The Runaways (Music from the Motion Picture)

iTunes Review

This hard-rocking, proto-punk, all-girl quintet had an uncanny musical chemistry that was tightly bound in a leather-tough cool with razor-sharp style and catchy songs laced in diamond sharp hooks. The soundtrack to their 2010 biopic does much more than rehash their greatest hits — it throws in some of the band’s influences (like Suzi Quatro’s glitter-stomper “The Wild One” and David Bowie’s riff-rocking “Rebel Rebel”) as well as a few of their ‘70s contemporaries (such as Nick Gilder’s bubbleglam hit “Roxy Roller”) and a couple other architects of punk (including “I Wanna Be Your Dog” by the Stooges and MC5’s gritty cover of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s World”). And any doubt of actress Dakota Fanning’s ability to sing Cherie Currie’s parts can be tossed out from the moment she belts out a nearly identical rasp on their iconic hit “Cherry Bomb.” Actress Kristen Stewart also delivers a stellar vocal performance as Joan Jett on a snarling rendition of “Dead End Justice.” Of course nothing beats the real thing as evidenced by the Runaways’ own “Hollywood,” “You Drive Me Wild” and a live version of “I Wanna Be Where the Boys Are.”