Monday, August 9, 2010

Suzi Quatro - "Can The Can" (RAK Records, 1973)

When it comes for Suzi Quatro, forget every other girl that tried to rock n' roll.
And that's a perfect debut album. Actually this one must be one of the superior debuts ever. Glam in the hooligan way of Slade, with more attention to ripped jeans than glitter clothes and chock full of dynamites! I must admit that i fell for this record immediately - just by staring at it. I still think of the front sleeve as one of the coolest in rock n' roll! Take a look at the gang, d'you really think these dudes (including Suzi) had anything in common with other (great) glam groups but lame on the looks, like the Sweet par example? I don't know why this fucker still counts as "glam" but anyway...
A true Detroit rock n' roll band, working on a formula that simply couldn't go wrong (Slade meets the Stones and then hit the gas!). From the fire-burner openers of "48 Crash" and "Glycerine Queen" to "Skin Tight Skin" and the EXCELLENT covers on "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Shakin All Over", Suzi and the gang just rips and never looks back! But don't be fooled, this thing here has no failed melody, no failed note and no failed attitude throughout its existence!
The sexiest piece of rock n' roll ever buried in a vinyl's furrow (OK i got too far here, i mean in the glam years and add to the the picture Marc Bolan too) and yes as much as cliche that is, without Suzi - No Joan Jett and no Runaways at all!
320 Kbps

 Can The Can



PS: Once i had the pleasure to interview her by email... So cool, so sexy and so down to earth after all these years!


7 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this. I don't know how I'd never checked out Suzi Quatro before.

    I agree that Sweet was often ridiculous-looking, but as far as the music goes, I think Sweet is just as good as Slade.
    I know that I listen to Slade, Sweet, and T. Rex more than I listen to Mott the Hoople or post-Ziggy Bowie. But maybe that's just my own tastes...

    By the way, the files for tracks 1-6 are correct, but 7-13 are mixed up. It's no big deal, I just had to spend 5 minutes manually re-entering the tracklisting.

    Thanks again! Also, you should post that interview you did with Suzi Quatro some time!

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  2. Oh! I'm sorry! To tell you the truth i check to see if the tags are alright only when I'm ripping a vinyl... I never thought to check on CDs cause that's (supposed to be) an automatic procedure...
    As far for Sweet, i agree. They were a fantastic band and tracks like "Hellraiser" won't written everyday... Bolan was a god, Mott a perfect rock n' roll gang and Slade the ultimate hools! I don't dig that much Bowie... I believe though that if someone picked up the best tracks from "Ziggy", "Low" and "Diamond Dogs" will have the BEST EVER glam album!
    Thanx mate!

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  3. I also don't listen to that much Bowie. Everybody says he's a genius, and his work with Iggy and Lou Reed and Mott and Queen is amazing, it's just . . . I like other bands more. I've got Ziggy and Diamond Dogs and Pin-Ups. I guess I should buy a copy of Low one of these days.

    I actually looked around on the internet, and apparently there are two versions of "Can the Can" with all the same songs, but a different running order on side two. But you're right, it's frustrating when the CD has the wrong information. That happened on my copy of The Problematics' "The Kids All Suck." The CD was encoded with the tracklist for the vinyl, not the CD, which was slightly different, and with a different bonus track. But of course, it's Rip-Off Records, so what do you expect?!
    (If you've never listened to The Problematics, you should really check them out. They were a '90s rock band from Indiana, USA, kind of like a less-Japanese-sounding Teengenerate, or a slightly punkier Devil Dogs. Good stuff.)

    Also, the more I look at that Can The Can album cover, the more I like it. Suzi looks smoking hot, of course, but the rest of the band just looks so SLEAZY. No glitter for those "glam" boys! Just grease and sweat and drugs and alcohol, by the looks of things!

    Cheers! I don't have a regular internet connection, so I only stop by here every couple weeks, but you're always posting great stuff. Thanks!

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  4. Great stuff! Thanks man!

    I hope someday you can fulfill your rock-writing dreams in good ole paper.

    Extra kudos for the "ad-free" status. Much appreciated.

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  5. Yeah, I discovered Suzi in mid-70s when I was 12 and it, including that cool cover, pretty much defined teenage rock-and-roll for me... I had a crush on her, too, of course, just based on that great photograph. Nice to see someone else appreciates that album, surely in the U.S. Suzi Quatro is one of the most under-appreciated bands ever.

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  6. I like the album a lot. Always did. I never thought it was glam rock. I always felt it was Suzi's best writing. Also responsible for her success is her then-husband's writing Len Tuckey's co-writing. Chapman-Chinn wrote the hits and many find this to be a formulaic success for Suzi. Chapman wrote for Blondie, too. No one said Blondie's success was due to Mike Chapman's hitmaker writing. Shhe's been confused with glam, boogie and soul (?) but it's garage rock with then-commercial appeal. I never saw the need to classify Suzi Quatro. It's rock-n-roll from a woman well-copied by others. There's a deep, gritty feeling to this album. I don't think it's white trash. Suzi came from anything but that. The guys in wifebeaters on the cover make this white trash? No way. Suzi in leather was as shocking as Bowie in feathers and glitter back in '73. If the guys were going to wear mascara, Suzi was going to butch it up in leather. Real packaging. This technique made some question her authenticity. I don't think American audiences really got into her for that reason. She was one of the first all-out rocker chicks. The debut album and her latest (Mike Chapman produced "In the Spotlight") are the best work she's ever done. Her fan-base clearly wanted part two of her first album and waited decades to get it. In between sugary stuff that came and went. This debut, however, manages to out last her others. A fun ride through and through and it still sounds great. The cover of her debut album is really cool, too. A classic.

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  7. This is not white trash. Stylized garage rick in the genius hands of Mike Chapman. Without his contributions, Can the Can and 48 crash, no hits to draw upon. Quatro/Tuckey's contributions very good the first time out. Album cover is excellent. America didn't buy it, though. Bowie could wear feathers and glitter but Suzi was pushing it in her leathers, screaming and growling rockers in the 70's thought. Others just thought she was bubblegum-rock with tough chick packaging. Suzi's latest CD "In the Spotlight" sounds most like her debut,album than anything else she's ever done. If you like her first, you'll enjoy her latest. And, yes, the album cover is still very cool as is this very cool and still enjoyable debut from Suzi Quatro and her band. A classic.

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