''Album'' is the third studio album by

Joan Jett Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

and the second to feature her backing band

the Blackhearts Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin, September 22, 1958) is an American singer, guitarist, record producer, and actress. Jett is best known for her work as the frontwoman of her band Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, and for earlier founding and per ...

. It was released in July 1983.

Background and recording

Unlike Joan Jett's two previous albums, only two tracks are cover songs, and a re-recording of a

the Runaways The Runaways were an all-female American rock band who recorded and performed from 1975 to 1979. The band released four studio albums and one live album during its run. Among their best-known songs are "Cherry Bomb", " Hollywood", "Queens of N ...

"I Love Playing With Fire", though this had not been the original plan. During the recording of the album, Jett commented, "I know what's going to happen. When we included lots of covers, people would call us on it. If we don't they'd say, 'Where's the covers?'"

Release

The cassette tape version had 2 different issues, one issued in a regular black plastic case ( MCA MCAC-5437) and one issued in a red plastic case (MCA MCAC-5445). The initial version contained

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

song " Star Star" on it as a

hidden track In the field of recorded music, a hidden track (sometimes called a ghost track, secret track or unlisted track) is a song or a piece of audio that has been placed on a CD, audio cassette, LP record, or other recorded medium, in such a way as t ...

at the end of side one. The second version deleted the song and was designated as "Album Version Only". The album was re-released in 1992 with six more bonus tracks. The first single released from the album was the lead track "Fake Friends". The U.S. 7-inch vinyl featured "Nitetime" on the reverse side, with a locked groove at the end of the song. This meant that jukeboxes playing the track would have to be manually rejected. The CD bonus track "Locked Groove" is an actual recording of the end of the single. A second issue with "Handyman" as the B-side was sent to distributors. A video was shot for "Fake Friends" where Joan and the Blackhearts are continually mobbed by 'fans' and hangers-on who quickly turn into cardboard cut-outs and fall over. It received heavy airplay on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, though the song was a relative disappointment on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 35.

Kenny Laguna Kenneth Benjamin Laguna is an American songwriter and record producer, best known for his work with Joan Jett. Biography Laguna was born in Greenwich Village, New York City, United States, and started playing piano at high school dances from th ...

later told ''

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is a monthly American music magazine, based in Detroit, whose main print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay. Influential criti ...

'' magazine that he had objected to "Fake Friends" being the first single, as it wasn't a natural fit for rock radio, but was rebuffed by the label. The second single, "

Everyday People "Everyday People" is a 1968 song composed by Sly Stone and first recorded by his band, Sly and the Family Stone. It was the first single by the band to go to number one on the Soul singles chart and the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It held ...

" (backed with "Why Can't We Be Happy") fared no better, peaking at number 37. The release was accompanied by a slapstick video in which Jett is plagued by calamity, including a smoking hair-dryer, a defective alarm clock, and a collapsing bed. Promotional 7-inch and 12-inch records of the song were sent to radio stations featuring the longer "Dance Mix."; and the commercial 12-inch record featured the notorious "Star Star" on the B-side. A third video was filmed for "The French Song", but MTV gave it scant airtime and a single was only released in Canada, where it was backed with "Coney Island Whitefish".

Track listing

Personnel

The Blackhearts

– lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Ricky Byrd – lead guitar, backing vocals * Gary Ryan – bass, backing vocals * Lee Crystal – drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

*The Uptown Horns: **Crispin Choe – baritone sax **Robert Funk – trombone **Arno Hecht – tenor sax **Paul Litteral – trumpet *The Ross Levinson Strings directed by Ross Levinson *

– keyboards, backing vocals

Production

Ritchie Cordell Ritchie Cordell (born Richard Joel Rosenblatt; March 10, 1943 – April 13, 2004) was an American songwriter, singer and record producer. He wrote and produced several hits for Tommy James and The Shondells, including "I Think We're Alone No ...

– production *Greg Kolotkin – associate production *Ron Cote – engineering *

Bob Ludwig Robert C. Ludwig (born c. 1945) is an American mastering engineer. He has mastered recordings on all the major recording formats for all the major record labels, and on projects by more than 1,300 artists including Led Zeppelin, Lou Reed, Qu ...

– mastering

Design

*Album design – Spencer Drate, Judith Salavetz *Art direction – Meryl Laguna, Joan Jett *Photography – Dieter Zill

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Albums with cover art by Mick Rock Blackheart Records albums Epic Records albums Joan Jett albums Warner Records albums