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Lita Ford seems to be carrying out her own personal 12-step program these days.After the band with which she spend most of her teen years, The Runaways broke up in 1979, Ford embarked on a solo career, recording six moderately successful studio albums and touring extensively. After the release of Black in 1995 she dropped out of the music business to be a fulltime wife to former glam metal band Nitro's lead vocalist, Jim Gillette and their two children.In 2009 she released Wicked Wonderland, with Gillette producing and doing a lot of the singing.

The result disappointed fans on several counts: Gillette shared vocals to the extent that it was more of a Ford-Gillette album than a solo Ford release. Emphasis was on electronically generated music, at the expense of Ford's famous lead guitar work. Although Ford has never been shy about explicit lyrics, the fact that they were in evidence on every single track was a distraction.Shortly after the album's release, she and Gillette split up -- step 1 of Ford's 12 steps. Next came a reconciliation of sorts with the other surviving core members of The Runaways, Joan Jett and Cherie Currie (co-founder Sandy West died in 2006) with whom she had had various legal and personal disagreements over the years.The next step, release an album that would be what she called "a true comeback album" and try to erase the sour taste left by her 2009 release.
Learning from the past
If Ford is hoping for redemption from longtime fans with Living Like a Runaway, she'll probably be rewarded. The album represents a return to the hard rock roots that began with The Runaways and continued through the first part of her solo career.The artist dealt with the challenge she faces in a recent interview with About.com Heavy Metal.

"The last album was really out of my control, and Living Like A Runaway is completely in my control. It’s my songwriting, it’s my playing, it’s my vocals. It was really wonderful making this record."Like a runaway, or a Runaway?
Ford says the album's title song refers both to The Runaways (about whom most of the songs are written) and the fact that during the divorce, she felt as if she was "living like a runaway" giving the album title a double meaning.
"Making the album was a journey," she told About.com's Chad Bowar. "It was very emotional, too. It was the darkest time of my life, because I was undergoing this horrible divorce and fighting for my kids. I was able to channel my aggression into this record. The songs are delivered in a way that is real. If you don’t feel something when you’re listening to this record, you’re not listening to it."Living Like a Runaway is intended to be something of a concept album, rather than a collection of unrelated songs. In fact, in announcing the album's release, Ford cited Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon as the blueprint for her musical life story.There are no happy songs on this album, but there are some very powerful and poignant ones. "Mother" is an autobiographical account of the effect of her divorce on her children. "Relentless" is a statement of Ford's intention to keep on cranking out the music that has gotten her through the tough times.
Lita's redemption?
This album does, in fact, redeem Ford from the sins of Wicked Wonderland. That album almost made us forget what an accomplished guitarist she is, but we are reminded throughout this release. Gone are the pseudo-sexy lyrics and unnatural co-vocals. This is pure Lita, in fine voice, delivering songs whose lyrics have personal meaning for her, dealing with things that most of us have had to deal with at some point in our lives.I'm one of those who "discovered" The Runaways long after they split up. That discovery gave me an appreciation not only for the band's work, but for the talents of each of its members. My appreciation for Lita Ford's work has gone up a couple of notches with the release of this album.Living Like a Runaway is available on CD -- two versions, standard and limited edition -- LP and MP3.Track List1. "Branded"
2. "Hate"
3. "The Mask"
4. "Living Like a Runaway"
5. "Relentless"
6. "Mother"
7. "Devil in My Head"
8. "Asylum"
9. "Love 2 Hate"
10. "A Song to Slit Your Wrists By"

Limited edition and LP versions also include
11. "Bad Neighborhood"
12. "The Bitch Is Back"