RUNAWAYS

The Runaways: Cherie Currie (vocals, piano); Joan Jett (guitar, vocals); Lita Ford (guitar); Jackie Fox (bass, vocals); Sandy West (drums, vocals). Remastered U.K. release. Personnel: Joan Jett, Lita Ford (vocals, guitar); Cherie Currie (vocals, piano, keyboards); Sandy West (vocals, drums); Jackie Fox (vocals). Liner Note Authors: Iain McNay; Michael Heatley. Recording information: Criterion Studios, Hollywood, CA; Fidelity Recorders Studio City, CA. Arrangers: Kim Fowley; The Runaways. Although there's no getting around the scent of exploitation that surrounds the Runaways--their mastermind Kim Fowley would probably take a certain quiet pride in being referred to as one of the great rock & roll charlatans--THE RUNAWAYS is a much better album than most people thought it was at the time. It's a mistake, however, to think of it as a punk album, as it's occasionally identified: while there's a dash of Ramones in these crunchy two-minute slices of hard rock, there's a lot more Cheap Trick (in the sarcastic lyrics) and AC/DC (in Lita Ford's no-bull guitar leads). "You Drive Me Wild" and "Secrets" cover the two main poles of teenage emotions (horniness and melodramatic angst, respectively) in fine fashion, but opening track "Cherry Bomb," with the best stuttering hook since Bachman-Turner Overdrive's "You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet," is the undisputed highlight.