Up Joan Jett

Joan Jett: By playing pure and simple rock & roll without making an explicit issue of her gender, Joan Jett became a figurehead for several generations of female rockers. Jett's brand of rock & roll is loud and stripped-down, yet with overpowering hooks – a combination of the Stones' tough, sinewy image and beat, AC/DC chords, and glam rock hooks. As the numerous covers she has recorded show, she adheres both to rock tradition and breaks with it – she plays classic three-chord rock & roll, yet she also loves the trashy elements (in particular, Gary Glitter) of it as well, and she plays with a defiant sneer. From her first band, the Runaways, through her hit-making days in the '80s with the Blackhearts right until her unexpected revival in the '90s, she hasn't changed her music, yet she's kept her quality control high, making one classic single ("I Love Rock 'n Roll") along the way. ~Allmusic

Fit to Be Tied was intended to be the definitive Joan Jett hits package, and it nearly succeeds. Since Jett's Blackheart label only secured the rights to her first four solo albums (her most consistent work), the singles from the uneven Up Your Alley – "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (one of Jett's best originals and biggest hits) and "Little Liar" – had to be presented here in alternate versions. While the re-recording of "Hate Myself" and the live version of "Little Liar" are executed faithfully, they may bother fans who want the original recordings.

Fit to Be Tied was intended to be the definitive Joan Jett hits package, and it nearly succeeds. Since Jett's Blackheart label only secured the rights to her first four solo albums (her most consistent work), the singles from the uneven Up Your Alley – "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (one of Jett's best originals and biggest hits) and "Little Liar" – had to be presented here in alternate versions. While the re-recording of "Hate Myself" and the live version of "Little Liar" are executed faithfully, they may bother fans who want the original recordings.

Fit to Be Tied was intended to be the definitive Joan Jett hits package, and it nearly succeeds. Since Jett's Blackheart label only secured the rights to her first four solo albums (her most consistent work), the singles from the uneven Up Your Alley – "I Hate Myself for Loving You" (one of Jett's best originals and biggest hits) and "Little Liar" – had to be presented here in alternate versions…

American rock singer, guitar player, record producer, and actress. Born on September 22, 1958 as Joan Marie Larkin. After the divorce of her parents she changed her surname to her mother's maiden name: Jett. At age 15, Jett co-founded The Runaways. As the leader of Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Jett has had eight platinum and gold albums and nine Top 40 singles…

Joan Jett's first album in seven years, 2013's Unvarnished, starts off with a big bang. "Any Weather," her rocked-out collaboration with Dave Grohl, sounds like a classic Blackhearts track with loud, tight guitars, a killer chorus, and Jett's growling voice front and center. It's a bracing call to arms that lets the listener know right away that Jett hasn't forgotten how to rock, not even a little…