Susie Hatton – Body And Soul CD / Poison
In the music industry, connections are everything -- knowing the right people is the easiest, quickest way to get your foot in the door. And in the case of Susie Hatton, that important connection was Poison's Bret Michaels, who produced her debut album, Body & Soul, and co-wrote most of the material. Knowing Michaels (who was her paramour) led to a one-album deal with Giant Records, but once Hatton got her foot in the door, she didn't keep it there. This 1991 release received very little attention, and having Michaels' name in the credits didn't prevent it from ending up in the cutout bins.
Not surprisingly, much of the CD's hard rock/pop-metal and arena rock is very Poison-minded; many of the up-tempo tunes sound like a cross between Poison and Vixen. However, Hatton is closer to Belinda Carlisle's post-Go-Go's solo output on pop/rock ballads like "Runaway" and "Wait Until the Night." And that is an interesting range of influences to have -- not many people who were heavily influenced by the glossy '80s pop-metal of Vixen and Poison could also claim Carlisle as an influence on some of their slower songs. Unfortunately, Body & Soul isn't terribly memorable.
This isn't a terrible album, but it's definitely an example of routine, run-of-the-mill corporate rock. So why isn't a CD that Michaels produced as strong as his work with Poison? One gets the impression that Body & Soul was merely an afterthought for him. In 1991, Poison was still taking up much of Michaels' time, and it stands to reason that Body & Soul wasn't as high a priority for the singer. Nonetheless, there are some obsessive rock collectors and die-hard Poison fans who may want to hear this pedestrian effort (if they're able to hunt down a copy) simply because of Michaels' involvement.
Label: Giant Records
Country: US
Media Condition: Very Good Plus (VG+)
Sleeve Condition: Near Mint (NM or M-)
Plays great with only a few superficial marks