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CD reviews

Queens of Noise

The Runaways - Queens of Noise Audio CD

A fair review of the The Runaways "Queens of Noise" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all The Runaways reviews here, or go back to the The Runaways tabs.

Band: The Runaways
Title: Queens of Noise
Rating:

Release Date: 2003-10-06
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Queens of Noise 2: Take It or Leave It 3: Midnight Music 4: Born to Be Bad 5: Neon Angels on the Road to Ruin 6: I Love Playin' with Fire 7: California Paradise 8: Hollywood 9: Heartbeat 10: Johnny Guitar

Good but not great.

I'd say it's a very good effort but not as good as it could have been. This album is a classic.
The girls were still finding themselves.
Lita has found herself on her new album.
Joan found herself a long time ago.
I don't think Cherie ever did find herself!
haha
The Runaways Rule!.

The best album
I bought the album when it was first released, but that vinyl edition has long been living in lost record world. This is the best The Runaways album. The tracks on the "Queens of Noise" are powerful, played with impressive talent, and have a unique nastiness. The mood is definitely punk, but also feminine, in the bad girl sense. A typical all-male or minority-female rock band can't even come close to what The Runaways created. Bottom line: This is real rock that you can blast in your car as you drive to the job you never imagined yourself having when you first heard "Queens of Noise. ".

Rockin' sophomore release from legendary all-girl `70s group
The Runaways' erstwhile lead singer, Cherie Currie, was already sharing microphone time with the group's musical leader, Joan Jett. 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 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].

Great follow-up to The Runaways.
If you liked that one, you'll love this one. This second effort by these five women Rocks every bit as hard as their first.
RIP Sandy.

Yes, The Queens of Noise
This band is: Joan Jett, Sandy West, Cherie Currie, Lita Ford, and Jackie Fox. The Runaways' probably break some noise records with their second album. 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.

You can see a complete list of all The Runaways discography, or go back to the The Runaways tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.