Bad Reputation (Joan Jett album)

Bad Reputation is the debut solo studio album by American recording artist Joan Jett. It was originally self-released in 1980 as a self-titled album after her previous band The Runaways disbanded. It was then re-issued on Boardwalk Records in 1981 as Bad Reputation.

Bad Reputation
Studio album by
Joan Jett
ReleasedMay 17, 1980 (1980-05-17) (Joan Jett)
January 23, 1981 (1981-01-23)
(Bad Reputation)
RecordedMarch 1979 – March 1980
StudioChappell Recording Studios and Ramport Studios, London, UK,
Fidelity Studios, North Hollywood, California
Genre
Length38:31
LabelAriola, Blackheart (Joan Jett)
Boardwalk (Bad Reputation)
Producer
Joan Jett chronology
Bad Reputation
(1980)		 I Love Rock 'n Roll
(1981)
Singles from Bad Reputation
  1. "You Don't Own Me" / "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"
    Released: 1979
  2. "Make Believe" / "Call Me Lightning"
    Released: 1980
  3. "You Don't Know What You've Got" / "Don't Abuse Me"
    Released: 1980
  4. "Bad Reputation" / "Jezebel"
    Released: 1981
  5. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" / "Victim of Circumstance"
    Released: 1982

Background

Record producer Kenny Laguna financed the album's recording sessions using borrowed studio credits.[2] Recorded before Joan Jett formed The Blackhearts, the majority of the album featured Jett backed by members of the Roll-Ups, with Lea Hart on guitar, Jeff Peters on bass and Paul Simmons on drums. Other tracks include well known musicians, such as the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones and Paul Cook, and Blondie's Clem Burke and Frank Infante.

After independently recording the album with Laguna, Jett took the record to a number of major record labels, none of which were interested in releasing the project. Rather than continue to hunt for a willing label, Laguna and Jett decided to fund the pressing of the album themselves. The original, self-released, version of the album was simply titled Joan Jett and was sold directly to concert-goers and record stores out of Laguna's trunk.[3]

The album sold relatively well, prompting its re-release a year later as Bad Reputation on Boardwalk Records, with rearranged but otherwise identical track listing. Jett said that the new title referred to the bad reputation that she had as a former member of The Runaways.[4]

When the album's European rights were secured through Ariola Records, "Hanky Panky" replaced "Wooly Bully" as the final song on Side 2. When the album was issued through Boardwalk Records in the U.S. under the title Bad Reputation, the label stuck with "Wooly Bully" as the final track, making the "Hanky Panky" import version a collector's item. However, the song was later included as a bonus track on CD re-releases.

The original Australian release featured a completely different cover, and "Hanky Panky" replaced "Shout" as track 9. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" was also a huge hit in Australia when it was released hot on the heels of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Crimson and Clover" from Jett's 1981 album, I Love Rock 'n Roll.

In 1999, the album was again re-issued, this time on CD with several bonus tracks and a remastered version of the original album. All subsequent reissues feature the tracks in their original pre-Boardwalk release order.

Singles
  • "You Don't Own Me" was released in Europe as a single prior to the album in 1979. The B-side was an early version of "I Love Rock 'n Roll" performed with Cook and Jones. This b-side version was later released on the rarities album Flashback.
  • "Make Believe" was released as a 7-inch single on the Ariola label. The record was accompanied by a fold-out mini-poster sleeve featuring the album cover photo. The B-side was a cover version of "Call Me Lightning" which also turned up on Flashback as well as CD versions of Bad Reputation
  • An edited version of "You Don't Know What You've Got" b/w "Don't Abuse Me" (and one b/w "I'm Gonna Run Away" with both credited to Joan Jett & the Blackhearts) was released in a few European countries.
  • "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" was released by Boardwalk following the success of Jett's versions of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" and "Crimson and Clover". The B-side was "Victim of Circumstance" which was culled from the later album. It was paired with various other B sides in other markets.
  • Boardwalk also released "You Don't Own Me" credited to Joan Jett & the Blackhearts (b/w "Jezebel" as Joan Jett) which had been successful overseas sometime before October, 1981, but it was largely ignored by US rock radio.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Rolling Stone[5]
The Village VoiceA–[6]
  • "Joan Jett's debut album is an infectious romp through her influences, ranging from classic '50s and '60s rock & roll through glam rock, three-chord loud'n'fast Ramones punk, and poppier new wave guitar rock." (Steve Huey, AllMusic)[1]
  • "Unfortunately, Bad Reputation is flawed by its literal-mindedness – the arrangements pump along gamely yet rarely swing or soar – and by some unresourceful material. But in its mood and feel, Joan Jett's first solo album is a determined retelling of what sometimes seems like the truest rock story there is." (Tom Carson, Rolling Stone)[5]
  • "Producers Kenny Laguna and Ritchie Cordell make the old glitter formula of readymade riffs 'n' blare sound suitable for albums, and they get plenty of help from reformed Runaway Jett, who has writing credit on four of these twelve tunes and comes on tuffer than any gurl in history." (Robert Christgau, The Village Voice)[6]

Rolling Stone magazine named the album No. 36 on their '50 Coolest Albums of all Time' List in 2005.[7]

Track listing
Side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Bad Reputation"
2:49
2."Make Believe"
3:11
3."You Don't Know What You've Got"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
3:44
4."You Don't Own Me"
3:27
5."Too Bad on Your Birthday"
2:58
6."Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)[note 1]"
3:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
7."Let Me Go"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
2:42
8."Doing Alright with the Boys"
  • Glitter
  • Leander
3:38
9."Shout"
2:48
10."Jezebel"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
3:28
11."Don't Abuse Me"Jett3:38
12."Wooly Bully[note 2]"Domingo Samudio2:20
Total length:38:31
1992 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Call Me Lightning"Pete Townshend2:25
14."Hanky Panky"
3:32
15."Summertime Blues"
2:23
16."What Can I Do for You?"Laguna2:12
2006 CD edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
13."Call Me Lightning"Townshend2:25
14."Hanky Panky"
  • Barry
  • Greenwich
3:32
15."What Can I Do for You?"Laguna2:12
16."You Don't Own Me" (previously unreleased version)
  • Madara
  • White
2:41
17."Bad Reputation[note 3]"
  • Jett
  • Laguna
  • Cordell
  • Kupersmith
2:57
  1. "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" listed on the 1st edition cover as "Touch Me"
  2. "Wooly Bully" was misspelled on the 1st edition cover as "Wully Bully"
  3. "Bad Reputation" was live with "The Remains" of the Ramones

Personnel

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts

Additional personnel

  • Buzz Chandler – lead guitar on track 2
  • Frank Infante – guitar on tracks 2, 12, 13
  • Lou Maxfield – lead guitar on track 3 and 15
  • Sean Tyla – twelve-string acoustic guitar on track 10
  • Steve Jones – bass guitar; lead and rhythm guitars on track 4; bass guitar and lead guitar on track 11
  • Eric Ambel – guitar; backing vocals on track 16 (2006)
  • Jeff Bannister – piano on tracks 4 and 11
  • Richard D'Andrea – bass guitar on tracks 3 and 15
  • Micky Groome – bass guitar on track 12 and 13
  • Clem Burke – drums on track 12 and 13
  • Paul Cook – drums on tracks 4 and 11
  • Joel Turrisi – drums on tracks 3 and 15
  • Johnny Earle – saxophone on tracks 6 and 9
  • Mick Eve – saxophone on tracks 4 and 11
  • Commander Goonwaddle – tubular bells on track 7
  • Ritchie Cordell – sound effects; backing vocals
  • Martyn Watson – backing vocals
  • Rainbow Smith – backing vocals

Production

Charts
Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] 45
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[9] 76
US Billboard 200[10] 51
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References
  1. Huey, Steve. Bad Reputation – Review at AllMusic. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  2. Gross, Jonathan (June 1983). "Joan Jett: The Road Goes On Forever". Record. 2 (8): 1, 10–11, 30.
  3. Siwek, Daniel. "Joan Jett". Music Connection Magazine. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  4. "She Loves Rock And Roll". The Philadelphia Inquirer. August 20, 1983. Retrieved April 7, 2011. "That's where the title of the album came from – from the bad reputation I had at that point, for no reason other than my association with the Runaways".
  5. Carson, Tom (April 30, 1981). "Bad Reputation". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 7, 2011.
  6. Christgau, Robert (June 8, 1981). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved March 30, 2013.
  7. "Rolling Stone – 50 all-time Coolest albume". Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 26, 2011.
  8. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  9. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6930b". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
  10. "Joan Jett the Blackhearts Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved April 15, 2020.
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