Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary)
Joan Jett
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.
Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary)
Joan Jett
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.
Joan Jett’s Bad Reputation (45th Anniversary) revisits the uncompromising record that launched her solo career after the Runaways’ breakup. First issued independently in 1980 as the self-titled Joan Jett—and re-released as Bad Reputation in 1981 after Boardwalk Records signed her—the album was born from refusal and self-determination: Jett and producer Kenny Laguna moved forward after major labels rejected the project. Its title song became a blunt declaration of autonomy, written in response to the double standard confronting women in rock; the album ultimately reached No. 51 on the Billboard 200.
Musically, it is lean, raw, and rooted in punk’s directness, hard rock’s guitar crunch, and the revved-up spirit of 1960s pop and garage rock. Jett pairs originals including “Bad Reputation,” “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got,” “Jezebel,” and “Don’t Abuse Me” with assertive reinterpretations of songs such as Lesley Gore’s “You Don’t Own Me,” the Isley Brothers’ “Shout,” and Sam the Sham’s “Wooly Bully.” The 45th-anniversary presentation preserves the album’s twelve-song core—also featuring “Make Believe,” “Too Bad on Your Birthday,” and “Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)”—so its enduring appeal lies less in polish than in the conviction of Jett’s vocal delivery, stripped-down riffs, and insistence on making rock music on her own terms.