Battle of the glamstomp queens: Joan Jett vs Suzi Quatro

New Album release in March 2002

Joan had the Runaways, who, despite circumstances, managed to be groundbreaking, and still influential all these years later. She then had her 80s hit making years, and was sort of the den mother of the riot grrl schene in the 90s. Plus, she has the distinction of producing the Germs classic first album, and Bikini Kill's best single.

Suzi to me is all growl, stomp, and plays no victim. In fact, if you want the blueprint for a Gay rockstar [not the disco bunny, emtional histronics of the Pet Shop Boys or Jimmy Sommerville, don't even think Melissa Etheridge] Suzi is it.

Rock Hard!

In case a visual impression might be useful here (what with a picture saying more than 1000 words...), I'm showing some fairly recent photos of Suzi Q on my website, www.guntaandressensphotographs.co.nr.

"Can the Can" was the high point for that sound, as electrocuted and hysterical as Quatro got. However, it is unfair to compare her with Joan Jett who, as far as I can remember, always said she drew from Suzi. By dint of the advance of time, she sounds harder by default. Had she been making records at the same time Suzi Quatro started, it's quite likely she wouldn't have sounded any heavier.

Suzi Quatro did go out with early Aerosmith in the US and her band would have to have been pretty tough-sounding in person to compete.

After "Suzi Quatro" and "Quatro," the records went notably soft and I lost interest. She and her band could do nice rockabilly and thumping boogie but the only songs I come back to for their oomph are "Devil Gate Drive," "48 Crash" and "Can the Can." "The Wild One's" good for nostalgia, too.

Good ear, Don, re Texas Terri. Usually, everyone is so obsessed with calling her the female Iggy Stooge, they miss the better complement
to SQ and JJ, which connote tunefulness and a certain swing.

http://www.winelord.net/sex_on_a_stick.mp3

Suzi's albums like Suzi Quatro (can the can Australia/NZ)Quatro, Your mama won't like me, Suzi and other four letter words, Rock Hard and the new album out this year 2006 Back to the drive thru EMI are all great albums.

Joan unfortunately did not have as many hits as Suzi, but to give the girl credit she is still rockin and keeping people happy the same as Suzi is doing.

But all in all Joan Jett was obsessed with Suzi Quatro when she saw her in Japan in 1975 and wanted to be just like her.

hee

todays treats :

suzi quatro - debut cd + bonus tracks
the runaways - debut + queens of noise.

going to be a great weekend.

Fer sure.

I way prefer Suzi to solo Joan, fwiw, but Joan is still great.

I've tried for years and years to really get into Suzi Quatro, but apart from a few songs early in her career, there's not really much there there.

Loving Joan is effortless.

i only got suzi qs debut which is the one that has the classic early stuff on - loving what i have heard.

very rarely see any joan jett albums on cds in the racks these days.

Joan Jett is a copycat, hell her biggest hit, I love rock and roll, isn't even her song, it was done by the Arrows back in the mid 70's, and most of her other songs are old Gary Glitter tunes.

Some Jett-slamming from 11 years ago, but Bad Reputation really opened my eyes to Gary Glitter, Lesley Gore, Wind (!). That record is a fantastic bubblepunk hit parade.

^ Yeah that was an odd point to make in Quatro's favor since Jett wrote/co-wrote "Bad Reputation," "Fake Friends," "The French Song," plus of course "Cherry Bomb" and several other great Runaways songs whereas Quatro I don't think has ever written a hit song

if a song is covered by joan jett it's a demo imo

She wrote loads of b-sides though, xpost

Suzi Quatro, easily.

having listened to the three albums (2 runnaways, 1 quatro) i aint so sure

joan jett, easily. this is one of my favorite album cover photos, though:
http://covers.discorder.com/fullsize/front/5013929053120.jpg

so cool

http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/14500000/Joan-Jett-joan-jett-14540901-327-500.jpg

what is going on in the lyrics for "can the can"?

Well you call your mamma tiger
And we all know you are lying
And your boyfriend's name is eagle
And he lives up in the sky (high high)
Watch out the tiger don't go claw the eagle's eye
But let the eagle take the tiger by surprise
Scratch out her eyes

So make a stand for your man, honey
Try to can the can
Put your man in the can, honey
Get him while you can
Can the can
Can the can
If you can
Well can the can

Well your sister's got the feline touch, she touches up your mind
And your eagle lover likes his little bit of evil loving all the time
Don't let the cat get into the eagle's nest at night
Because the eagle could say "yes" without a fight
Scratch out her eyes

So make a stand for your man, honey
Try to can the can
Put your man in the can, honey
Get him while you can
Can the can Can the can
If you can
Well can the can

Ooh can the can (Can the can honey)
Ooh can the can (Can the can honey)
Uh uh can the can (Can the can honey)
Ooh can the can (Can the can honey)
Ooh can the can (Can the can honey)
Ooh can the can (Can the can honey)
AAAAH!
Honey, honey
Honey, honey, honey
Make a stand for your man, honey
Try to can the can
Put your man in the can, honey
Get him while you can
Can the can
Can the can
If you can
Make a stand for your man, honey
Try to can the can
Put your man in the can, honey
Get him while you can
Can the can
Can the can
If you can
Aah!
Make a stand for your man

Heart the random googlers from the past. Who is Jett? Is it a name?, indeed.

hello michael b!

i... don't know

watched the JJ/Bad Reputation docu last night that was recently aired on the Sky Arts channel in the UK.
the usual stuff for first 45 mins re the Runaways of course, the struggle re solo career, then The Big Hit,
after which they hardly touched on anything re her own music,
just her involvement with the riot grrrrrl scene (which to be fair i had no idea about).
way too many vox pops from people who i have absolutely no interest in.
such a shame.
the only thing that did come across well is the insanely close relationship between JJ and her manager, Kenny Laguna.
such a shame as even the late era live footage of her middle of the afternoon slots on the Warped Tours looked amazing.
as someone pointed out on IMDB : i still know absolutely nothing about JJ.
but i suspect that's probably how she wanted it.

i only got suzi qs debut which is the one that has the classic early stuff on - loving what i have heard.

very rarely see any joan jett albums on cds in the racks these days.

― mark e, Thursday, February 25, 2016 2:21 PM (seven years ago)

to answer my previous : years of patience has paid off.
a charity shop that is normally full of the usual gubbins today had 2006 cd reissues of : bad reputation, i love rock-n-roll, album, glorious results of a misspent youth,
along with her 2013 album, unvarnished.
now i get all the posts re her cover versions etc.
not that i am complaining.

now i refuse to choose as i love both as much as each other.