Lita Ford – Time Capsule .jpg)
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Rating: C
Hot on the stiletto heels of her memoir, Living Like a Runaway, rock goddess Lita Ford has cleaned out her musical attic and put together an album of ‘lost’ tunes.
Time Capsule is an album that is, at best, a star studded affair featuring guest appearances by different musicians on different tracks. There are some notable names that were hanging around in the ‘80s when Lovely Lita looks so ohhhh la-la in her black leather onesy. We are talking Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander of Cheap Trick, Dave Navarro, Billy Sheehan and Gene Simmons of Kiss. It makes for an interesting album at first glance, but the material is really not strong enough to demand many repeat listens.
In her best ladylike voice, Lita recalls bringing these old tunes into the light of day, “There was a shitload of these 24-track analog tapes in the closet in my house in the islands. This is some of the best work I've ever done and it was sitting there. I grabbed two suitcases and took them back to the United States.”
Okay, here is the skinny… it is not a bad album. Some of it, including “Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight” is actually pretty damn good. Same goes for “Black Leather Heart” and the instrumental version of the Hendrix classic “Little Wing.” So, there are moments that her fans will want to hear. But… there is a lot of what sounds like drunken filler that was not good enough for any of her releases. Okay, okay… I am being kinda mean here… I don’t mean it sucks ass. Lita is talented. She knew what she was doing, and she was surrounded by the hit-making machine, so they are not baaaaad songs... They are just not songs that have any real depth to them.
Time Capsule is an okay album with some cool names on it to make it appear more interesting than it actually is. Lita, of course, disagrees with me and finds more in the total album than I do. “These recordings have attitude. All of these rock stars were recording in the local studios. There's also Cheap Trick — the identifiable voices of Rick Nielsen and Robin Zander singing backing vocals. Gene Simmons played on and co-wrote 'Rotten to the Core.' W.A.S.P. Chris Holmes is in the introduction to the album and is the first thing you hear, stomping around looking for the keys to his 'Ford.' Billy Sheehan was one of my best friends, and I asked him what he was doing. I said, 'Want to play bass?' We didn't know how long it would take; we were simply having fun."
Ya know what… after reading that quote I will give her that… this album does has attitude. The attitude is too thrown together and loose for my tastes. Of course I understand that is the point with this one. But still, it’s raw… Maybe too raw. The most interesting part of this listening experience for me was how this is a snapshot of an artist in her prime that is letting loose without worrying about a damn thing. This is a perfect look back to the 1980s when attitude, I suppose, was everything.
Lita was always attitude-plus for me. She could play and write better than a lot of her peers. I think I would rather hear her crank out some more new stuff than listen to her audio scrapbook. That’s all I am trying to say.
Here is breakdown of the tunes complete with who plays on what...
1. Intro
spoken by Chris Holmes (Ex-W.A.S.P.)
2. Where Will I Find My Heart Tonight
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guest Vocals - Jeff Scott Soto (Ex-YNGWIE MALMSTEEN)
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Greg Buahio
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
3. Killing Kind
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Mandolin - Dave Navarro (Ex-JANE`S ADDICTION)
Bass - Billy Sheehan (MR.BIG, THE WINERY DOGS)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
Backing Vocals - Robin Zander & Rick Nielsen (CHEAP TRICK)
4. War of the Angels
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Billy Sheehan (MR.BIG, THE WINERY DOGS)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
5. Black Leather Heart
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Billy Sheehan (MR.BIG, THE WINERY DOGS)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
6. Rotten to the Core
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Gene Simmons (KISS)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
Add. Guitars - Bruce Kulick (Ex-KISS)
7. Little Wing (Instrumental)
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Jimmy Tavis (Ex-ODIN)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
8. On the Fast Track (Instrumental)
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Jimmy Tavis (Ex-ODIN)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
9. King of the World Wind
vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Jimmy Tavis (Ex-ODIN)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
10. Mr. Corruption
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Jimmy Tavis (Ex-ODIN)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
11. Anything For the Thrill
Vocals - Lita Ford
Guitar - Lita Ford
Bass - Jimmy Tavis (Ex-ODIN)
Drums - Rodger Carter (EDDIE MONEY, RICK SPRINGFIELD and others)
By Jeb “Went to a party last Saturday night” Wright
Hey... it ain’t no big thing...
