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In the Spotlight is the fifteenth studio album by the American singer-songwriter and bass guitar player Suzi Quatro.

In the Spotlight
Studio album by Suzi Quatro
Released	5 August 2011 (2011-08-05)
Studio	Various Fortress Studios, London UK (dates unknown) Dave's Room, North Hollywood USA (dates unknown) Emerald Studios, Nashville USA (dates unknown)[1]: 11
Genre	Hard rock[2]
Length	40:40
Label	Cherry Red
Producer	Mike Chapman Davey Meshell Andy Scott Steve Grant[1]: 11
Suzi Quatro chronology
Back to the Drive (2006) In the Spotlight (2011) Quatro, Scott & Powell (2017)
In the Spotlight Deluxe Edition

The seeds for the album were sown when Mike Chapman, Quatro's original producer and composer of most of her hits, approached her with plans to take her back to her roots. Their reunion resulted in this modern take on Quatro's original attitude, which shows the influence she has had on modern female artists. "Strict Machine", a song originally performed by Goldfrapp, even contains a two line teaser from Quatro's number one hit "Can the Can", to show the similarities of the two tracks.[3]

When the album was released, it received many positive reviews—Mojo rated the album . Allmusic rated it , commenting that (except for one track): "...In the Spotlight is an impressive comeback, which admirably doesn't rely solely on nostalgia to make itself heard."[3] In September and October 2011, soon after the album was released, Quatro made a 21 performance sold-out Rocks the Spotlight Tour of Australia, also with great reviews.

Release, promotion, marketing

In the Spotlight was first released in Australia on 5 August 2011.[4] Then the album was released in Germany on 19 August 2011.[5] Finally, it was released in the rest of the world (including the USA) on 29 August 2011.[6]

Victory Tischler-Blue produced the official music video for Suzi Quatro's "Strict Machine", a track from the album. This track is a cover of Goldfrapp's "Strict Machine", but Quatro's version of the song contains two extra lines from her own number one hit "Can the Can" (to show the similarity of the two songs' tunes).[3]

On 16 November 2011 the official music video was released via the SUZI QUATRO OFFICIAL YouTube channel. It includes live footage from Quatro's September/October 2011 Rocks the Spotlight Tour of Australia and the extra two lines from "Can the Can".[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic (USA)	[3]
laut.de (Germany)	[8]
Monsters and Critics.de (Germany)	favourable[9]
The Gap	[10]
Wears the Trousers Magazine (UK)	favourable[11][12]

Germany

Ulf Kubanke reviewed the album for laut.de. He rated the album .[8]

Constantin Aravanlis reviewed the album favourably for Monsters and Critics.de.[9]

Austria

Gerald C. Stocker reviewed the album for The Gap. He rated the album .[10]

United Kingdom

Mojo magazine rated the album .^{[citation needed]}

There were two reviews by Wears the Trousers Magazine. Alan Pedder reviewed the album's single "Whatever Love Is" and went on to comment about some other album tracks. Rhian Jones reviewed the album itself. Pedder commented favourably on two tracks, unfavourably on two tracks, and did not comment on seven tracks. Jones commented favourably (directly or indirectly) on eight tracks, unfavourably on one track, and did not comment on two tracks.[11][12]

Reviewing the single, Pedder wrote that Quatro's "Whatever Love Is"...

"is squarely aimed at her existing fans. ...".

He described "Strict Machine" and "Breaking Dishes" as "ropey covers" but concluded that "Hard Headed Woman"...

"is a much better fit for Quatro’s seasoned, raspy vocals".[11]

By contrast (reviewing the album) Jones wrote about "Breaking Dishes"...

"yielding surprisingly well to a fundamentalist glam treatment and the gutsiness of Quatro’s vocal approach. ...".

She also wrote that Quatro...

"has a decent stab at the wistful rock splendour of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘Turn Into’. ...".

Jones concludes that:

"...Despite one or two shaky moments then, In The Spotlight is a warm and triumphant slice of retro-rock".[12]

United States

Jon O'Brien of Allmusic commented favourably on nine tracks, unfavourably on one track, and did not comment on one track. He wrote that Quatro's "Strict Machine" is...

"a guitar-chugging mash-up of Goldfrapp's electro-pop reinvention in "Strict Machine"; [with] her own 1973 U.K. chart-topper "Can the Can," cleverly referencing the subtle similarities between the two; ...".

O'Brien concluded that:

"...A misguided attempt at cod-reggae aside ("Hurt with You"), In the Spotlight is an impressive comeback, which admirably doesn't rely solely on nostalgia to make itself heard".

He rated the album .[3]

Track listing

In the Spotlight

The musicians Nat Allison, Jez Davies, Owen Martin, and Mike Chapman contributed to all of the tracks except "Singing with Angels".[1]^: 11

Track[1]: 12	Title[1]: 12	Writer(s)	Guest musician(s)[1]: 11	Original artist(s)	Length[13]
1.	"A Girl Like Me"	Mike Chapman[1]: 4			4:31
2.	"Whatever Love Is"	Chapman. Holly Knight[1]: 4			4:44
3.	"Spotlight"	Chapman[1]: 5			3:21
4.	"Strict Machine"	Allison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory, Nick Batt[1]: 8 [14][15]	The Neighborhood Bullys	Goldfrapp[15]	3:10
5.	"Breaking Dishes" (originally "Breakin' Dishes")	Christopher Stewart, Terius Nash[1]: 8 [16]	The Neighborhood Bullys	Rihanna[16]	4:01
6.	"Rosie Rose"	Chapman[1]: 8			4:04
7.	"Hurt with You"	Suzi Quatro[1]: 9	Ray Bevis, Toby Gucklhorn, Dick Hanson		4:18
8.	"Hot Kiss"	Todd Morse, Juliette Lewis, Kemble Walters, Jason Womack[1]: 10 [17] See Note 1 below.	The Neighborhood Bullys	Juliette and the Licks[18]	2:47
9.	"Turn Into"	Brian Chase, Nicholas Zinner, Karen Orzolek[1]: 10 [19]	The Neighborhood Bullys	Yeah Yeah Yeahs[19]	3:48
10.	"Hard Headed Woman"	Claude Demetrius[1]: 10 [20]		Elvis Presley[3] See Note 2 below.	2:02
11. (Bonus track)	"Singing with Angels"	Quatro[1]: 10	James Burton, The Jordanaires (misspelled as "The Jordinaires" in the CD booklet)		3:54

Note 1 — according to the In the Spotlight CD booklet, "Morse/Lewis/Walters/Womack" wrote "Hot Kiss".[1]^: 10 According to AllMusic, the only composers were "Lewis, Morse".[21]
Note 2 — it is generally accepted that Elvis Presley is the original artist for "Hard Headed Woman".[3] Wears the Trousers Magazine (in its reviews of the album and of the associated single "Whatever Love Is") refers to "Wanda Jackson’s ‘Hard Headed Woman’".[11][12]

In the Dark

Victory Tischler-Blue produced both of the bonus enhanced video tracks.[22]^: 9

Track[23]	Title[23]	Writer(s)[22]: 9	Guest musician(s)[1]: 11	Original artist(s)	Length[23]
1.	"Empty Rooms"	Suzi Quatro			3:36
2.	"Make Love to Me"	Quatro			4:06
3.	"Why Do Rainbows Die"	Quatro			3:53
4.	"Truck Stop"	Quatro			3:31
5.	"If Ever There Was a Reason"	Quatro			4:20
6.	"Touch the Child in Me"	Quatro			3:17
7.	"Three Time Loser"	Quatro			3:09
8.	"One Dance Too Long"	Quatro			3:25
9. (Bonus enhanced video track)	"Singing with Angels"	Quatro[1]: 10	James Burton, The Jordanaires (misspelled as "The Jordinaires" in the CD booklet)		6:00
10. (Bonus enhanced video track)	"Strict Machine"	Allison Goldfrapp, Will Gregory, Nick Batt[1]: 8 [14][15]	The Neighborhood Bullys	Goldfrapp[15]	3:08

Personnel

"Singing with Angels"

Release history

Date	Label	Format	Catalogue
5 August 2011 (2011-08-05)	Cherry Red	CD	CDBRED 511[13]
29 October 2012 (2012-10-29)	Cherry Red	Box set	Box set, In the Spotlight Deluxe Edition: CR CDBOX8[23] Disc 1, In the Spotlight: CR CDBOX 8/A[23] Disc 2, In the Dark: CR CDBOX 8/B[23]

References

External links

Musicians

• "Rock ‘n’ Roll is not just about the clothes you wear..." according to Nat Allison's official web site
• Jez Davies and Owen Martin are members of The Nat Martin Band. The official web site of The Nat Martin Band says that "collectively the musicians in the band offer a number of different musical influences including Blues, Jazz, Fusion, Funk, Soul and Classical"

Guest musicians

• Ray Beavis' official website describes him as a "saxophonist & teacher based in Exeter, UK"
• The official website of The Neighborhood Bullys calls them "the best f%$King [sic] rock & roll band in Los Angeles"

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