In an interview in Lucy O'Brien's book She Bop,
Lisa Lisa expressed her desire to "come out on her own and grow up" on
LL 77, her first post-
Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam album. Enlisting a whole cavalcade of funky New Yorkers (
Nona Hendryx,
Junior Vasquez,
Giovanni Salah,
Guru),
LL 77 is a spotty debut, but promising enough that it should have warranted a follow-up. From the opening downtown girl chatter to the studio talk that segues some of the songs, it's obvious
Lisa Lisa feels more at home in the album's urban landscape than the glistening pop
Cult Jam recorded. "Why Can't Lovers" and "Covers" both deal with sex without love being better than being alone, and "I'm Open" speaks to the creative and reflective benefits of marijuana -- hardly
Cult Jam material! There's an acceptable amount of bland filler on
LL 77, but most of the album comes off as a more streetwise and sensible
Prince production (
Prince-protégé-gone-AWOL
Jill Jones contributes some songwriting). The album's dreamy single, "Skip to My Lu," failed to climb the charts like
Cult Jam did, and
Lisa Lisa was relieved of her major label duties. ~ David Jeffries