The Runaways - The Mercury Albums Anthology (2010)

Released in conjunction with the silver screen dramatization of the Runaways’ saga, Hip-O Select’s The Mercury Albums Anthology rounds up the group’s four albums - 1976’s The Runaways, plus Live in Japan, Queens of Noise, and Waitin’ for the Night, all released in 1977-- in a slick two-disc set. Anybody won over to the Runaways via the charms or Kristen Stewart and Dakota Fanning will find this to be much too much -- really, they’ll be satiated by a quick download of “Cherry Bomb” -- as this is intended for connoisseurs of sleaze and those under the impression that the female foursome were pioneers not at all under the skeevy thumb of Kim Fowley. Both groups may find what’s contained on Mercury Albums Anthology somewhat underwhelming: the Runaways plodded as much as the plundered, hammering out three-chord riffs that had more to do with frizzy-haired metal than any kind of proto-punk. Live, they had a modicum of energy, as evidenced by Live in Japan, but they wound up being highly polished and packaged in the studio, with Fowley steering them ever so slightly toward sticky, disposable bubblegum. Joan Jett eventually wound up digging in her heels, asserting control on Waitin’ for the Night, but by then, the band was straining under Fowley’s direction, and the end was near. All this is, of course, apparent on this de facto complete recordings -- they knocked out another record after leaving Mercury -- but the lasting impression of this double-disc set is that the Runaways’ myth is always better than their music.

CD1
[2:19] 1. The Runaways - Cherry Bomb (Album Version)
[3:22] 2. The Runaways - You Drive Me Wild
[2:46] 3. The Runaways - Is It Day Or Night?
[2:33] 4. The Runaways - Thunder
[3:17] 5. The Runaways - Rock N Roll
[2:10] 6. The Runaways - Lovers
[3:16] 7. The Runaways - American Nights
[2:41] 8. The Runaways - Blackmail
[2:45] 9. The Runaways - Secrets (Album Version)
[7:00] 10. The Runaways - Dead End Justice
[3:22] 11. The Runaways - Queens Of Noise (Live In Japan)
[2:55] 12. The Runaways - California Paradise (Live In Japan)
[3:30] 13. The Runaways - All Right You Guys (Live In Japan)
[3:48] 14. The Runaways - Wild Thing (Live In Japan)
[2:59] 15. The Runaways - Gettin' Hot (Live In Japan)
[4:39] 16. The Runaways - Rock N Roll (Live In Japan)
[3:18] 17. The Runaways - You Drive Me Wild (Live In Japan)
[3:33] 18. The Runaways - Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin (Live In Japan)
[2:57] 19. The Runaways - I Wanna Be Where The Boys Are (Live In Japan)
[2:11] 20. The Runaways - Cherry Bomb (Live In Japan)
[4:04] 21. The Runaways - American Nights (Live In Japan)
[4:14] 22. The Runaways - C' Mon (Live In Japan)

CD2
[3:29] 1. The Runaways - Queens Of Noise (Album Version)
[3:27] 2. The Runaways - Take It Or Leave It
[2:53] 3. The Runaways - Midnight Music
[4:32] 4. The Runaways - Born To Be Bad
[3:29] 5. The Runaways - Neon Angels On The Road To Ruin
[3:22] 6. The Runaways - I Love Playin' With Fire
[2:55] 7. The Runaways - California Paradise
[2:58] 8. The Runaways - Hollywood
[2:52] 9. The Runaways - Heart Beat
[7:18] 10. The Runaways - Johnny Guitar
[3:06] 11. The Runaways - Little Sister
[3:27] 12. The Runaways - Wasted
[3:32] 13. The Runaways - Gotta Get Out Tonight
[4:56] 14. The Runaways - Wait For Me
[5:38] 15. The Runaways - Fantasies
[2:54] 16. The Runaways - School Days
[3:17] 17. The Runaways - Trash Can Murders
[3:33] 18. The Runaways - Don't Go Away
[5:03] 19. The Runaways - Waitin' For The Night
[4:07] 20. The Runaways - You’re Too Possessive