Singles

Although the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement was certainly male-dominated, that's not to say females didn't have their say too, as evidenced by the emergence of Girlschool at this time. Picture a heavier Runaways and you're not far off from the sound/style/approach Girlschool specialized in. And with their early releases becoming increasingly difficult to locate nowadays, a compilation such as the 2007 double-disc set The Singles comes in quite handy. The collection weighs in at a hefty 37 tracks total, and you'll quickly discover that Girlschool rocked just as ferociously as their male counterparts, and that the majority of their tunes had more in common with punk (in other words, few extended solos or fairy/dragon-esque lyrics are included). What you get is straight-to-the-point, kickass rock & roll -- as proven by a pair of tunes that see Girlschool paired with Motörhead ("Please Don't Touch" and a cover of Motörhead's "Bomber"). No ballads here, folks -- just loud and proud rock & roll, as heard on such standouts as "Take It All Away," "Emergency," "Nothing to Lose," and "C'mon Let's Go." While the world seemed transfixed by such melodic radio-friendly female rockers as Pat Benatar and Blondie during the early '80s, Girlschool were purposely keeping things gritty and raucous -- as heard throughout The Singles. ~ Greg Prato