Ford; Lita: Living Like A Runaway

After the absolute, unmitigated disaster that was Lita Ford's 2009 comeback album Wicked Wonderland left her fans both confused and disappointed by an ill advised set of nu-metal songs that seemed to have been penned while she and her then husband Jim Gillette (Nitro) had been, shall we say, hard at it. I was a little surprised when I saw that the cleverly titled Living Like A Runaway was on the release schedules. With Gillette now out of Ford's life, LLAR finds Lita both reflective and rockin', with a hard hitting sound being tempered by some extremely personal and candid lyrics and a sharp eye on the sound that made her name back in late 80's and early 90's. When it comes off, as it does on the chunky, buzzing riff of "Relentless", or the Zakk era Ozzy like "Devil In My Head", Living Like A Runaway threatens to turn the one time melodic rock pin-up into a true metal queen. However the likes of the more MHR/AOR bursts of "Love 2 Hate U" and the mid-paced "Living Like A Runaway" will appeal to the band of followers that Lita built up before her previous premature retirement.

The lyrics to the likes of "Relentless" and the poignant "Mother", which deals with how families and children deal with relationship breakdowns, reveal a side to Ford that hasn't been shown before and while the promo pics for this album still find sexy stockings, stiletto heels and lots of leather in evidence, the motivation behind this album feels a whole lot more mature. That said, as an album, there's no denying that things can become a little one dimensional on the musical front - the bit that really matters after all - with the rockers being nearly all mid-paced and with a very similar guitar style, while the rest of the songs fall into the slower MHR category. Individually all of the tracks have their merits, whereas as a whole listening experience, the lack of variety definitely blunts the attack.

I'd be lying if I suggested that in years to come Living Like A Runaway will be looked upon as the genuine rock classic that is being suggested in some quarters. However considering the situation that Lita Ford found herself previously - one which has led to song titles such as "A Song To Slit Your Wrists By", which was co-written by Nikki Sixx, the very fact that this album is as good as it is, has to be applauded.

Track Listing
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

Added: June 28th 2012
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Lita Ford Online
Hits: 1952
Language: english

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