Girlschool's 2008 lineup --
Kim McAuliffe on lead vocals and rhythm guitar,
Enid Williams on lead vocals and bass,
Denise Dufort on drums, and Jackie Chambers on lead guitar -- has described
Legacy as both a 30th anniversary recording and a tribute to Kelly Johnson, who was the band's lead guitarist from 1978-1984 and 1993-2000 before dying of spinal cancer in 2007 at the age of 49. It was in 1978 -- 30 years before the release of
Legacy -- that the band changed its name from Painted Lady to
Girlschool and provided its first single, "Take It All Away," and
McAuliffe,
Williams, and
Dufort were all members of
Girlschool back then (Chambers is a 2000 arrival). This 2008 release is definitely one of
Girlschool's more consistent efforts; longtime fans will be glad to hear how focused and inspired they sound on melodic yet hard-driving tracks such as "Still Waters," "From the Other Side," "Everything's the Same," and "Zeitgeist," all of which are quite faithful to the classic
Girlschool sound of the late '70s and '80s.
Legacy, unlike most
Girlschool albums, features its share of guests; former
Motörhead guitarist
Fast Eddie Clark is heard on a cover of
Motörhead's "Metropolis," while longtime
Motörhead frontman
Lemmy Kilmister appears on "Don't Talk to Me." Singer
Ronnie James Dio and guitarist
Tony Iommi (who performed together in
Black Sabbath in the early 1980s) are reunited when they join
Girlschool on one of two versions of "I Spy," and guitarist
Jay Jay French (of
Twisted Sister fame) solos on "Spend Spend Spend." But
Girlschool's members are, of course,
Legacy's main attraction, and they bring plenty of passion and enthusiasm to this engaging anniversary disc. ~ Alex Henderson