Joan Jett Pure And Simple CD

With their latest album, PURE AND SIMPLE, Joan Jett and her Blackhearts are ready to go--1990s style. Fully embracing the neo-punk generalizations of today's riot grrrls, Jett still has a couple of things she can show them. As a teen, Jett watched bands like the Sex Pistols capture the media's attention. Realizing the power of image, but also aware that she was a rocker and not a "punk," Jett found herself in a dilemma. While she dressed overtly "rock" and played the part of having a "Bad Reputation," there wasn't the same niche for rock bad girls then.

Enter today's Joan, a 1990s grrrl, grabbing the attention of a new generation of teenage girls who, by the grace of generational placement, are reportedly more concerned with playing their instruments and forming bands than how they look. With PURE AND SIMPLE, Jett shows off the driving snarl that made her early albums so refreshing, and spices the mixture with the vocabulary of the 1990s. Spanning aesthetics from songwriting collaborations with Kathleen (Bikini Kill) Hanna's "grrrl style now" politic, to Desmond Child's blue-eyed soul, Jett proves what made her so invaluable as a Runaway and a Blackheart. Indeed, Jett tells it the way it should be, PURE AND SIMPLE.

Joan Jett & The Blackhearts: Joan Jett, Thommy Price, Kenny Aaronson, Tony Bruno.

Producers: Kenny Laguna, Thom Panunzio, Jim Vallance, Desmond Child, Ed Stasium.

Additional personnel: Ricky Byrd, Billy Karren, Jim Vallance, Blake Brocksmith, Chuck Kentis, Mike Howe, John Marshall, Kat Bjelland, Kathleen Hanna, Donita Sparks, Jennifer Finch, Arno Hecht, Desmond Child.Rolling Stone (9/22/94, pp.94-97) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Earnest and pissed, Jett earns your trust even as she rocks your foundation..."
Spin (8/94, p.88) - Highly Recommended - "...the indomitable Jett is plunging ahead, producing real musical goose bumps and probing psychological complexities..."
Entertainment Weekly (6/17/94, p.52) - "...Jett's latest is mostly a defiant record about love gone bad...but at the same time, it's strangely sunny...but when she and her band crack the rock & roll whip as hard as they do here, she can get away with just about anything..." Rating: B+
Musician (7/94, p.86) - "...She can be subtle is she wants to...but, on the whole, this grizzled veteran of 20 years in the business is still just a bitch with a hot guitar--God bless her...."