Lita Ford - "Living Like A Runaway": THE JESSIELOU REVIEW!

Top five tracks (this was SO tough!):
1. Living Like A Runaway
2. Hate
3. Asylum
4. The Mask
5. Devil In My Head

1. Branded – The first song from the album that came out, and even though it debuted at #1 on my chart and it's a SMASH, it's actually one of my least favorites on the album. Which goes to show how FLAWLESS the rest of this album is! A

2. Hate – Interesting how on her last album, there was a song called “Love”, and now she has a song on this one called “Hate”. She's actually said that she has been working on this song since the 80's. This is one of my favorite songs on the album! It's sooo heavy and I love the lyrics. A+

3. The Mask – The VERY beginning of this reminds me of “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. This has a very 90's sound to it but the 90's sound is done a lot better here than it was on her last two albums. This is another one of my favorites. LOVE the riffs! A+

4. Living Like A Runaway – The lead single, and my current #1. This could've EASILY been released on one of her late 80's/early 90's albums. Amazing midtempo song about her time in The Runaways. One of her best singles ever! A+

5. Relentless – “I rocked their asses from here to Hong Kong” – just for that line alone, this deserves an A+

6. Mother – This song breaks my heart, it's about her kids, who she has NO contact with. One of her best ballads ever, sooo beautiful. A+

7. Devil In My Head – THAT. OPENING. RIFF. OMG! This is sooo catchy, I love the chorus! A+

8. Asylum – If I didn't know any better I'd think this was a song off of Stiletto or Dangerous Curves. The guitars in this are VERY 80's. Her vocals are flawless on this too. One of the best songs on the album, I love this SOOO much!! A+

9. Luv 2 Hate U – This is a duet with Gary Hoey, who she worked with on the album. This actually reminds me a little of something that would've been on Pat Benatar's Go album back in 2003. I wasn't crazy about this at first but it's quickly growing on me. The only thing I don't like about this song is the awful spelling in the title. A, but I can see this eventually becoming an A+..

10. A Song To Slit Your Wrists By – A cover of a song by a Nikki Sixx side project from 2000 called 58. I'm not a huge fan of the original and this isn't one of my favorites on the album either but I do like her version better than 58's naturally. I really like her vocals on this one. A-

11. Bad Neighborhood – My least favorite song on the album. It's not bad but it's nothing really special tbh. B-

12. The Bitch Is Back – HOT ELTON JOHN REMAKE! Actually, it is. I like Elton's version, but again, I prefer Lita's version naturally. It has a heavy, modern sound to it while staying true to the original (there's a sax in it!). A

Overall: I think my text to my boyfriend this afternoon sums it up best – “NJGRL;KYJEASKL!!!” THIS ALBUM IS SO AMAZING! NOW THIS IS WHAT I CALL A COMEBACK ALBUM! I'm not gonna lie – I was disappointed in Wicked Wonderland back in 2009, I thought it was too weird and overly sexed-up for me. I don't really feel as bad about it as I did before now that I know that wasn't the direction Lita wanted to go in anyway. Every song is FLAWLESS and SOLID! Seriously, like Lita, I've been going through a difficult past year myself (for different reasons though). Lita's music has been there for me through my darkest times so this album really means a lot to me. This gets a solid A+ from me and is my favorite album of the year thus far.