Lita Ford, "Living Like a Runaway"
No matter what else I am, at heart I’m a rock and roll girl, with a little side of punk thrown in. Back in the day, I liked The Runaways and was a fan of Lita Ford later on. So when I heard that Ms. Ford was a mom and had written a new album on some incredibly hard stuff she had gone through, I was psyched to check it out.
As you can see, Lita is still a hot mama, and trust me, she still has the chops. Her voice is still clear as ever, her beat is still pure metal, and she still creates songs that make you move, make you sad, or make you angry.
She’s been through hell and back, losing her children after an ugly divorce, and “Living Like a Runaway” deals with those issues. ”Mother” in particular, a very personal song to her children, is old school soft-but-building metal and lyrically moving, telling a tale of betrayal, heartache, and the difficulty of telling your child you’re leaving. This is my favorite song on the album.
I also liked “Asylum,” which is reminiscent of the best of classic metal, in terms of sound, riffs, and lyrics, and “Living Like a Runaway” is quite good too, as Lita sings the memories of her life and her life as a “runaway.”
A lot of these songs, though, are pure piss and vinegar…Lita is friggin’ angry on this album! And as mom who’s had to fight for her kids, I get it, but I’m more easy going than these song titles allow me to bear: “Hate,” “Love 2 Hate You,” “A Song to Slit Your Wrists By,” “Devil in My Head.” Yikes. Not an album to listen to if you’re trying to get to peace and resolution I’ll admit. Of this album, Lita says,
“As it has done for me on difficult days, I want this music to help people to get through tough times, while remembering their happy times as well. It?s happened to me plenty of times: fans come up to me and tell me how my songs have helped them in difficult situations, in a way it is almost like a soundtrack to their lives.?”
I wish that Lita had let a little of her hate go (two songs with that word in the title? Really?) and given a few more, “Screw it, I’m a survivor” type rockers in this. After all, isn’t that the point? She’s gotten through all this bad, bad juju, but here she is looking awesome for her age, writing her butt off, and rocking like the Queen of Metal that she is. NONE of that could ever replace losing your children, of course, but I truly hope and pray that there is resolution down the road for her family.
And maybe another album down the road, a little deeper down the rabbit hole of pain, healing, and forgiveness.
Image property of photographer Mark Weiss. Usage without permission is violation of copyright.
Disclosure: A copy of the album to stream and images were received to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own.
