Bad Reputation (Joan Jett album)

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Bad Reputation
Bad reputation - joan jett, 1981.JPG
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 1980 (1980-05) (Joan Jett)
January 23, 1981 (1981-01-23)
(Bad Reputation)
RecordedMarch 1979 – March 1980
StudioChappell Recording Studios and Ramport Studios, London, UK,
Fidelity Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre
Length38:31
Label Ariola, Blackheart (Joan Jett)
Boardwalk (Bad Reputation)
Producer
Joan Jett chronology
Bad Reputation
(1980)
I Love Rock 'n Roll
(1981)
Singles from Bad Reputation
  1. "You Don't Own Me" / "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Make Believe" / "Call Me Lightning"
    Released: 1980
  3. "You Don't Know What You've Got" / "Don't Abuse Me"
    Released: 1980
  4. "Bad Reputation" / "Jezebel"
    Released: 1981
  5. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" / "Victim of Circumstance"
    Released: 1982

Bad Reputation is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Joan Jett. It was originally released independently in May 1980 as a self-titled album after her previous band The Runaways disbanded. After Jett signed with Boardwalk Records, the album was re-released worldwide with the new title on January 23, 1981. The album was positively received by critics and reached number 51 on the Billboard 200.

Contents

Background

Record producer Kenny Laguna financed the album's recording sessions using borrowed studio credits. [2] Recorded before Joan Jett formed The Blackhearts, the majority of the album featured Jett backed by members of the Roll-Ups, with Lea Hart on guitar, Jeff Peters on bass and Paul Simmons on drums. Other tracks include well known musicians, such as the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones and Paul Cook, and Blondie's Clem Burke and Frank Infante.

After independently recording the album with Laguna, Jett took the record to a number of major record labels, none of which were interested in releasing the project. Rather than continue to hunt for a willing label, Laguna and Jett decided to fund the pressing of the album themselves. The original, self-released, version of the album was simply titled Joan Jett and was sold directly to concert-goers and record stores out of Laguna's trunk. [3]

The album sold relatively well, prompting its re-release a year later as Bad Reputation on Boardwalk Records, with rearranged but otherwise identical track listing. Jett said that the new title referred to the bad reputation that she had as a former member of The Runaways. [4]

When the album's European rights were secured through Ariola Records, "Hanky Panky" replaced "Wooly Bully" as the final song on Side 2. When the album was issued through Boardwalk Records in the U.S. under the title Bad Reputation, the label stuck with "Wooly Bully" as the final track, making the "Hanky Panky" import version a collector's item. However, the song was later included as a bonus track on CD re-releases.

The original Australian release featured a completely different cover, and "Hanky Panky" replaced "Shout" as track 9. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" was also a huge hit in Australia when it was released hot on the heels of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Crimson and Clover" from Jett's 1981 album, I Love Rock 'n Roll .

In 1999, the album was again re-issued, this time on CD with several bonus tracks and a remastered version of the original album. All subsequent reissues feature the tracks in their original pre-Boardwalk release order.

Singles

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [5]
The Village Voice A− [6]

Reviewing Bad Reputation in 1981, Robert Christgau of The Village Voice said, "Producers Kenny Laguna and Ritchie Cordell make the old glitter formula of readymade riffs 'n' blare sound suitable for albums, and they get plenty of help from reformed Runaway Jett, who has writing credit on four of these twelve tunes and comes on tuffer than any gurl in history." [6] Tom Carson of Rolling Stone found that Bad Reputation "is flawed by its literal-mindedness – the arrangements pump along gamely yet rarely swing or soar – and by some unresourceful material", but concluded that "in its mood and feel", the album "is a determined retelling of what sometimes seems like the truest rock story there is." [5]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic critic Steve Huey described Bad Reputation as "an infectious romp through her influences, ranging from classic '50s and '60s rock & roll through glam rock, three-chord loud'n'fast Ramones punk, and poppier new wave guitar rock." [1] Rolling Stone placed Bad Reputation at No. 36 on its list of the "50 Coolest Albums of All Time" in 2002. [7]

Track listing

Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Reputation"
2:49
2."Make Believe"
3:11
3."You Don't Know What You've Got"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
3:44
4."You Don't Own Me"3:27
5."Too Bad on Your Birthday"2:58
6."Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah) [note 1] "3:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Shout"2:48
8."Let Me Go"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
2:42
9."Doing Alright with the Boys"
  • Glitter
  • Leander
3:38
10."Jezebel"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
3:28
11."Don't Abuse Me"Jett3:38
12."Wooly Bully [note 2] " Domingo Samudio 2:20
Total length:38:31
1992 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Call Me Lightning" Pete Townshend 2:25
14."Hanky Panky"3:32
15."Summertime Blues"2:23
16."What Can I Do for You?"Laguna2:12
2006 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Call Me Lightning"Townshend2:25
14."Hanky Panky"
  • Barry
  • Greenwich
3:32
15."What Can I Do for You?"Laguna2:12
16."You Don't Own Me" (previously unreleased version)
  • Madara
  • White
2:41
17."Bad Reputation [note 3] "
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
  • Kupersmith
2:57
  1. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" listed on the 1st edition cover as "Touch Me"
  2. "Wooly Bully" was misspelled on the 1st edition cover as "Wully Bully"
  3. "Bad Reputation" was live with "The Remains" of the Ramones

Personnel

Joan Jett & The Roll-Ups

Additional personnel

Production

Charts

Chart (1982)Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [8] 45
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [9] 76
US Billboard 200 [10] 51

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Huey, Steve. "Bad Reputation – Joan Jett". AllMusic . Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  2. Gross, Jonathan (June 1983). "Joan Jett: The Road Goes On Forever". The Record . Vol. 2, no. 8. Toronto. pp. 1, 10–11, 30.
  3. Siwek, Daniel. "Joan Jett". Music Connection . Glendale. Archived from the original on January 6, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  4. Tucker, Ken (August 20, 1983). "She loves rock 'n' roll". The Philadelphia Inquirer . That's where the title of the album came from – from the bad reputation I had at that point, for no reason other than my association with the Runaways.
  5. 1 2 Carson, Tom (April 30, 1981). "Bad Reputation". Rolling Stone . New York. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  6. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (June 8, 1981). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice . New York. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  7. "The 50 Coolest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone . No. 893. New York. April 11, 2002. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6930b". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  10. "Joan Jett the Blackhearts Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2020.