I Love Rock 'N Roll (Remastered)

iTunes Review

I Love Rock’n’Roll was the album that cemented Joan Jett’s place in the history books following her stint with hard rock girl group The Runaways. The album’s pop hooks and punk sneer formed a bridge between mall-bound Valley girls and leather jacket punkers just in time for the epochal MTV explosion of 1981. In a winning formula, I Love Rock’n’Roll mixed Jett’s revved-up take on her favorite oldies (“Crimson and Clover,” “Louie Louie,” and “Summertime Blues”) with cheery blasts of high school angst (“(I’m Gonna) Run Away,” “Victim of Circumstance,” “You’re Too Possessive”). The album’s tight, slightly-sweetened production made the songs’ punk edge palatable to a growing New Wave audience, but it was Jett herself that provided the undeniable charisma. Had the album been fronted by the typical rock God, it wouldn’t have worked. With Chrissie Hynde, Jett gave the girls of the 1980s a rock hero all their own: self-possessed, stylish, and just tough enough to still be non-threatening to parents. And while some may view the album’s legendary title track as little more than an overplayed sports arena anthem, it still passes as a worthy badge of all that is righteous in rock music.