Style: hard rock
Label: RCA
Year: 1988
Home: Caribbean
Members: Lita Ford ~ guitar/vocals
Craig Krampf ~ guitar
David Ezrin ~ keyboards
Don Nossov ~ bass
Myron Grombacher ~ drums
Llory McDonald, Mike Chapman ~ b. vocals
It had been a long time since I listened to this album in a desire to bring some more women into the blog. It's not that I've deliberately ignored women rockers, but there's only so many out there in the metal world. I used to enjoy Lita & the whole sexy rocker image, but I'll confess that I had forgotten just how radio friendly she is. This isn't raw, dark, heavy or blazing any musical trails. Her punkish Runaway roots are long forgotten having been traded in for the most cliched & shallow 80's love songs one can find that end up sounding dated behind a sheen of over glossy production. Albeit, one of the the highlights is "Under The Gun" which is the darkest & least dated sounding song, even given the heavy 80's keyboards. But, all that being said, it's hard not to enjoy this album as it spins through the songs. For an album with song after song of love ballads that bring out the best, albeit most cliched, of the 80's, this is a hard album to beat. This is also Lita's best album with a handful of hits including: "Back To The Cave", "Can't Catch Me", "Kiss Me Deadly" & "Falling In And Out Of Love". Then, there's the highlight that made the album, "Close Your Eyes Forever", featuring Lita's classic duet with Ozzy Osbourne that boosted both their solo careers. Sadly, one of the weaker spots of this album is Lita herself. Her singing style is less about singing & more about an style, akin to Alice Cooper. What makes her is the sexy rocker chic gimmic, being the 80's version of her Runways singer Cherie Curie. But, once the gimmic wears off the weakness of the album & her act shows through, made worse by the fact that her guitar playing skills become lost in the mix. But, for a brief moment it's all quite enjoyable & nostalgic & even romantic.
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