Essential

Detroit rocker Suzi Quatro's massive catalog of attitude and melody opened doors for bands for generations to follow. Without Quatro's direct influence, bands like the Runaways and the Pretenders would have been entirely different animals. At almost 70 minutes and with a massive 20 tracks, this collection is an exhaustive cross section of several of Quatro's strongest periods. The earliest, more singer/songwriter days are represented by her first single "Rolling Stone" and the leaning-toward-glammy "Can the Can," both huge hits in the U.K. but overlooked stateside. Middle-period hits from the late '70s like "She's in Love with You" and the Grease soundtrack-esque theatrics of "I've Never Been in Love" serve well to show Quatro's evolution from softer beginnings to a more over-the-top persona as her career soldiered on. Essential (thankfully) steers clear of Quatro's post-'70s output for the most part, choosing instead to focus on her brightest years, painting Quatro more as a punked-out leather-clad female foil to the groovy-glam outpourings of her contemporary Marc Bolan. ~ Fred Thomas|