A fully admitted guilty pleasure and one of my earlier vinyl purchases. Joan Jett's brand of punky hard pop
was infectious enough to make this album a huge commercial success. She her songs also seemed just edgy
enough to seem as if she might be sneaking in a more subversive agenda. I LOVE ROCK 'N ROLL was certainly
her most cohesive record to date and a modest improvement upon her work with The Runaways. The formula that
she had developed along with producer Kenny Laguna proved to be a successful one for many years to come.
Casual fans might cite her obvious successes on the pop charts (the #1 hit title track & her cover of Tommy
James' "Crimson & Clover"), but my favorite songs are the grittier, hard rock cuts like "Love Is Pain" and
"Victim Of Circumstance". The main guitar riff is simple, yet has that same stinging tone that we've heard
on AC/DC's BACK IN BLACK album. Joan also shows a great affinity for 60's pop/rock with her covers of
"Nag", "Bit & Pieces" and the aforementioned "Crimson & Clover". Her own songwriting also seems influenced
by this sort of early rock & roll (The title track and "I'm Gonna Run Away").
While there are a few cuts that aren't quite as strong, the only real misstep would be her closing cover of
"The Little Drummer Boy", which seems a bit lame and unnecessary. If not for that song, I may have bumped
this record to 4.5 stars. Still, I LOVE ROCK 'N ROLL's combination of more contemporary hard rock with
classic rock & roll influences keeps the album fun, balanced and always interesting.
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