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yoyomoe
Media Maven and Super Moderator
Posts: 1425
Registered: Mar 2006 |
 Posted April 13th, 2007 12:58 PM IP   
Remember what they say about the messenger & firearms..
Metro News
Quote:
published april 11, 2007
Suzie McNeil goes where many have gone before
Suzie McNeil
Album: Broken & Beautiful
Label: Universal
Release Date: April 10
** (out of 5)
If you listen closely enough, you can almost hear Amanda Marshall trying to shoot herself after hearing this pedestrian imitation of her work.
The last woman to exit the Rockstar: INXS competition blandly goes where many have gone before. Not to say that she can’t sing — her voice has landed her a spot on the Canadian production of the Queen musical We Will Rock You and the jingle for Marineland’s commercials — but McNeil’s talent is more or less wasted on manufactured and indistinguishable lonely heart adult-pop tracks; She’s tired of fighting this feeling (So In Love), you’re like an itch that won’t go away and she can’t get enough of you (Skin), you get the idea.
“I’ve played every trick up my sleeve,” she says on single Hung Up. If that’s the case, she should keep her day job searching for Brian May’s long-lost guitar.
Brian Towie/Metro Toronto
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Breaking_Horizon
Front Row
Posts: 372
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 13th, 2007 04:29 PM IP
Ouch. That's a bit poisonous. When did Suzie run over his cat, again?
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guitargirl
Backstage Pass
Posts: 1624
Registered: May 2006 |
Posted April 13th, 2007 10:07 PM IP
LOL why were they so mean about it ?
i think she has done well with the album ?
SUZIE MCNEIL ROCKS !
Broken & Beautiful...
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Twins4Me
Almost Floor Seats
Posts: 70
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 16th, 2007 06:26 PM IP
I love the album!
Unfortunately, I've heard a few negative remarks. 
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TraceyWithAnE
Cruise Director
Posts: 332
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 19th, 2007 10:31 PM IP
Suzie McNeil: Broken & Beautiful
Broken & Beautiful is the debut solo album from Suzie McNeil. The former Rockstar: INXS contestant opted for a power pop sound rather than the pure rock style she had on the show, which is a bit disappointing but still quite good. When covering classic songs like The Stones' "Start Me Up" and Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody", McNeil proved her pipes were more than capable of tackling any raucous rock song. But her own music leans more toward the highly charged, energetic pop of Pink, Kelly Clarkson, or even The Killers. The result is very entertaining and infectious, though far too over-produced for a voice with such a strong range as Suzie's.
Songs like "Lonely (Are You Coming Home?)", the title track, and the shimmering closer "The One" alternate between Killeresque arena rock-pop and a softer radio friendly pop.
As soon as I heard the catchy "Hung Up" with its Kelly Clarkson hook, I thought it would be the perfect radio pop single. Apparently it is already on its way to being a hit in Canada. Unlike many of the tracks on the album, McNeil had a hand in writing the tune and it seems to indicate she doesn't need much helping in making good music.
"Believe" was the promotional theme for NBC's weight loss reality show, The Biggest Loser. By a weaker singer, the inspirational lyrics would be far too saccharine sweet to bear. But Suzie's raspy wail carries it off. The Goo Goo Dolls' Johnny Reznick co-wrote "Poison", which is probably why much of the arrangement sounds exactly like his band's "Iris".
Pink - credited under her real name, Alecia Moore - co-wrote the bluesy ballad "So In Love", and McNeil's throaty vocals could easily be mistaken for the song's writer. The hard-edged pop of "Skin" and "Where Were You?" also sound very much like Pink, or perhaps classic Heart.
Since leaving the Rockstar reality series and recording her own album, Suzie McNeil has recorded duets with Clay Aiken and the JD Fortune fronted INXS, toured as a backup singer for the aforementioned Pink, had her music featured in television shows, and is currently appearing in the stage production of "We Will Rock You" at Toronto's Canon Theatre.
Source: click here
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guitargirl
Backstage Pass
Posts: 1624
Registered: May 2006 |
Posted April 19th, 2007 10:38 PM IP
thanks for sharing 
SUZIE MCNEIL ROCKS !
Broken & Beautiful...
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blind1944
Floor Seats
Posts: 123
Registered: Jul 2006 |
Posted April 20th, 2007 09:17 AM IP
I bought Suzy's CD and have mixed fellings. I felt the instrumentals needed to be knocked down 10 DB so her voice could come through more. Many of the songs were too bland for my taste and didn't bring out her talent. Suzie is a great talent and a good person. Unless she gets lucky and finds some good writers her career is probably gone about as far as it can go. I do like "Hung Up!", but feel it could have been produced even better.
Best of luck to her we all still love her.
Just being honest!
Lindy3
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onegoodwoman
Front Row
Posts: 276
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 20th, 2007 05:55 PM IP
Not a bad review Tracey!! I love the c.d. and am eagerly awaiting all the others to come. I especially love So in Love, how great is it to record a song co-written by someone you toured with (Pink). Shows you Pink knows talent when she sees it.
Yea Suzie!!
SuZie is Number 1
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guitargirl
Backstage Pass
Posts: 1624
Registered: May 2006 |
Posted April 22nd, 2007 10:34 PM IP
I think Broken and Beautiful is one of the best cd's i have ever heard because when i got it i listened to all the songs and i am giving it a great review because i love the CD 
GO Suzie
SUZIE MCNEIL ROCKS !
Broken & Beautiful...
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onegoodwoman
Front Row
Posts: 276
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 26th, 2007 02:54 PM IP
Go GG!!
SuZie is Number 1
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yoyomoe
Media Maven and Super Moderator
Posts: 1425
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted May 13th, 2007 12:14 PM IP
Another review from The Hamilton Spectator
Quote:
McNeil has a rock-chick voice of the first order as she proved over and over again on Rock Star: INXS. The Toronto native was one of three finalists. She proves it again here, especially on let-loose songs such as Lonely (Are You Coming Home?), which is the best track on the record for my money. When she isn't singing with market forces on the brain and trying to sound just enough like Kelly Clarkson to make the crossover, McNeil sets her songs on fire. A debut worth checking out.
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bluzhkyne1
Super Moderator
Posts: 77
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted May 16th, 2007 11:28 PM IP
Brian Towe.... hmmmmm where have I heard that name before.... hmmmm
OH that's right...... NOWHERE !
Sorry all a bit frustrated by the lack of respect shown in that review. People certainly have a right to their opinions even ones that are different than mine... but something about that review makes me think Suzie dumped him back in highschool or perhaps even more recently. I can't imagine he actually listened to the same CD I did.
I understand not everyone will like it and that is ok - but that doesn't give the right to be disrespectful about it.
Two can play that game I am cancelling my subscription and letting Brian know why ;-)
(Edited by bluzhkyne1)
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yoyomoe
Media Maven and Super Moderator
Posts: 1425
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted May 29th, 2007 06:31 PM IP
Canada East
Quote:
Suzie McNeil breaks stereotype
Published Saturday May 26th, 2007
Appeared on page F1
Suzie McNeil
Broken & Beautiful
****
Upon first glance of this album I was skeptical.
It was a stereotypical solo female singer who looks like every other blonde woman trying to make it in the music industry.
Surprisingly enough though, Suzie McNeil offered up a bit more of a rock edge to her. Although she still has a pop flavor she is quite similar to Amanda Marshall and Sheryl Crow. Another bonus to this CD is the words.
There is continuity throughout Broken and Beautiful in regards to the lyrics. There is a passion to them and it seems like what Suzie is saying she truly believes in.
They seem to have a definite meaning for her. As well rather than producing a CD with 10 of the same songs each song is different but impeccably sang and played.
Overall this is one of the best CDs I've reviewed all year in terms of feeling and lyrics.
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yoyomoe
Media Maven and Super Moderator
Posts: 1425
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted August 30th, 2007 07:27 AM IP
The Gateway
Quote:
Suzie McNeil
Broken & Beautiful
Curve Music
It’s a real treat when a female singer can perform in a strong alto, the powerful timbre of her voice never degenerating to catlike screeches. In that aspect, Suzie McNeil delivers, even if other aspects of her debut album, Broken & Beautiful, don’t. Vocals are easily the best feature of this album.
McNeil’s pipes—somewhat reminiscent of Amanda Marshall’s—are spot-on as she belts out one rock track after another. Sadly, Broken & Beautiful lacks musical variety. Most of the songs stick to a preset formula: following a short instrumental intro, McNeil sings a slow stanza or two, and then the song speeds up as back-up vocals and additional instruments jump into the fray. It’s not that the music is particularly weak—individually, each song is pretty good—but when taken in one CD-length dosage, most of the songs sound far too similar to each other—the only notable exception is the standout R&B-ish tune, “So In Love.”
The lyrics are generally okay, but some odd figures of speech appear in “Skin.” The song features the bizarre refrain: “I need you / I breathe you like oxygen/You’re saturated in my skin.” That’s romantic.
Despite this, it’s unlikely that Broken & Beautiful will cause listeners to emit catlike screeches in disapproval.
–Maria Kotovych, Arts & Entertainment Staff
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yoyomoe
Media Maven and Super Moderator
Posts: 1425
Registered: Mar 2006 |
Posted April 6th, 2008 08:47 PM IP
BROKEN & BEAUTIFUL
Suzie McNeil
Curve Music
9-out-of-10
This is a gal on her way to bigger and better things. Suzie McNeil has one of those big, powerful voices that rings so wonderfully pure that you have to be a fan.
On this CD McNeil also offers up music that sits in that increasingly popular shadow world between pop, and what passes for country today. Songs such as Believe, which has already earned McNeil a lot of attention, could quite easily play on radio of both formats, almost without changing a chord from the recorded version. Believe has been featured on network TV episodes including The Biggest Loser, Beauty & The Geek, The Hills, and Oprah Winfrey’s The Big Give.
The strong lead cut Lonely (Are You Coming Home?) is the same way.
There are times though where McNeil falls more completely in the pop/rock vein, like the powerful, yet bouncy Hung Up.
McNeil is starting to get the recognition you will recognize she deserves once you listen to this CD. Suzie was nominated for a Canadian Radio Music Award, was a featured performer at this year’s Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame Awards, and was awarded The Canadian Independent Music award’s for Favourite Pop Artist/Group of the Year.
So where did McNeil emerge from?
Originally from Toronto, at the end of summer 2005, she was the last woman standing on CBS television's reality series Rockstar:INXS. She is featured singing duets on INXS’ 2005 release SWITCH.
As for material this CD is packed with hit songs. Skin, Too, Low and Poison are all great cuts to go with the aforementioned singles.
Jump on this one folks, this girl should go far. A great debut effort. Check it out at www.suziemcneil.ca
-- CALVIN DANIELS
-- Review first appeared in Yorkton This Week newspaper Mar. 26, 2008 - Yorkton, SK. Canada
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