''Stiletto'' is the fourth solo studio album by the American musician

Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...

. It includes the singles "Hungry" and "Lisa". The album peaked at No. 52 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Ford supported the album by touring with

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Production

The album was produced by

Mike Chapman Michael Donald Chapman (born 13 April 1947) is an Australian record producer and songwriter who was a major force in the British pop music industry in the 1970s. He created a string of hit singles for artists including The Sweet, Suzi Quatro ...

. "Lisa" is about Ford's mother. " Only Women Bleed" is a cover of the

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

song. Ford employed synthesized strings and horns on the album.

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nati ...

writes that ''Stiletto'' is "further evidence that pop-metal was the first musical genre to figure out how to turn the CD-age studio into an aesthetic advantage: There's all sortsa fetching

hi-tek Tony Louis Cottrell (born May 5, 1976), better known as Hi-Tek, is an American rapper and music producer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He is best known for his work with Talib Kweli. His father is singer Willie Cottrell of the Willie Cottrell Band, ...

whooshes and wobbles and giggles and boinks that increase the fun-quotient simply by being so incidental and

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

-like. It's an idea initiated by

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

on ''

Hysteria Hysteria is a term used to mean ungovernable emotional excess and can refer to a temporary state of mind or emotion. In the nineteenth century, female hysteria was considered a diagnosable physical illness in women. It is assumed that the bas ...

'', which Lita obviously studied in some detail."

Critical reception

The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote that "Ford rides her sex-bomb goddess image, serviceable vocals and one o' the lads guitarwork hard 'n' heavy for almost one full side of this LP." The ''

Calgary Herald The ''Calgary Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Publication began in 1883 as ''The Calgary Herald, Mining and Ranche Advocate, and General Advertiser''. It is owned by the Postmedia Network. History ''The C ...

'' determined that "''Stiletto'' abandons wallowing in past sub-par metal yearnings and instead tries a more mainstream approach." The ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network, and is the larg ...

'' opined that Ford "just doesn't have the heavy metal vocal screech or the powerthud music to make her songs more than mildly amusing." The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' panned the "stupid lyrics and ... bombastic guitar solos." In 1991, Eddy ranked ''Stiletto'' at number 436 in his list of the 500 best heavy metal albums ever.

Track listing

Side one # "Your Wake Up Call" ''(

, David Ezrin, Lita Ford, Myron Grombacher, Don Nossov)'' – 1:59 # "Hungry" ''(Michael Dan Ehmig, Ford)'' – 4:57 # "Dedication" ''(Chapman)'' – 3:34 # "Stiletto" ''(Ford,

Holly Knight Holly Knight (born 1956) is an American songwriter, musician, and singer. She was a member of the 1980s pop rock groups Spider and Device, and wrote or co-wrote several hit singles for other artists, such as " Rag Doll", " Obsession", " Love Is ...

)'' – 4:37 # "Lisa" ''(Ehmig, Ford)'' – 4:45 # "The Ripper" ''(Ezrin, Ford)'' – 5:20 ;Side two #

"Big Gun" ''(Ford, Grombacher, Nossov)'' – 4:37 # " Only Women Bleed" ''(

Dick Wagner Richard Allen Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Boss ...

)'' – 6:03 # "Bad Boy" ''(Ford,

Mark Spiro Mark Spiro (March 28, 1957 – March 28, 2024) was an American songwriter, record producer and recording artist.(Ford, Grombacher, Kevin Savigar)'' – 4:20 # "Cherry Red" ''(Ehmig, Ford)'' – 4:09 # "Outro" ''(Ezrin, Ford, Grombacher, Nossov)'' – 1:56

Personnel

Band members *Lita Ford – guitar, vocals *David Ezrin – keyboards *Don Nossov – bass guitar *Myron Grombacher – drums, percussion Additional musicians *Pablo Calagero - baritone saxophone *

Richie Cannata Richie Cannata (born March 3, 1949) is an American music producer, saxophonist, keyboardist and studio owner. He is most notable for playing saxophone in Billy Joel's band alongside Liberty DeVitto, Russell Javors, and Doug Stegmeyer. After leav ...

- tenor saxophone, horns arrangements *Barry Danelian - trumpet *Kevin Osborne - trombone, backing vocals, horns arrangements *

, Tim Lawless, Ozzie Melendez - backing vocals *

Ralph Schuckett Ralph Schuckett (March 2, 1948 – April 4, 2021) was an American keyboardist, composer and songwriter known as one of the founding members of Todd Rundgren's band Utopia. He composed for film and television, including ''Pokémon'', ''Sonic X'', ...

- strings arrangements Production *

- producer, mixing *Marc DeSisto, Steve Marcantonio, Brian McGee, Dave Wittman - engineers *

Neal Avron Neal Avron (born December 31, 1965) is an American record producer, mixer, audio engineer, and musician. Working predominantly in rock music, Avron began working on records in 1993 and achieved his production breakthrough when he co-produced Ev ...

, Dan Hetzel, Mike Kloster, Jay Newland, Ingrid M. Paaske, Steve Rossi, Tommy Skarupa, Vic Steffans, Ted Trewhalla, Thomas R. Yezzi - assistant engineers *Ted Trewhalla, William Wittman - mixing *

George Marino George Marino (April 15, 1947June 4, 2012) was an American mastering engineer known for working on albums by rock bands starting in the late 1960s. Biography Marino was born on April 15, 1947, in the New York City borough The Bronx. He attended ...

at Sterling Sound, NYC - mastering

Charts

References

{{Authority control Lita Ford albums 1990 albums RCA Records albums Albums produced by Mike Chapman Hard rock albums by American artists