Like Buzzcocks, Joan Jett is also celebrating her 30th anniversary on the rock and roll grind, having initially gained prominence as the singing songwriter/guitarist with the seminal female rock band, The Runaways, whose absence from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame only serves to illustrate the misogynistic elitism of that body’s nomination committee, which many believed to be unduly influenced by founder (and Rolling Stone editor) Jann Wenner and rock scribe Dave Marsh. 2006 also marks the silver anniversary of both the Blackhearts (making them eligible for induction) and Jett’s Blackheart Records, which she started along with manager/producer/co-songwriter Kenny Laguna to re-release her self-titled, pre-Blackhearts’ solo debut (renamed “Bad Reputation”) after nearly every label in town laughed them out of the room and slammed the door in their faces. Well, Jett finally has the last laugh on those bloated losers, as Blackheart Records is still going strong 25 years later, and Jett commemorates this milestone with her tenth album, and first to feature all new recordings in over a decade. [Technically, this is a slightly revamped version of the Japanese-only “Naked” from 2004, repeating ten of that album’s tracks and adding four new ones. Completists can still order the original (which features covers of Donovan’s “Season of the Witch” and “Science Fiction, Double Feature” from the “Rocky Horror Show” soundtrack – Joan briefly played the role of Columbia in the Broadway revival – along with three other exclusive tracks) from Jett’s fan club.]

Jett opens the album by adding her voice to the anti-Bush bandwagon with the vitriolic political rant “Riddles,” but the consequences are minimal as she couches her questions and acusations in such a catchy melody that the kids’ll be none the wiser as they dance in the aisles. Although all of the original Blackhearts have faded into the NYC nightlife (there’ve been over a dozen lineups… Tommy Price is currently the elder statesmen, having replaced original drummer Lee Crystal 20 years ago on “Good Music”), Jett is still the captain of this ship and “Sinner” is chock full of her sweaty, leather bubblegum anthems that combine her aggressive punk attitudes with Laguna’s storied past as a legendary pop producer/performer/songwriter with an ear of gold, who produced and/or played on such unforgettable joyrides as Bow Wow Wow, Bobby Bloom, Jonathan Richman, Greg Kihn, Steve Gibbons Band, The Barracudas, Tommy James, and Jay & The Americans. (For an excellent overview of some of Laguna’s lesser known, but still fantabulous recordings, check out his “Laguna Tunes” compilaiton, also available on Blackheart Records. And if that weren’t enough of a pure pop for now people pedigree, about half dozen of the tracks were co-produced by the former leader of Harpers Bazaar, Ted Templeman, whose production credits also include Doobie Brothers, Eric Clapton, Aerosmith, Carly Simon and a couple of Vans, Morrison and Halen!)

Jett’s always been a master at turning legendary classic rock songs into her own unique brand of sweaty rock and roll and here she imbues Sweet’s “AC/DC” with a knowing wink and nod in the direction of rumor mongers who seem more interested in her sexual proclivities that her music. (Of course, changing the lyrics to read “She’s got some other fella instead of me” only adds fuel to the fire – and Jett wouldn’t have it any other way!) As the debut single, this rendition should put Jett back on the charts and in the public eye.

Jett remains close to the riot grrl movement she helped spawn, inviting Bikini Kill’s Kathleen Hanna to co-author five tracks, including the punchy riff-a-rama “Five” which finds her trading six-string barbs with lead guitarist Dougie Needles. The curious will have a field day deciphering the lyric, “Do you want me to come out/Ready or not/Do you want big proof?/Is that what you need,” but I’ll just reiterate that Ms. Jett’s sexual preferences are immaterial to enjoying the issue at hand, which just may be the year’s finest hard rock album. Nevertheless, Jett returns to the subject of clandestine relationships that society’s perverted moral majority may not approve of in “Everyone Knows,” which, in it’s own subliminal way, serves as an answer song to the in-your-face open sexuality of “AC/DC” and her remake of her nearly ten-year old fuckfest “Fetish,” which manages to combine the growling snarl of Iggy & The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog” (which she already covered to great effect on 1987’s “Up Your Alley”) with the Sex Pistol’s “Black Leather” (from The Runaways’ final album, “And Now…”). Jett & Co. toss all of this into a blender, add a razor-sharp backing track and a take-no-prisoners lyric and pour out a cocktail of snot and piss that’ll have the Marquis De Sade blushing.

Jett is the living embodiment of how difficult it is to break into the close-minded music business, and through her Blackheart imprint, she has been championing new acts that she feels strong about by releasing albums by The Eyeliners (“No Apologies”) and The Vacancies (“A Beat Missing or A Silence Added”). The latter’s lead vocalist, Billy Crooked, co-wrote the (s)punky “Change The World.” The savvy, business-minded Jett knows that his presence on her album will undoubtedly lead folks to check out his own band’s release (as well they should).

Jett is a longtime fan of Paul Westerberg and The Replacements (she contributes backing vocals to “Someone I Once Knew” on his “14 Songs” solo album and he co-wrote and sang on “Backlash” on Jett’s 1992 “Notorious” album and the two paired up for “Let’s Do It” on the 1995 “Tank Girl” soundtrack) and here Jett sashays her way through a veritable cornicopia of perversions and psycho-sexual anomalies on Westerberg’s “Androgynous.” She follows this up with the aforementioned screaming bloody murder version of “Fetish,” which seems to push the envelope a bit too far and, quite frankly, I think she’s getting a bit too old for these puerile, pubescent fantasies. But what the hell, if it’ll move a few more copies of “Sinner” into the bedrooms of the Warped Tour faithful (Jett has secured a headlining spot on the powerful punk juggernaut and you must see her again if it’s been a while since you last attended a Blackhearts’ performance), then who am I to complain.

Hanna returns as co-author of “Watersign,” a 70’s-style power ballad that marches into the room on a pair of leather uppers and leaves a trail of spent Bic lighters flickering in its wake. Hanna is also one of the pens behind the surfpunk of “Tube Talkin’” that finds Needles blazing away to wah-wah heaven in the background. And is that an uncredited Hanna herself pulling off that amazing Debbie Harry impersonation on backing vocals? (Ah, the joys, trials and trepidations of contractual obligation requirements that inevitably lead to so many “guest” performances sneaking in under the radar!)

In addition to her great choice in cover songs, Jett continues her practice of revisiting some of her past glories with an updated take on “Album”’s “A 100 Feet Away.” Always one of my favorite lyrics, with a matching, sentimental melody, it completes the album’s air of nostalgia, which also includes updated versions of “Androgynous” and “Fetish.” [Two of the Hanna tunes have also appeared in different versions, “Baby Blue” originally appeared on 1999’s “Fetish” compilation and “Watersign” can be found on the 2003 Japanese Greatest Hits collection, “Jett Rock.”] Anyway you slice it, this is one damn fine collection – old and new, borrowed and blue – that signifies that the Quenn of Rock and Roll has returned.- Jeff Penczak