Essential

Having influenced everyone from the Runaways to ‘90s riot grrrls, this 2008 compilation is a perfect place to start for anyone curious about the bass-playing gal in the leather jumpsuit known as Suzi Quatro. Though the collection starts off with the catchy bubble-glam ditty “She’s In Love With You,” the following “Can the Can” is a better place to start as it spotlights Quatro’s strong and raspy singing with some of that Dwight Twilley-sounding vocal echo – not to mention that the tune rocks as hard like a Slade song. And make no mistake; it was the more rocking numbers like “The Wild One” and the anthemic “48 Crash” that influenced Joan Jett. Quatro flirted with ‘70s funk on “Your Mamma Won’t Like Me” but she really hit her stride when blasting ‘50s-flavored rock ‘n’ roll tunes through behemoth ‘70s amplifiers as heard on the muscled “Devil Gate Drive” and on era standards like “Shakin’ All Over” (check out her searing vocal performance on this one) and on a boot-stomping rendition of “Wake Up Little Suzie.”