Style: hard rock
Label: FM Records
Year: 1989
Home: England
Members: Lisa Dominique ~ vocals
Marino, Mark Kulke ~ Guitar
Billy Kulke ~ Bass
Dan Tilbury ~ Drums
Today many will see Lisa Dominique as a Lita Ford wannabe with her mix of hard rock with an over the top sex strut. In many ways the comparison might be apt, particularly considering Ford's solo debut from the Runaways came a few years before Dominique's 1985 performance debut, but the difference is that Dominique hails from England & is the better singer with a more sultry style.
Rock & Roll Lady, her solo debut after leaving Marino The Band, is a good starting point for Dominique's career, let alone career highlight. It has all that would make up her sound, which is, honestly, stereotypical 80's hard rock with all the solos, flairs & melodic dynamics & lots of sexy power ballads, particularly "Somebody Special". After only her first live performance Dominique was labeled by one reviewer in Kerrang! magazine as "rock's new sex kitten that strutted the stage like Scarlet O’Hara on acid." This has both good & bad repercussions. It means that her live show is good but one is a bit hesitant in checking out her audio only studio albums where looks don't mean a thing. Later albums would be a little wilder but
Rock & Roll Lady retains its own personality that's more like a sly vixen than a rock star. It actually helps that the Dominique & her band went through numerous experiments in finalizing their sound, including an offer from famed producer Jeff "Mutt" Lange of Def Leppard & help from Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson, with Dominique finally putting her own pen to paper giving the music something only she could. Dominique has been compared to Debbie Harry of Blondie & if Harry did a hard rock album one would expect it to sound like this as vocally they aren't that far apart (for example "Time Bomb" & "Holding On To Your Love").
Rock & Roll Lady topped the British charts & made Dominique England's top female rocker & favorite sex symbol ... beating Stevie Nicks, Annie Lennox & Lita Ford. Sadly, her success would be almost as high but not lasting in the States, though with her follow-up
Gypsy Ryder she'd be performing alongside Bon Jovi, Aeromsmith, Ozzy, Lemmy of Motorhead & Ronnie James Dio. Today her name is obscure to many younger rockers, not helped by changing national music styles, a small relatively small output & forays in non-musical directions including a wine company & novel writing.
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