However, it was the album's two big singles that really stuck to bones. Despite the taint of originating with a Grade-A piece of shit, her cover of Gary Glitter's "Do You Wanna Touch Me" still thumps with mighty glam muscle. Her powerhouse title track is pure punk fury... and extra points for never failing to remind me of Freaks and Geeks.
For its 45th anniversary, Bad Reputation is resurfacing on vinyl via Blackheart Records, the label Jett and her career-long collaborator Kenny Laguna co-founded 45 years ago. For this occasion, the album is receiving a revised cover featuring a sweaty black and white action shot more befitting the album's spirit than its original heavily tinted, drowsy eyed glamour shot was.
Although there's no indication that the album has been remastered on the new sleeve, that seems to be the case since Bob Ludwig handled the 2021 purple-vinyl pressing and Malcolm Davis gets the credit for this latest black-vinyl one. I don't have that 2021 reissue, but I do have a 1981 pressing mastered by Allen Zentz. The new cut compares very favorably with my vintage one. Davis brings the bass to the foreground just a bit with greater clarity and punch. Otherwise, it's pretty similar, which is also a good thing.
The vinyl is perfectly quiet and well centered without a trace of any distortion other than that which growls out of Joan's fuzz pedal.
