This is mature Rock music at its very best.

QSP is the collaboration between seventies' Rockers Suzi Quatro (Q), The Sweet's Andy Scott (S) and Slade's Don Powell (P), so that's the little-needed introductions out the way. This album has been knocking around on import for a few months now but has finally received a European release and a pure delight it is from start to finish.

Rather than being a set of rabble rousing, Glam-infused songs, what we get here is a mixture of well-chosen covers and thoughtful grown-up Rock music. The star of the show – for me – is Quatro whose voice has never sounded better. and some of the song-writing alongside Scott is truly wonderful.

Cover versions of old Rock chestnuts such as 'Tobacco Road', 'The Price Of Love' and a surprising but welcome reworking of Dr. John's 'I Walk On Gilded Splinters', amongst others, are all handled superbly, but it's the self-penned material that raises the bar on this release.

'If Only' sees Quatro in semi-autobiographical mode with a Spector-influenced tune, co-written incidentally by the late great Dick Wagner, but it's the songs 'Pain' and 'Broken Pieces Suite' that are the real centrepieces, both sung by Quatro with Scott and Powell being on hand to lend all their many years of experience. 'Pain' comes in two versions (orchestral and band as a bonus) and both work so well, it's a tender ballad sung beautifully by Quatro with the strings and piano being perfect companions. The band version is slightly more up-tempo yet stills sends shivers, but If I thought that was as good as it got, I was very much mistaken; '...Suite' is one of the best things I've heard all year. A nigh on six minute epic which has it all, starting with a children's choir, this builds into a masterful Rock epic with Scott taking us back to those Sweet "B-sides" of the seventies with some of his playing and Quatro sounding so impassioned... Quite brilliant.

Scott handles vocals on the aforementioned Dr. John cover and has a great Rock voice and Powell laying down a tribal beat makes this yet another album highlight of which there are so many. This is mature Rock music at its very best, and a nailed on Top Five album of the year for me.

Malcolm Smith