live in japan' which is great rock in it's purest form. This lineup would not be around soon after that but the band would survive for a the excellent 'waiting for the night' and another release put out as they folded. This band deserves more respect and finally we are getting a movie out in march 2010 about them starring the excellent Dakota Fanning and others. Grab this one if you enjoy great all girl hard rock (seventies style). This is their least protopunk disc by the way it was more album orientated rock but damn good aor. If you want their protopunk stuff you need the first one and "waiting for the night" which are mix of both hard rock and that style.

The Runaways second album is a more solid rock album than their self-titled debut, but it also has a more rushed and thrown-together feeling. The Runaways' erstwhile lead singer, Cherie Currie, was already sharing microphone time with the group's musical leader, Joan Jett. The album's title track went to Jett, and with her songwriting adding muscle to the song list, her fingerprints were all over the album. Currie was a compelling vocalist, able to sing both ballads and up-tempo numbers, but she was more theater than rock, and placing tunes like "I Like Playin' With Fire" and "California Paradise" back-to-back made the band sound schizophrenic. Currie would exit the band after a tour of Japan, and the seeds of her solo career can be heard in the highly produced vocal pop of "Midnight Music." It's a good track, but at odds with its segue from Joan Jett's "Take It or Leave It."

Earle Mankey's produced the album at Brothers' Studio, but any delicacy the Beach Boys achieved within those walls was quickly discarded. The CD transfer retains the original album's muddiness, which is how it sounded on vinyl in 1978. This is a sledgehammer recording, with Jett and Ford's guitars growling alongside the meaty, propulsive drumming of Sandy West. Though Jett later proved herself best suited for pop stardom, West's time-keeping (which lead guitarist Lita Ford occasionally seemed unable to keep pace with) has always been overlooked as the band's rock-steady core. The title track continued to capture the milieu of the mid-70s Los Angeles, but "Hollywood" seems forced and only a year into the band's tenure, their teenage spark was clearly being doused by the poor treatment from the band's minders.

The album's only real misstep is the 7-minute blues guitar showcase, "Johnny Guitar," which was filler then, and remains filler today. Cherry Red's CD reissue rounds up the original ten tracks without bonuses. The insert unfolds into a poster that includes a fan essay, liner notes by Michael Heatley, a note from label founder Iain McNay, photos and song lyrics. It took Cherry Red many years to gain license to reissue these albums, and they're just the sort of thing to drop from print without notice, only to turn up on eBay for $50. So if you think you want them, get them while you can! [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

The Runaways' probably break some noise records with their second album. This band is: Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, and Jackie Fox. Although many people nowadays haven't heard of them, I can quarantee that they were the best girl rock band ever! Cherie Currie is at least as good vocalist as for example Doro from Warlock. Both are great singers and both can use their voices in different situations...whether it is ballad or real upbeat rock song. It is quite funny that Lita Ford doesn't sing in this album...in fact she is the only one who doesn't sing background vocals although she has had a great solo carriere with songs like "Kiss Me Deadly", "Hungry", and "Close My Eyes Forever" (with Ozzy Osbourne). Well, all the band members are great singers and they play very good their guitars and drums.

"Queens of Noise" is a great album...maybe it is better than their first one but I think both records are great. They both sound quite "innocent" albums. They have that original rock sound. So, if you liked the first album, you probably like this one too. The songs "Queens of Noise", "Take It Or Leave It", "I Love Playin' With Fire", and the upbeat song "Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin It" are quaranteed to be excellent rock songs. Also the tracks "Hollywood" and "California Paradise" are great ones. They are already small signs of the commercial sound and losing the original innocence. "Johnny Guitar" is the only weak link in this album. It is very long and boring...the reason why this isn't so perfect. The slower songs "Heartbeat" and "Midnight Music" are great and excellent songs..."Heartbeat" is quite an erotic song lyrically but quite scary and erotic musically. It creeps me when I listen to it. "Born to Be Bad" is quite a raw song. It has it slower and raw moments: "Cause I Was Born to Be Bad. I'm Not Sad But I'm Glad I Did It. Born to Be Bad. I'm Not Sad Why Don't You All Get With It. By the way, my favourite lyrics in this album is "Your Eyes Are Sparkling With Teenage Fire. I'll Satisfy Your Made Desires Cause I Love Playing With Fire And I Don't Wanna Get Burned..."
Stars: I Love Playin' with Fire, Queens of Noise, Heartbeat

2nd effort by the distaff hard rock unit is not the Runaways' best album--but the one that sold the most (I believe it peaked at #192 on the Billboard charts). Critics were silenced after calling the first album a joke; it proved that the girls could really play (and not only that, but get their personalities across in the group-written songs, with occasional help from Kim Fowley and early co-founder Kari Krome). The production is cleaner(probably due to Earle Mankey's help) and there are some great, expressive moments: Joan Jett's "I Love Playin' With Fire" is a classic rocker, Cherie Currie's "Heartbeat" is full of backstage pomp, "Hollywood" is a punky ball of fire, and Lita Ford's closer, "Johnny Guitar", ends with a wicked guitar solo. A few shrieky spots here and there, and less good-natured fun overall than their first outing, but still disarming.

Guys, there are so many great Runaways hits on this album (although my preferred album is still "Live In Japan"Live in Japan), you will not go wrong. Jett's "I Love Playin' With Fire" and Cherie's lead on "Queens of Noise" are standouts. There's some silliness as the girls try to show their tough side (Johnny Guitar), but if you know the history of The Runaways, it might make the song a bit more listenable. "Heartbeat" is a very cute song and it shows Cherie's softer side (she really enjoyed these breathy ballads, even more enjoyable because Lita loathed them... hee hee). This is the second of the five original Runaways albums and the second to last album which still "features" Cherie doing lead vocals (although Joan definitely is beginning to take over on this album). This album is a more polished version of their first studio album The Runaways, but pretty much in the same vein. Fun.