Waitin' for the Night

The Runaways' third album (released in 1977) found the band trimmed to a quartet after the exit of lead singer Cherie Currie; band guitarist Joan Jett had taken over vocal duties. Listening now, this underrated set represents some of the finest moments in not only The Runaways' canon but in the careers of both Jett and fellow guitarist Lita Ford. The punchy “Little Sister” features Ford’s frothy blues leads and snarly Jett lines (“Little sister on your rollerskates/It’s Friday night and you got a date”), and it’s a heady romp of grownup sass, teenage innocence, and back-alley riffs. Jett howls “Punch-drunk and high on junk/Sad you are so shattered” on “Wasted,” an earworm co-penned with Hollywood legend and band producer Kim Fowley. The punk anthem “School Days” pits a girl against her academic responsibilities, and academia loses. “You’re Too Possessive” is an early rock platform of women rightfully calling it like they feel it. You sense here that being in The Runaways was one of the few places in the world where the band members felt welcome, which is part of what makes this album great.