Suzi Quatro Releases 4-disc Career Retrospective Box Set

Many Americans got their first look at singer/songwriter/bassist Suzi Quatro when she appeared on the hit TV show “Happy Days” several times between 1977 and 1979 as rock-and-roll singer Leather Tuscadero.

But the Detroit native, while relatively unheralded in the U.S., was already a superstar in Europe, and had number 1 hits in the UK. She didn’t top the charts in the United States until 1978, when her duet with Chris Norman, “Stumblin’ In,” reached number 4.

However, Quatro is more influential than she may appear at first glance. She’s been cited as an influence by female rockers like Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders and Tina Weymouth, bassist of Talking Heads and Tom Tom Club. Joan Jett is another longtime fan. Quatro appeared on the music scene at a time when women didn’t front otherwise all-male bands. But there she was, tiny and dressed in leather, with her bass slung low.

Now, Quatro’s career is getting the retrospective treatment, with a 4-CD set called The Girl From Detroit City. The box set includes not only her hits, but also rarities and previously unreleased tracks. There are also three new songs, including the title track written by Mike Chapman, who with Nicky Chinn, wrote and produced songs for her early in her career. There’s also a new version of ABBA’s “Does Your Mama Know?” with The Sweet’s Andy Scott.

The 82-song set is packaged with a 54-page booklet filled with photos and memorabilia, as well as liner notes for each track.

The Girl From Detroit City set is available on CD.

If you’re wondering what drew audiences to Quatro, just check out this performance of her first big UK hit, “Can the Can”:

The Girl From Detroit City Track List:

Disc One:

1. What a Way to Die
2. Light of Love
3. Locked in Your Love
4. Rolling Stone
5. Can the Can
6. Ain’t Ya Something Honey
7. 48 Crash
8. All Shook Up
9. Glycerine Queen
10. Daytona Demon
11. Roman Fingers
12. Devil Gate Drive
13. In the Morning
14. Too Big
15. The Wild One (Single Version)
16. Your Mamma Won’t Like Me
17. I Bit Off More Than I Could Chew
18. You Can Make Me Want You
19. Michael
20. I May Be Too Young
21. Half As Much As Me
22. American Lady (Alternative Version)

Disc Two:

1. Tear Me Apart
2. If You Can’t Give Me Love
3. Suicide
4. The Race Is On
5. Stumblin’ In (with Chris Norman)
6. I’ve Never Been In Love
7. Mind Demons
8. She’s In Love With You
9. Hollywood
10. Mama’s Boy
11. Love Hurts
12. Rock Hard
13. Lonely Is the Hardest
14. Ego in the Night
15. Lipstick
16. Glad All Over
17. Heart of Stone
18. Main Attraction
19. Two Miles Out of Georgia
20. Can I Be Your Girl
21. Good Girl (Looking for a Bad Time)
22. Wild Thing (with Reg Presley)

Disc Three:

1. I Got the Sun in the Morning
2. Moonshine Lullaby
3. If You Can’t Give Me Love (Piano Version)
4. Baby You’re a Star
5. Kiss Me Goodbye
6. Back to the Drive
7. I’ll Walk Through the Fire With You
8. No Choice
9. I Don’t Do Gentle
10. Fifteen Minutes of Fame
11. Whatever Love Is
12. Strict Machine
13. Breaking Dishes
14. A Girl Like Me
15. Singing With Angels
16. Does Your Mama Know (with Andy Scott)
17. The Cost of Living
18. Girl From Detroit City

Disc Four:

1. Curly Hair for Sale
2. Sugar Flash Rapper
3. Ain’t Got No Home
4. Sweet Nothin’s
5. Wild in the Night
6. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood
7. What Goes Around (Demo Version)
8. Love and War
9. Walking Through the Changes
10. Warm Leatherette
11. Intimate Strangers
12. And So to Bed
13. Sometimes Love Is Letting Go
14. Flying to My Destiny
15. Free the Butterfly
16. Ambition
17. If There Ever Was a Reason
18. Desperado (with Jeff Beck)
19. Dancing in the Wind
20. No Choice (Demo Version)