Main Attraction is the eighth solo studio album by the American rock singer-songwriter and bass guitarist Suzi Quatro. It was originally released in November 1982, and was her first and only release by the record label, Polydor.[1] The album was recorded over a period of four months at The Studio Toppersfield, in Essex, England with the sessions starting in late 1981, and ending in early 1982. The album is generally regarded as the culmination of the smoother, more adult-oriented sound of Quatro's later work. The album is notably Quatro's only studio album not to contain any cover versions of songs by other artists. However, she did have a hand in composing each track, with the exception of the sixth track "Two Miles Out of Georgia", which was solely written by Chris Andrews. The album was her last recording of original material for four years, until she released Annie Get Your Gun – 1986 London Cast, and it was her last studio album of the 1980s and her last studio album for eight years, until she released Oh Suzi Q., in 1990.
| Untitled | |
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [4] |
It was released at the height of the popularity of the new wave music movement. "Heart of Stone" received some airplay on Album-oriented rock radio, and was released as a lead single from the album and became a moderate success, peaking at number 60 on the UK charts.[5] And the title track was also released as a single, but unlike the aforementioned single it failed to chart. The album was received negatively by the majority of music critics, with most of the criticism being directed towards its musical direction being too commercial from her hard rock roots. The album went largely unnoticed by the public, being a commercial disappointment, and even missed the album charts worldwide (her first studio album to do so).
The album was re-released in 2008, and was the first of several remastered reissues by Cherry Red Records on Compact Disc. It contained the single version of "Heart of Stone" as a bonus track. Cherry Red have since released other Quatro remasters, as well as releasing her latest studio album, In the Spotlight.
Background
By late 1981, Suzi Quatro found herself with neither a record deal nor any of her regular production team. She spotted an opportunity to record her next album more locally to her Essex home, at a studio newly built by Chris Andrews - an old friend of her then-husband and guitarist Len Tuckey. Andrews was a veteran of the music business with a handful of 1960s hits as both a songwriter and solo artist to his credit, including "Yesterday Man".[6] Without the usual songs and guidance of Mike Chapman, songwriting duties fell entirely to Quatro, Len Tuckey, and Chris Andrews.[7] And while during the recording sessions, Quatro became pregnant, and gave birth to her daughter Laura on the 23rd September 1982.[8]
While half of the album mostly contains county-rock songs, Quatro decided that it was time for a change of pace in her solo career, and that meant that there was a sudden move towards a more contemporary production as Quatro chose to utilize drum machines instead of live drums on the other half of the tracks. And those tracks also prominently used more synthesizers but fewer keyboards and electric piano. She commented in an article in Kerrang! during 1983, after playing a successful live show at Reading Festival on 27 August, that she did not care about being in the sale charts, but was more interested releasing what she wanted to do; commenting that she started in 1964, and that she did not become famous for nine years "I would never accept having my career molded by other people... I've kept working consistently even though I've not been in the charts."[9]
Critical reception
In a retrospective review for AllMusic, critic Jim Allen wrote of the album "a few tracks are melodic, acoustic-based, Juice Newton-sounding tunes; a few explore new wave/electro-dance production touches; and for the faithful, there are a couple of rockers in the classic Quatro mode." And they added that "[the album is] Clearly a portrait of an artist in motion."[4]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Suzi Quatro and Len Tuckey, except where noted
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Heart of Stone" (Chris Andrews, Suzi Quatro) | 4:07 |
| 2. | "Cheap Shot" | 3:39 |
| 3. | "She Knows" | 3:11 |
| 4. | "Main Attraction" (Andrews, Quatro) | 3:15 |
| 5. | "Two Miles Out of Georgia" (Andrews) | 3:30 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Candy Man" (Andrews, Quatro) | 3:13 |
| 7. | "Remote Control" | 3:21 |
| 8. | "Fantasy in Stereo" (Andrews, Quatro) | 3:11 |
| 9. | "Transparent" | 3:18 |
| 10. | "Oh Baby" | 3:53 |
| Total length: | 34:38 | |
- Additional track
| Bonus track on Cherry Red reissue | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[10]
- Suzi Quatro - lead vocals, bass guitar, backing vocals
- Len Tuckey - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, guitar synthesizer, backing vocals, producer
- Dave Neal - drums, percussion
- Additional personnel
- Chris Andrews - keyboards, backing vocals, producer
- Jimmy Martin - steel guitar on "Two Miles Out of Georgia"
- Wendy Roberts - backing vocals on "Heart of Stone"
References
- ^ a b Strong, Martin C. (2000). The Great Rock Discography (5th ed.). Edinburgh: Mojo Books. pp. 785–6. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- ^ Unitarium. "Time Calculator". Time Calculator. Retrieved 6 December 2014.
- ^ Hendriks, Phil (2008). Main Attraction (CD booklet). Suzi Quatro. London, United Kingdom: Cherry Red Records. GLAM CD 68.
{{cite AV media notes}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|titlelink=ignored (|title-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b Jim Allen. "Main Attraction - Suzi Quatro - Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards - AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
- ^ http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/suzi%20quatro/
- ^ Nugent, Stephen, Anne Fowler, Pete Fowler: Chart Log of American/British Top 20 Hits, 1955–1974. In: Gillett, Charlie, Simon Frith (ed.): Rock File 4. Frogmore, St. Albans: Panther Books, 1976, p. 70
- ^ "CD Booklet"
- ^ http://www.thecoverzone.com/RNR/timeline.html
- ^ "Suzi Quatro Timeline, Gunta Anderson, via Wayback". Web.archive.org. 20 January 2008. Archived from the original on 20 January 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2012.
- ^ Main Attraction liner notes. Polydor. 1982.
External links
- Main Attraction at Discogs (list of releases)