SUZI QUATRO, "Suzi Quatro", 1973 (RCA)

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WHY? Well I guess it's down my personal admiration of 70's glam rock in the main but also down to this theory I have that to be a genuine offshoot rock genre you need at least one successful female representative. I mean NWOBHM had the mighty GIRLSCHOOL didn't it? Grunge

had "L7" so that counts, the MTV hair metal period had the godawful "VIXEN" (and POISON perhaps?), and doesn't SIOUXSIE SIOUX count as the punk generation's pin-up girl? Take this theory then an extrapolate it a bit further back into the early 70's and the Glam Rock genre and you'll find the original leather goddess, her rockin' highness SUZI QUATRO. All but ignored in her native USA but adored by red blooded males in the UK she's right up there alongside the greats like SLADE, SWEET and er... THE BAY CITY ROLLERS, every compilation of the period whether it be album, cd or dvd improved by the inclusion of one of the bass weilding babe's number one singles "Can The Can" or "Devil Gate Drive".

DOES IT HAVE ANY REDEEMING QUALITIES WHATSOEVER? Abso-bloody-lutely. Like the SWEETs early hit singles Suzi relied on the song writing team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman for chart-bothering songs. The début album doesn't boast either of the big two singles but has the equally excellent number 3 hit "48 Crash" from their pen as well as the superbly sleazy "Primitive Love" but dig past those and your into some real redeemers. Just like the aforementioned SWEET there was a quality song writing team within the players fighting for attention, in this case QUATRO and her guitarist/partner/future husband Len Tuckey. The bruiser with the bottle on the front cover could play a mean six string and some of the licks hidden away in the grooves of this album are among the dirtiest of the era.

The songs ain't too bad either, with side one trio "Glycerine Queen", "Shine My Machine" and the outstanding "Official Suburbian Superman" making you think that perhaps they didn't need the outside writers. Side two doesn't quite match the first but it isn't too shabby either with "Skin Tight Skin" proving the best of the bunch. In fact all that lets the album down as a stand-out period piece is a couple of 50's rock 'n roll standards that get a rudimentary run through and a bizarre choice of BEATLES cover with Suzi singing "I Wanna Be Your Man"!

WHAT KEEPS ME FROM PITCHING IT IN THE TRASH BIN? Are you kidding? Rather than bin it, writing about the thing has finally encouraged me to upgrade the battered old cassette copy handed down from father to son with a nice fresh, albeit 35 year old, vinyl copy with SUZI resplendant in trademark leather jacket on the album cover. Okay so it's not without its faults but its a gem of the Glam Era and she deserves to be noted for something more than a role in "Happy Days". Forget Leather Tuscadero and remember Suzi Quatro as the reason why glam rock counts as a genuine genre of rock.

- Leslie