Cassie Steele who plays the perky popular Manny Santo’s on Degrassi The Next Generation has released a rock CD titled “How Much For Happy.” Cassie’s CD was released by Bulls Eye Records and is available in the United States and Canada. Her official website is http://www.cassiesteele.com/.

One thing that is instantly clear is Cassie is Cassie-not Manny. This is evident from her styling on the website and from her CD. As a matter of fact, based on the pictures in the gallery on her website it looks like Cassie might eat Manny alive in a girl fight. While one would expect Manny to sing happy pop or R&B songs, Cassie is a rock star. Cassie’s picture is not on the cover of the album and the interior pictures of her are dark–dark clothes, black nail polish, dark hair. It’s almost as if she is trying to be everything her television character isn’t to let people know, “Hey, I’m Cassie.” She reminds me of Courtney Love, Aimee Manne, Avril, Joan Jett, Ashley Simpson, and early Gwen Stefani. Cassie wrote all of the songs on the album. Be forewarned, this is a rock album.

One of the greatest songs on the album is “Famous.” “Bluebird,” is an pretty good song and I am assuming it was the first single. Cassie’s voice has quite a range, but this songs strikes me as something that maybe needed a little extra production, sounds a little rough. “Jaded” is a nice song. “Drink Me Dry,” is a great song. Her voice sounds very low in this song. Some songs start out questionable but turn out okay like”Crimson Tears,” and “Not Yours Only.” She sounds quite mature beyond her age on the entire album. Another great song is “A Sinner’s Prayer.” “Hey Joe,” is equally awesome and is a great way to end the album. It’s a decent album and she can only mature as a song writer and singer. The production and band was okay but I feel like with the right producers she could be a mega star. I think that the production factor might be why I can’t just pick out a surefire hit on this album. Sometimes the vocals and music didn’t quite mesh right for me. I think Cassie is great though. The album is full of angst and “How Much For Happy,” is a play on words I suppose. I look forward to her next album.