Suzi Quatro "Back To The Drive"

Back to the Drive is an album by Suzi Quatro. Released in March 2006, it was her comeback album, and her first since 1990's Oh Suzi Q. (apart from 1995's What Goes Around, which contained mostly re-recordings of her oldies, and 1998's Unreleased Emotion which had been recorded in 1983, but until then unreleased) and her eleventh studio album. Produced by Sweet guitarist Andy Scott and Steve Grant, it was overseen by veteran producer Mike Chapman and featured backing vocals by Shirlie Roden, and ex-husband Len Tuckey on guitar, including her daughter Laura Quatro (then Laura Tuckey) duetting with her on the download-only single "I'll Walk Through the Fire With You".

It was issued on EMI Records throughout the world, and in the UK on the revived Liberty Records and EMI distributed independent label Caroline Records in North America.

The album is an eclectic affair that draws from several different music styles. The rock title track samples the intro from "Devil Gate Drive" and the guitar line from her debut worldwide hit "Can The Can". "15 Minutes of Fame" has a folk rock flavour to it. "Duality" is derived from an Indian raga and was co-written with Vicki Tischler Blue (Formerly of The Runaways later Line-up). "I Don't Do Gentle" is a throwback to 1950's big band rock. As with most of her albums, Quatro includes a cover song, a version of the Neil Young song "Rockin' in the Free World".


There are two ballads on the album, "Sometimes Love Is Letting Go" and "Free the Butterfly". The former tells a story of her past relationships with her parents and Len Tuckey; the latter is also the title of a self-help motivational album she made with Shirlie Roden.

The front cover photograph was created by Steve Payne which featured a photo of Quatro screaming whilst playing the bass guitar with graphics which made the cover look like she had shattered a window. The inside photographs and back cover photos were taken by Gered Mankowitz and Victory Tischler-Blue. Mankowitz had previously photographed Suzi for her early albums on RAK Records.


The title "Back to the Drive" is a play on her 1974 hit "Devil Gate Drive", which implied she was returning to her rock 'n' roll roots after the last few albums were more dependent on pop and soft rock.

Whilst the album was warmly received by the critics and fans, it only reached number 78 in the Swiss album charts. Allmusic gave it a four-star rating. It was four years before Quatro recorded another album, In the Spotlight, released in August 2011 this time with Mike Chapman on production duties.