Album Review: "Living Like a Runaway" by Lita Ford

I read about this album in the where are they  now column of Guitar World. I confess that I was rather interested in this although I cannot honestly say why. I never really much enjoyed Lita Ford aside from the two really big tunes she had. I suppose the story of her husband turning her sons against her intrigued me.

Well, I didn't buy the album because of that article, but flash forward a few months and I was staring at Lita Ford and her band in the Chaiffetz Arena and they were just killing it, aside from the drums being too high up in the mix. The wife and I walked to the merch table right after her set was up and bought her CD. Now that I've gotten older and shirts more expensive, that's the kind of thing I want to take home with me. The album. So I did just that. I thought she had earned it.

I have always really respected Lita as a guitarist and a vocalist, but really hated her image. I think it was Dee Snyder who told her to stay away from over sexualizing herself, which we all know that she did. I was thinking that an older and more mature Lita might write more mature songs. I was right about that. This album and its songs are far more than just getting laid and drunk at a party. Lita poured her pain and anguish into this album.  It's just...

I guess I'm just disappointed a bit in this album because it's not great. There are some very good tracks, Branded, Mother, etc and it's very much classic Lita Ford, but I suppose that's my problem. Aside from her performance that night, I've never really been a fan of Lita Ford and I know that many times the live performance of a song can really beat the snot out of work done in the studio.

My issue with this release isn't that it's full of bad songs, but that it's just a bad album. When listening to music on shuffle and I just hear a single song, they're usually pretty good and pretty rockin', but I just couldn't seem to bring myself to really enjoy the whole album in a single session. There are definitely some great tunes, some decent tunes, and great guitarwork here, but it's just doesn't hold my attention from beginning to end.

Genre: Heavy Metal
Year: 2012

Runtime: 40:56
Playlist: Hail Satan A Cab

Tracklisting:
1) Branded
2) Hate
3) The Mask
4) Living Like A Runaway
5) Relentless
6) Mother
7) Devil In My Head
8) Asylum
9) Love 2 Hate U
10) A Song To Slit Your Wrists By
11) Boiling Point
12) Bad Neighborhood
13) The Bitch Is Back