Lita Ford – Out For Blood (1983)

 

Lita Ford – Out For Blood (1983, Mercury/Polygram)

1. Out For Blood
2. Stay With Me Baby
3. Just A Feeling
4. Ready, Willing And Able
5. Die For Me Only (Black Widow)
6. Rock’n Roll Made Me What I Am Today
7. If You Can’t Live With It
8. On The Run
9. Any Way That You Want Me
10. I Can’t Stand It

Band Lineup:
Lita Ford – Guitars & Lead Vocals
Neil Merryweather – Bass
Dusty Watson – Drums

Total Time – 35:22

(No official website available)

Lita Ford’s debut album is an interesting one. We are all familiar with the Lita Ford circa 1988, with the singles ‘Kiss Me Deadly’ and ‘Close My Eyes Forever’ that pushed her to major stardom. This debut is a far cry from the polished Hard Rock Lita put out in the late ’80s to mid-’90s. This album is basic and raw, not uncommon for a first effort in 1983.  The production is not good, a very uneven and muddy mix. It lacks cohesion, probably due to the producer who was also the bass player, Neil Merryweather. Lita is a fine guitar player and Dusty Watson delivers a surprisingly superb performance but it is obvious that Merryweather is the weak link. Where’s the bass?

The songs are hit or miss. Some are just bad (‘Any Way That You Want Me’) but there are some real gems here: ‘Out For Blood’, ‘On The Run’, and ‘Just A Feeling’. It’s obvious that this is the building block that Lita will build her career on, the three aformentioned songs being a look into the future sound Lita would create. I’m surprised that ‘Just A Feeling’ wasn’t a big hit single, it’s a great ballad that probably would have definitely been huge three or four years down the line.

Bottom Line:
Not bad for her first album but it could have been better with a better player on bass, some more guitar layered to enhance the songs, and a better production job. If this was made by a proper band rather than as a solo project, there would be a serious difference. Good, but not great. Best songs: ‘On The Run’ and ‘Just A Feeling’.