Suzi ... and Other Four Letter Words
Suzi... and Other Four Letter Words, released in 1979, is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter, bass guitar player, and actress Suzi Quatro. this was still Quatro's highest-charting album in Norway and her second-highest-charting album in the United States.
The album contains three singles, all of which charted. "She's in Love with You", a number 1 hit in South Africa, a top 20 hit in the United Kingdom, Austria, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland, a top 40 hit in Australia and also a minor chart hit in New Zealand and the United States. "Mama's Boy" made chart appearances in both the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands and "I've Never Been in Love" charted in the United States as well as the United Kingdom.
Background
This, Quatro's sixth studio LP, was released after she moved from the United States to Britain. It is her last studio album before she decided not to renew her contract with record producer Mickie Most's RAK Records label..Critical reception
Writing for Smash Hits in 1979, Red Starr described the album as "ten immediately accessible chunks of bouncy, straightforward pop-rock". In his retrospective review for AllMusic, Donald A. Guarisco awards this album. He sees Quatro as making "a strong return to her hard-rocking roots" with the album. Example "bracing rocker" tracks are "I've Never Been in Love" and "She's in Love with You". These are "judiciously balanced with a string of tuneful, keyboard-based mid-tempo tunes" such as "Hollywood" and the "pop-inflected reggae groove" of "Four Letter Words". Guarisco feels that the downside of the album is that "many of the songs recycle the same double-time backbeat" and singles out "You Are My Lover" whose melody "is minimalist to the point of being repetitive". He concludes that:"Despite these minor problems, Suzi...and Other Four Letter Words remains a solid slab of rock that is guaranteed to please the Suzi Quatro fanbase."
Track listing
- "I've Never Been in Love" – 3:02
- "Mind Demons" – 2:25
- "She's in Love with You" – 3:32
- "Hollywood" – 2:57
- "Four Letter Words" – 3:27
- "Mama's Boy" – 3:35
- "Starlight Lady" – 3:36
- "You Are My Lover" – 3:12
- "Space Cadets" – 4:18
- "Love Hurts" – 2:45
Personnel
- Suzi Quatro – lead vocals, bass guitar, writer
- Len Tuckey – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, writer
- Jamie Crompton – guitar, backing vocals
- Bill Hurd – keyboard, backing vocals
- Dave Neal – drums
- Dave Tickle – engineer
- Peter Coleman – engineer
- Glenn Ross – art direction
- Norman Seeff – photography
- Steve Hall – mastering
- Nicky Chinn – writer
- Mike Chapman – producer, writer
Charts
Chart | Peak position |
Norway | 4 |
Sweden | 36 |
United States, The Billboard 200 | 117 |
Suzi...and Other Four Letter Words was still Quatro's highest-charting album in Norway, beating both Quatro, which reached number 5, and Suzi Quatro, which reached number 6. It was also her second-highest-charting album in the United States, behind If You Knew Suzi..., which reached number 37 in The Billboard 200.
;"She's in Love with You" / "Space Cadets"
Chart | Peak position |
United Kingdom | 11 |
Austria | 4 |
Netherlands | 6 |
New Zealand | 24 |
Norway | 10 |
Switzerland | 6 |
United States, The Billboard Hot 100 | 41 |
;"Mama's Boy" / "Mind Demons"
Chart | Peak position |
United Kingdom | 34 |
Netherlands | 43 |
;"I've Never Been in Love" / "Starlight Lady"
Chart | Peak position |
United Kingdom | 56 |
United States, The Billboard Hot 100 | 44 |