Lita Ford
Time Capsule
SPV/Steamhammer
2016
One gotta give it to Lita Ford for being a rock ‘n roll survivor. She survived The Runaways, where she was the only heterosexual member and had a creepy manager and went on along with Joan Jett to enjoy a solo career that was put on hold when she decided to have a family… when she reluctantly decided to have a foray back into music that seemingly cost her, her marriage (although no-one knows exactly … but she seems to have sort of healed somewhat from that as well. After a really ropey album and a decent live outing, she’s back, now, having sourced a “new” album off from old “tapes” she found in her closet in the Caribbean and had to “bake” to get to play. She also has a nice ensemble of guests to help her out, like Billy Sheehan (bass), Rodger Carter (drums), Dave Navarro (mandolin), Jeff Scott Soto (vocals), Rick Nielsen (backing vocals), Robin Zander (backing vocals) and Gene Simmons (bass). Not bad at all, I’d say…
“Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight” is a bit laid back and seemingly has Soto’s vocals here n there… as well as some other stuff going on. It’s a semi-ballad that’s as good as anything Lita put out in her heyday, if not a touch more melancholic.
“Killing Kind” probably has the Zander’s backing and is another bluesy slower song… I’m curious, as to if these songs are really “vintage” or old tunes that were just finished these days, because the lyrics seem to be relevant to what Lita went through rather recently.
“War of the Angels” is another brooding, slower track and at this point, no matter how good the vocal performance might be, things are becoming a little “depressing”.
“Black Leather Heart” probably diagnoses that and it rocks things up with some swagger… I’d bet that this is a song that’s likely featuring Gene, because of its style, but I might also be wrong… who knows… quite “Kiss”-like…
“Rotten to the Core” is another rocker that’s got better solos than anything else, but I suppose after the slow/bluesy/melancholic opening trio of songs, still works fine.
“Little Wing” is an instrumental take on you-know-what… not bad at all… Jimi’d probably approve.
“On the Fast Track” is another instrumental, a little more energetic I’d guess.
“King of the Wild Wind” is a nice electracoustic piece that sort of plugs in midway… it’s good by all means, just not the rocker that would shake the house down…
“Mr. Corruption” is funkier, more rhythmical, but the weak falsettos/backing vocals make you raise an eyebrow, or both… could have turned out better than it has...
Lastly, “Anything for the Thrill” is a rocker that feels genuinely like it was cut, back in the day with Lita’s characteristic guitar style, favorably up-front.
Much better than the previous stuff Lita came up with after she resurfaced, but not sure if this somewhat more mature and polarized between melancholic and rocking release can antagonize her best works at least directly.
“Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight” is a bit laid back and seemingly has Soto’s vocals here n there… as well as some other stuff going on. It’s a semi-ballad that’s as good as anything Lita put out in her heyday, if not a touch more melancholic.
“Killing Kind” probably has the Zander’s backing and is another bluesy slower song… I’m curious, as to if these songs are really “vintage” or old tunes that were just finished these days, because the lyrics seem to be relevant to what Lita went through rather recently.
“War of the Angels” is another brooding, slower track and at this point, no matter how good the vocal performance might be, things are becoming a little “depressing”.
“Black Leather Heart” probably diagnoses that and it rocks things up with some swagger… I’d bet that this is a song that’s likely featuring Gene, because of its style, but I might also be wrong… who knows… quite “Kiss”-like…
“Rotten to the Core” is another rocker that’s got better solos than anything else, but I suppose after the slow/bluesy/melancholic opening trio of songs, still works fine.
“Little Wing” is an instrumental take on you-know-what… not bad at all… Jimi’d probably approve.
“On the Fast Track” is another instrumental, a little more energetic I’d guess.
“King of the Wild Wind” is a nice electracoustic piece that sort of plugs in midway… it’s good by all means, just not the rocker that would shake the house down…
“Mr. Corruption” is funkier, more rhythmical, but the weak falsettos/backing vocals make you raise an eyebrow, or both… could have turned out better than it has...
Lastly, “Anything for the Thrill” is a rocker that feels genuinely like it was cut, back in the day with Lita’s characteristic guitar style, favorably up-front.
Much better than the previous stuff Lita came up with after she resurfaced, but not sure if this somewhat more mature and polarized between melancholic and rocking release can antagonize her best works at least directly.