Kathy Valentine

Former Go-Go's bassist Kathy Valentine contributed some of the songs that clinched her band's claim to fame, so you'd think her first solo album might echo her gal pals' giddiness. You'd be mistaken, unfortunately. Valentine has traded her bass for a Stratocaster and recorded a perfunctory rock and roll record etched with Eighties influences of a different sort. Given her backing band -- guitarists Gilby Clarke of Guns N' Roses and Ace Frehley of Kiss, and Blondie drummer Clem Burke -- it's understandable, if no less painful. Moreover, Valentine herself seems fixated on aping others of that era. "Creation Myth" and "Retouch Me" carry a Blondie streak. "Until Then" is Valentine as Seventies rockers Heart. Mostly, though, she shoots for the leathery chick-power of Joan Jett. There's a fine line between retro and redundant, and this ex-Go-Go is merely so-so.