| My | 
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page. |
| My |
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page. |
This page is a dedication to the greatest pure
rock'n'roll group ever.
My devotion started back in the 70's when I heard the song "Backwater" for the
first time. Since then I've collected records, books, video tapes and concert tickets. (By
means of being at the concerts.)
What kind of light will this Status Quo page bring to the world ? ...
Well, I don't think there will be any extraordinary stuff. I just feel that I would like
to give my opinion on a music phenomenon that is either loved or ignored. Some people
point their noses skywards when you start talking about Quo, saying that their music is
boring and predictable, which is just about as true as saying that the weather is going to
be fine tomorrow, because they said so on the weather report.
I think that one shouldn't be so quick to judge a band that has sold more than one hundred
and ten million records in thirty years and still is giving concerts with an energy that
is unimaginable for anyone who hasn't seen or heard them live.
LONG LIVE STATUS QUO AND THEIR GREAT UNIQUE ROCK'N'ROLL
SOUND!
(This is a very emotionally influenced site)
My page will discuss these things:
The band through the years
Excerpts from the record bibliography with my comments
A rather odd occasion back in '92
Why I love the Quo rock'n'roll concept
Other Status Quo sites on the net
Two south London fellows called Alan Lancaster (bass) and Francis Rossi (guitar)
founded the band "The Spectres" in 1962. At that time, mr. Rossi preferred to
call himself Mike after one of his second names.
In 1966, the band changed their name to "Traffic", shortly thereafter to
"Traffic Jam". The lineup consisted of Lancaster, Rossi, John Coghlan (drums)
and Roy Lynes (keyboard).
A year later, the band changed name once again to "The Status Quo". Rick Parfitt
(guitar) joined the band. Their first hit record, "Pictures of Matchstick Men",
was released. "The" was soon omitted from the name of the band, known thereafter
as just "Status Quo"
In 1970, an LP, "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon", was released. The album showed that
the band was heading towards a heavy rock'n'roll style. Roy Lynes had now left the band.
The first release of an album on Vertigo came in 1972, "Piledriver" showed that
Quo intended to play a heavy, guitar-dominated boogie-rock'n'roll. (A decision that made
them one of the greatest bands ever.)
The release of "Hello!" in 1973 made it clear that their rock'n'roll intention
wasn't an accident. In my opinion, this album is one of the greatest rock'n'roll ones ever
recorded.
The seventies went on, with Status Quo releasing albums, of which one was the wonderful
"Live".
In 1982, the band member John Coghlan quit, and the record "1+9+8+2" released
this year had a drummer called Pete Kircher. Andy Bown, a keyboardist who had been playing
with Quo since 1977, was from now on considered an official member of the band (As well as
Kircher).
In 1984 the band announced that they were going to break up. The "End of the Road
Tour" was a total success.
In 1985, the band reunited for one night to play the opening of the "Live Aid"
show.
When everyone thought that the story was over, the band released an album called "In
The Army Now" in 1986. The line-up was now Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Andy Bown,
John 'Rhino' Edwards (bass) and Jeff Rich (drums).
1986-2000, the line-up didn't change.
In May 2000, the drummer Jeff Rich quitted Quo. New drummer is Matthew Letley.
Status Quo is still going strong, releasing
records approximately every second year.
I sure hope they will be back in Sweden soon again. (they are: February 2005)
Who's going to beat that? (You have to turn the page upside down to see
the answer)
| Picturesque matchstickable messages |
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Black veils of melancholy (Rossi) When my mind is not live (Rossi) Ice in the sun (Wilde/Scott) Elizabeth dreams (Wilde/Scott) Gentleman Joe's sidewalk café (Young) Paradise flats (Wilde/Scott) Technicolour dreams (King) Spicks and specks (Gibb) Sheila (Roe) Sunny cellophane skies (Lancaster) Green tambourine (Laka/Pinz) Pictures of matchstick men (Rossi) |
The first official album release holding their first hit "Pictures of matchstick men". The style hasn't yet any real rock'n'roll in it. More like some psychedelic '60:s sound. |
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| Ma' Kelly's greasy spoon |
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Spinning wheel blues (Rossi) Daughter (Lancaster) Everything (Rossi/Parfitt) Shy fly (Rossi/Young) April, spring, summer and Wednesdays (Rossi/Young) Junior's wailing (White/Pugh) Lakky lady (Rossi/Parfitt) Need your love (Rossi/Young) Lazy poker blues (Green/Adams) Is it really me? (Lancaster) Gotta go home (Lancaster) |
On "Ma Kelly's" Quo started to develop their new style. "Junior's wailing" is a great song. |
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| Dog of two head |  |
Umleitung (Lancaster/Lynes) Nanana (Rossi/Young) Something's going on in my head (Lancaster) Mean girl (Rossi/Young) Nanana (Rossi/Young) Gerdundula (Manston/James) Railroad (Rossi/Young) Someone's learning (Lancaster) Nanana (Rossi/Young) |
The last album release from Pye Records. "Mean Girl" gives yet another hint about what is to come. "Railroad" is another great rock number. |
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| Piledriver |  |
Don't Waste My Time (Rossi/Young) Oh Baby (Rossi/Parfitt) A Year (Lancaster/Frost) Unspoken Words (Rossi/Young) Big Fat Mama (Rossi/Parfitt) Paper Plane (Rossi/Young) All The Reasons (Parfitt/Lancaster) Roadhouse Blues (Doors) |
This album from 1972 is the first one on the Vertigo label. The classic front picture is just one of the things that marks the start of the long row of tremendous albums during the seventies. "Don't waste my time" and "Paper plane" are some of the best rock'n'roll numbers ever written. |
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| Hello! |  |
Roll Over Lay Down (Rossi/Young/Lancaster/Parfitt/Coghlan) Claudie (Rossi/Young) Reason For Living (Rossi/Parfitt) Blue Eyed Lady (Lancaster/Parfitt) Caroline (Rossi/Young) Softer Ride (Lancaster/Parfitt) And It's Better Now (Rossi/Young) Forty-Five Hundred Times (Rossi/Parfitt) |
After the success of "Piledriver" the new groups of fans waited for an even better album... They needn't have worried. "Hello!" was the definite Quo album. Most of the songs from "Hello!" became Quo classics! This is my personal favourite. |
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| Quo |  |
Backwater (Parfitt/Lancaster) Just Take Me (Parfitt/Lancaster) Break The Rules (Rossi/Young/Parfitt/Lancaster/Coghlan) Drifting Away (Parfitt/Lancaster) Don't Think It Matters (Parfitt/Lancaster) Fine Fine Fine (Rossi/Young) Lonely Man(Parfitt/Lancaster) Slow Train (Rossi/Young) |
"Quo" from 1974 has been said to be the heaviest album by the band. I agree with that. Without loosing their "pure" touch they moved towards harder rock, as in "Don't think it matters" and "Drifting away". My favourites are "Backwater", Break the rules", "Fine, fine, fine" and "Slow train". |
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| On the level |  |
Little Lady (Parfitt) Most Of The Time (Rossi/Young) I Saw The Light (Rossi/Young) Over And Done (Lancaster) Nightride (Parfitt/Young) Down Down (Rossi/Young) Broken Man (Lancaster) What To Do (Rossi/Young) Where I Am (Parfitt) Bye Bye Johnny (Berry) |
Well, what can I say? Quo kept rockin' through the '70:s, and "On the level" included Quo's only No. 1 hit single: "Down down". A classic rock'n'roller, "Bye bye Johnny" covered by Quo was the first real evidence of the band's ability to make covers that sound even better than the original. (Sorry, Chuck Berry fans!) My favourite besides "Down down" is the song "What to do", wonderful guitar by Francis Rossi! |
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| Blue for you |  |
Is There A Better Way (Lancaster/Rossi) Mad About The Boy (Rossi/Young) Ring Of A Change (Young/Rossi) Blue For You (Lancaster) Rain (Parfitt) Rolling Home (Lancaster/Rossi) That's A Fact (Rossi/Young) Ease Your Mind (Lancaster) Mystery Song (Parfitt/Young) |
This is an album that left two songs for Quo to play frequently at live concerts. "Rain", and "Mystery song". Allthough I like these two, I must say that my personal favourites are "Mad about the boy", "Is there a better way" and "That's a fact". |
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| Live |  |
Junior's wailing (White/Pugh) Backwater (Parfitt/Lancaster) Just take me (Parfitt/Lancaster) Is there a better way (Lancaster/Rossi) In my chair (Rossi/Young) Little lady (Parfitt) Most of the time (Rossi/Young) Forty-five hundred times (Rossi/Parfitt) Roll over lay down (Rossi/Young/Parfitt/Lancaster/Coghlan) Big fat mama (Rossi/Parfitt) Caroline (Rossi/Young) Bye bye Johnny (Berry) Rain (Parfitt) Don't waste my time (Rossi/Young) Roadhouse blues (Doors) |
"Is there anybody out there who wants to
rock?" |
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| Rockin' all over the world |
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Hard time (Rossi/Parfitt) Can't give you more (Rossi/Young) Let's ride (Lancaster) Baby boy (Rossi/Young) You don't own me (Lancaster/Green) Rockers rollin' (Parfitt/Lynton) Rockin' all over the world (Fogerty) Who am I? (Williams/Hutchkins) Too far gone (Lancaster) For you (Parfitt) Dirty water (Rossi/Young) Hold you back (Rossi/Young/Parfitt) |
The chests of the Swedish fans swell with pride at the sight, and sound, of this record as it was recorded in Sweden. Well, maybe not the sound; did someone spill Guinness all over the mixer? The songs are great, though. The title is taken from a cover, and, once again Quo's version is better than the original. "Dirty water": strange, but very, very Quo. |
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| If you can't stand the heat |
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Again and again (Parfitt/Bown/Lynton) I'm giving up my worryin' (Rossi/Frost) Gonna teach you to love me (Lancaster/Green) Someone show me home (Rossi/Frost) Long legged Linda (Parfitt/Bown) Oh! What a night (Parfitt/Bown) Accident prone (Williams/Hutchkins) Stones (Lancaster) Let me fly (Rossi/Frost) Like a good girl (Rossi/Young) |
This album release gave the fans an experience in "experimental Quo", by means of orchestration. A few of the songs are "hotted" with brass arrangements, quite uncommon in Quo's kind of rock'n'roll. The guitars have been given a slightly harder touch than the previous album. Personally, I love the heavy guitar intro on "Oh, what a night". My favourite song is "Let me fly". | ||
| Whatever you want |  |
Whatever You Want (Parfitt/Bown) Shady Lady (Rossi/Young) Who Asked You (Lancaster) Your Smiling Face (Parfitt/Bown) Living On An Island (Parfitt/Young) Come Rock with Me (Rossi/Frost) Rockin' On (Rossi/Frost) Runaway (Rossi/Frost) Breaking Away (Rossi/Parfitt/Bown) |
In my opinion, the release of "Whatever you want" felt like a small comeback for Quo as a band played everywhere, for good and bad. The title track was a top ten and the songs are all very good. Being the only album I listened to in 1980 (almost), I've had a lot of favourites from time to time. These days I think "Shady lady" is the dearest one. | ||
| Just supposin' |  |
What Your're Proposing (Rossi/Frost) Run To Mummy (Rossi/Bown) Don't Drive My Car (Parfitt/Bown) Lies (Rossi/Frost) Over The Edge (Lancaster/Lamb) Name Of The Game (Rossi/Lancaster/Bown) Coming And Going (Parfitt/Young) Rock 'N' Roll (Rossi/Frost) |
The colour of the music are much the same as at the "Whatever you want" album. Maybe this album doesn't reach the same sky high levels as the previous, but the head track, "What you're proposing", as well as "Run to mummy" and "Lies" are the type of Quo songs that I like the most. (Did anyone notice my partiality for Rossi-written songs?) | ||
| Never too late |  |
Never Too Late (Rossi/Frost) Something 'Bout You Baby I like (Supa) Take Me Away (Parfitt/Bown) Falling In Falling Out (Parfitt/Bown/Young) Carol (Berry) Long Ago (Rossi/Frost) Mountain Lady (Lancaster) Don't Stop Me Now (Lancaster/Bown) Enough Is Enough (Rossi/Parfitt/Frost) Riverside (Rossi/Frost) |
The end of Quo epoch no 1. This is the last album where John Coghlan appeared. The album is slightly heavier than the previous, and even though many songs don't really sound Quo familiar (for a real fan, that is), the album consists of a well-blended mix of rock styles. The title track is great, not to mention the heavy pumping "Something 'bout you baby I like", one of my all time favourites. The release of another Chuck Berry song, "Carol", made it clear that Quo definitely is the ultimate classic-rock'n'roll-refresher band. |
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| 1+9+8+2 |  |
She Don't Fool Me (Parfitt/Bown) Young Pretender (Rossi/Frost) Get Out And Walk (Parfitt/Bown) Jealousy (Rossi/Frost) I Love Rock And Roll (Lancaster) Resurrection (Bown/Parfitt) Dear John (Gustafson/Macauley) Doesn't Matter (Frost/Rossi) I Want The World to Know I Should Have Known (Rossi/Frost) Big Man (Lancaster/Green) |
The most remarkable thing with "1982" was that Quo had a new drummer, Pete Kircher, and that Andy Bown from here on was considered an official member of the band. I've had my sessions listening to this album, and I must say it doesn't belong to the favourite shelf (of Quo albums, of course). The feeling for melodies is there, allright, but I miss some of the guitar boogie rhythms. Anyway, the tracks "Resurrection" and "Dear John" are worth spending some hours listening to. Alan Lancaster is starting to lose the ways I've appreciated in his songwriting. | ||
| Back to back |  |
A Mess Of Blues (Pomus/Shuman) Ol' Rag Blues (Lancaster/Lamb) Can't Be Done (Rossi/Frost) Too Close Too The Ground (Parfitt/Bown) No Contract (Parfitt/Bown) Win Or Lose (Rossi/Frost) Marguerita Time (Rossi/Frost) Your Kind Of Love (Lancaster) Stay The Night (Rossi/Frost/Miller) Going Down Town tonight (Johnson) |
Status Quo covering an Elvis Presley hit, "A mess of blues"? Being an old Elvis fan, I waited in excitement for the release. Once again, Quo showed that no cover played by them is ment to be left as a tiny shadow of the original. When adding their own sound to the song it becomes a real Quo rocker. Apart from this, the album consists of rather soft "halfway-rock'n'roll". "Ol' rag blues" was a commercial hit, my favourite is "Can't be done", it's Quo, you know. | ||
| Live at the NEC |  |
Caroline (Rossi/Young) Roll Over Lay Down (Rossi/Young/Parfitt/Lancaster/Coghlan) Backwater (Parfitt/Lancaster) Little Lady (Parfitt) Don't Drive My Car (Parfitt/Bown) Whatever you Want (Parfitt/Bown) Hold you Back (Rossi/Young/Parfitt) Rockin' All Over The World (Fogerty) Over The Edge (Lancaster/Lamb) Don't Waste My Time (Rossi/Young) |
Released close to "Back to back", a live album was great to
get the hands on. No song on the album had its studio release after "Just
supposin'". Not really as good as the live album from the past, but quite enough to
be considered a great live recording. Shortly after this release the band announced it's
retirement. This was really a point of sorrow in my life. The worst thing was that I'd
never go to another concert (at this time, I'd only been at two). Sigh! Luckily, I was wrong... |
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| In the army now |  |
Rollin' Home (David) Calling (Rossi/Frost) In Your Eyes (Rossi/Frost) Save Me (Rossi/Parfitt) In The Army Now (Bolland/Bolland) Dreamin' (Rossi/Frost) End Of The Line (Patrick/Parfitt) Invitation (Rossi/Young) Red Sky (David) Speechless (Hunter) Overdose (Williams/Parfitt) |
In the middle 80's, my world was a rock'n'roll vacuum. I didn't ever hope that Status Quo would resurrect and release another album. I didn't even notice anything from any pre-release news about this album. I just happened to see it in the record store in autumn -86. This little text box won't give me room to describe my reaction, so I will have to leave it out. Guess what I listened to in all my time awake for five months! Today, the album is for me the comeback relief more than a great rock'n'roll one. "Dreamin'" is my favourite. | ||
| Ain't complaining |  |
Ain't Complaining (Rossi,Williams,Parfitt) Everytime I Think Of You (Edwards,Rich,Paxman) One For The Money (Parfitt,Williams) Another Shipwreck (Bown) Don't Mind If I Do (Rossi/Edwards) I Know You're Leaving (van Tijn/Fluitsma) Cross That Bridge (John David) Cream Of The Crop (Rossi/Frost) The Loving Game (Parfitt,Edwards/Rich) Who Gets The Love (Williams/Goodisin) Burning Bridges (Rossi/Bown) Magic (Rossi/Frost) |
The release of "Ain't complaining" proved that the comeback wasn't just a "one night stand". I bought the record and taped it so that I could play it every time I drove my car (which I did often). After a couple of weeks my decision was made. The best songs were "Aint complaining", "Cross that bridge" and "Cream of the crop". They really made me boogie. But, a new Quo experience also came to me: The totally brilliant song "Burning bridges" taught me that my favourite rockers were able to write and perform folk music inspired rock'n'roll in a way that really amazed me. (Folk music is the thing that comes second to rock'n'roll for me). "Burning bridges" has a slight touch of traditional Irish sound. Splendid! | ||
| Perfect remedy |  |
Little Dreamer (Rossi/Frost) Not At All (Rossi/Frost) Heart On Hold (Bown/Palmer) Perfect Remedy (Rossi/Frost) Address Book (Rossi/Frost) The Power Of Rock (Parfitt/Williams/Rossi) The Way I Am (Edwards/Rich/Paxman) Tommys In Love (Rossi/Frost) Man Overboard (Parfitt/Williams) Going Down For The First Time (Bown/Edwards) Throw Her A Line (Rossi/Frost) 1000 Years (Rossi/Frost) |
I remember myself coming home with my new-bought copy of this album, placing it on the turntable, dropping the pick-up and leaning backwards in my chair. After a minute of the first song I went back to the record player and moved the pick-up to track number two. After repeating this for every track on the first side (good old vinyl) I put the record back into the sleeve and filed it. A rather long time passed (months, maybe a year) before I played it for my brother (who is also a Quo fan) who was curious about it. This second time I really gave the songs a chance and found out that the record wasn't that bad. Nowadays I enjoy listening to "Little dreamer", "Perfect remedy" and "The power of rock". It doesn't really sound as the rockers I know, but "The power of rock" is once again an interesting blend of folk and rock music. In brief: Not a very rocking album, but it has its advantages. | ||
| Rockin' all over the years |
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Pictures Of Matchstick Men (Rossi) Ice In The Sun (Wilde/Scott) Paper Plane (Rossi/Young) Caroline (Rossi/Young) Break The Rules (Rossi/Parfitt/Lancaster/Young/Coghlan) Down Down (Rossi/Young) Roll Over Lay Down (Rossi/Parfitt/Lancaster/Young/Coghlan) Rain (Parfitt) Wild Side Of Life (Warren/Carter) Rockin' All Over The World (Fogerty) Whatever You Want (Parfitt/Bown) What You're Proposin' (Rossi/Frost) Something 'Bout You Baby I Like (Supa) Rock 'N' Roll (Rossi/Frost) Dear John (Gustafson/Macauley) Ol' Rag Blues (Lancaster/Lamb) Marguerita Time (Rossi/Frost) The Wanderer (Maresca) Rollin' Home (David) In The Army Now (Bolland/Bolland) Burning Bridges (Rossi/Bown) Anniversary Waltz (Part One) |
A collection of the bands top-ten hits released in 1991. Not much need
to be written here as it is a compilation of great rock songs. The best with this release
(for an album collector) is that the song "Wild side of life", an old country
song shaped up by Quo, for the first time was released on an album. The so called
"Anniversary waltz" is a medley of rock'n'roll covers which, as always, sound
brilliant in Quo clothing. I must say though, that I prefer Quo originals. A bad thing about this record is that the great songs "Roll over lay down" and "Caroline" has been cut a few bars to make the compilation fit in the limited CD-space. I've always had a hard time listening to these mixings. |
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| Rock 'til you drop |  |
Like A Zombie (Rossi/Frost) All We Really Wanna Do (Polly) (Rossi/Frost) Fakin' The Blues (Rossi/Frost) One Man Band (Parfitt/Williams) Rock 'Til You Drop (Bown) Can't Give You More (Rossi/Young) Warning Shot (Bown/Edwards) Let's Work Together (Wilbur/Harrison) Bring It On Home (Sam Cooke) No Problems (Rossi/Parfitt) Good Sign (Parfitt/Williams) Tommy (Rossi/Frost) Nothing Comes Easy (Rossi/Parfitt/Bown/Edwards/Rich) Fame Or Money (Rossi/Bown) Price Of Love (Everly/Everly) Forty Five Hundred Times (Rossi/Parfitt) |
This record, released in 1992, three years after the latest
"new" Quo album, surprised me in some ways. The sound reminded me of earlier Quo
stuff and for some reason Quo re-recorded two of their best songs: "Can't give you
more" and "Forty five hundred times" and one of their "not quite so
best": "Tommy", called "Tommy's in love" on Perfect remedy. I've
had a hard time figuring out why. The sound is great and the mixing is better than the
originals. Both the two older songs have been changed slightly in the arrangement and
sound just fine, but I must say I prefer the originals in the long run. The
"Tommy" re-recording made it better than the first one, but it was never a
favourite in the first place. Quo wrote some great new tracks for this album: "Like a zombie", "All we really wanna do", and "Fame or money". Most of the songs are good Quo stuff, but one of the common favourites "One man band" is not genuine Quo to me. It's hard, OK, but not Quo hard. Another couple of cover songs once again proved Quo's a great cover band, but who wants them to end up that way... |
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| Thirsty work |  |
Goin' Nowhere (Rossi/Frost/Macannany) I Didn't Mean It (David) Confidence (Bown) Point Of No Return (Bown/Edwards) Sail Away (Rossi/Frost) Like It Or Not (Rossi/Frost) Soft In The Head (Rossi/Frost) Queenie (Rossi/Frost) Lover Of The Human Race (Rossi/Bown) Sherri Don't Fail Me Now! (Bown/Edwards) Rude Awakening Time (Rossi/Frost) Back On My Feet (Rossi/Frost) Restless (J Warnes) Ciao-Ciao (Rossi/Bown) Tango (Rossi/Frost) Sorry (Rossi/Frost) |
Thirsty work consists of original songs. Great, but... |
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| Live alive |  |
Whatever you Want In The Army now Burning Bridges Rockin' All Over The World Roadhouse Medley Caroline Don't Drive My Car Hold You Back Little Lady |
Time had come for another live recording. A good idea, it seems, thinking 'bout the fact that it was the first one with the latest line-up (which has existed since 1986). Only one of the songs is written since the -86 comeback, but it is one of the best from "new Quo". Among the others, noone is recorded after -84 (except for the cover "In the army now"). All in all, a good live recording. | ||
| Don't stop | 
|
Fun, Fun, Fun (Wilson/Love) (When You) Walk In The Room (De Shannon) I Can Hear The Grass Grow (Wood) You Never Can Tell (Berry) Get Back (Lennon/McCartney) Safety Dance (Doroschuk) Raining In My Heart (Boudleaux/Bryant) Don't Stop (McVie) Sorrow (Feldman/Goldstein/Gottehrer) Proud Mary (Fogerty) Lucille (Collins/Penniman) Johnny and Mary (Palmer) Get Out Of Denver (Seger) The Future's So Bright (MacDonald) All Around My Hat (Trad. arr Rossi/Parfitt/Bown/Edwards/Rich) |
I think I've mentioned Quo's great cover recordings a couple of times
through this review. I also think I've made it clear that I appreciate it, but I am
definitely more fond of the pure Quo material. Well, this album, released in 1996,
consists of covers, covers and covers, followed by some covers. Quo learn the Beach Boys
how to kick ass in the Yankees own song, they record Chuck Berry and Beatles with Quo
sound, which means good boogie rock sound. The rather torn "Proud Mary" is
resurrected and "Get out of Denver" sounds rare and rockin'. The great mix of
sounds by my two favourite guitarists, Francis Rossi and Brian May, makes a great blend in
"Raining in my heart". Quo decided to (well, I'm not sure it was just Quo) make an album consisting of own favourites for their thirtieth anniversary and did it very well. But, please, let the next album (there must be more to come!) be a real rocking STATUS QUO album. The most interesting song from this album is the marvellously quoified Irish folk song "All around my hat", despite the lots of crap I've heard from people telling me this is "off-Quo". Thanks to Maddy Prior for her nice singing contribution. Steeleye Span made "the Hat" roll, but Quo made it rock! |
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| "Whatever you want" - The very best of Status Quo |  |
|
Well, there's really not much to say. It's just another compilation album. 41 of the greatest Quo tracks, but if you're a real fan, you've already got them... | ||
| Under the influence |  |
Twenty Wild Horses (Rossi/Frost) Under The Influence (Rossi/Frost) Round And Round (Bown/Edwards) Shine On (Parfitt/Edwards) Little White Lies (Parfitt) Keep ‘em Coming (Bown) Little Me And You (Bown) Making Waves (Rossi/Frost) Blessed Are The Meek (Rossi/Frost) Roll The Dice (Rossi/Frost) Not Fade Away (Petty/Hardin) The Way It Goes (Rossi/Frost) |
I bought this record the same week as it was released. I've listened to
it twice and I've found the songs fancy and, in some ways, rocking. I must admit that it
is a good production, but I miss something. Maybe I've just come to the point where I
shouldn't go on mumbling about "old times" and "good old rocking Quo".
The songs are good and well produced; in fact the record is an excellent work. I think I would have appreciated some "heads down, legs apart, no nonsense"-rockers a bit more, but it isn't bad at all. Who knows, some day I might listen to it again. Is there anyone besides me thinking that "Little white lies" could have been an early Lennon-McCartney song ? |
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| Famous in the last century |  |
Famous In The Last Century (Bown) Old Time Rock And Roll (Jackson/Jones) Way Down (L. Martine Jr) Roll Over Beethoven (Berry) When I'm Dead And Gone (Gallagher/Lyle) Mony Mony (Bloom/Gentry/James/Cordell) Memphis Tennessee (Berry) Rave On (Petty/Tilghman/West) Crawling From The Wreckage (Parker) Hound Dog (Leiber/Stoller) Claudette (Orbison) Rock 'N Me (Miller) Once Bitten Twice Shy (Hunter) Runaround Sue (Dimucci/Maresca) Good Golly Miss Molly (Blackwell/Marascalco) Sweet Home Chicago (Johnson) Famous In The Last Century - Reprise (Bown) |
An album consisting of remarkably well-produced covers of songs written in the second half of the 20:th century. | ||
| Heavy Traffic |  |
Blues and Rhythm (Rossi/Bown) All Stand Up (Never Say Never) (Rossi/Young) The Oriental (Rossi/Edwards) Creepin' Up On You (Parfitt/Edwards) Heavy Traffic (Rossi/Young/Edwards) Solid Gold (Rossi/Young) Green(Bown) Jam Side Down (Britten/Dore) Diggin' Burt Bacharach (Rossi/Young) Do It Again (Edwards/Bown) Another Day (Rossi/Young) I Don't Remember Anymore (Bown) Money Don't Matter (bonus track- UK edition) (Rossi/Young) Rhythm Of Life (Rossi/Young) |
It took me a while before I bought this one. Perhaps I'm getting old and desillusioned. Anyway, this is the best Quo album since '92, perhaps since '81. Without getting too nostalgic, I must say that a Quo album consisting of songs written by the band members beats all. I just love "The Oriental"! It does really consist of high-quality material! Harmonica and boogie! | ||
| Riffs |  |
Caroline (Rossi/Young) I Fought The Law (Curtis) Born To Be Wild (Mars Bonfire) Takin' Care Of Business (Bachman) Wild One (O'Keefe/Greenan/Owens) On The Road Again (Jones/Wilson) Tobacco Road (Loudermilk) Centerfold (J Geils Band) All Day And All Of The Night (Davis) Don't Bring Me Down (Lynne) Juniors Wailing (White/Pugh) Pump It Up (Costello) Down The Dustpipe(Grossman) Whatever You Want (Parfitt/Bown) Rockin' All Over The World (Fogerty) |
The most interesting is to hear their own old rockers retaped. Dear Quo, you shouldn't have tried to re-record Caroline, otherwise I like the sound of the rest of the quo tunes. The others... well, it's a kind of compilation of other great rock songs, and if you didn't have them on CD before - now you do! | ||
| XS All Areas |  |
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soon... |
In the summer of '92 me and some of my friends went to an outdoor concert with Status
Quo. It was part of the ongoing "Rock 'til you drop" tour, and, since I really
liked the album, I was really anxious to hear the concert. It was only about 70 km south
of my home town, so it was an easy thing getting there.
I had been to a couple of Quo concerts since the "End of the road" tour in '84.
I sure appreciated them all, but no one really reached the heights of "End of the
road". But with this concert it was different. A highly energetic Quo pumped their
great rock'n'roll for about two hours, including the encore. Most of the greatest songs
ever performed by them were included in the set. I sure had a great time. Falling asleep
that night, I realized that this had been the best concert since '84.
Two days later, one of the local newspapers published a review about the concert. The heading said:
"An extended pain of guitar masturbation!"
I rubbed my eyes and had another look... It was true, I'd read it correctly.
Beginning to wonder if we had been to the same concert, I started reading the review.
Well, I'd read this journalist's reviews before, and I always had a feeling that most of
his writing was some kind of self satisfying way of presenting his image as a king of
sarcasms. Earlier I didn't care that much, but now it was just too hard for me to
withstand the temptation of telling him how I felt about this rude treatment of my
favourite rock'n'roll band. He hadn't tried listening for a second (I mean really
listen), and he hadn't noticed that there were about 5,000 people in the audience who
were kicking arse as hell!
I made up my mind, sat for an hour, writing an answer to his ridiculous so-called review.
Instead of taking the risk of my letter getting lost somewhere on the way to the editorial
department by mailing it, I went downtown to the newspaper and handed the letter to him in
person, asking him if he had the guts to publish my answer. He had.
Two more days passed, and my letter was published as an aswer to what, in my opinion,
had been the worst review of Status Quo ever written (at least in our local newspapers).
Well, at least I had been able to get something printed in defense of the concert
The week passed and pleased with the results I thought this affair had ended. Nope. Late
one Wednesday night, the phone rang. I answered, and imagine my astonishment when the
caller presented himself as the man who had written that nonsensical Quo review.
Well, I wondered what he had in mind, and he told med that he had read my answer a number
of times and appreciated my way of writing. Therefore he asked me if I would like to write
concert reviews for the newspaper. I thought about it for a while and accepted.
So this story ended with me writing for the local newspaper during '92 - '93.
By the way, I've met this guy occasionally at parties, and even talked to him. I'd say he's a really nice lad, but don't try to talk to him about music unless you don't get one hell of a kick out of techno crap.
This is a hard thing to explain, even for an enthusiast. The reasons are many, and they keep increasing most of the time. The process of analysing Quo songs is an everlasting one. Well, here's my experience in brief:
In 1977, when I first heard the band (i.e. really listened to them), I'd mostly been
listening to Elvis Presley, Beatles and Electric Light Orchestra. My roots in music were
rock'n'roll, definitely, and I did a whole lot of research in finding new rock music that
fitted my tastes. The rock music of the seventies was very much about heavy rock, which
was something that got its energy from overdriven guitars and heavy basses, things like
Nazateth, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. I appriceated the sounds created by these great
bands, but I missed the "roll" part of the classic rock'n'roll. I had, of
course, heard about a band called Status Quo, but I thought that they were just another
hard rock band.
When I first heard the song Backwater, visiting a friend of mine, I realized I was on my
way to finding the "missing link" in my rock'n'roll knowledge. I also listened
to Big Fat Mama and, as I remember it, Paper Plane this day of rebirth.
Well, here it was! The music that I thought never had been invented! The combination of
heavy guitars and a melodic ways of making rock'n'roll. I was hooked!
Through the years I've listened to everything I've managed to get my hands on recorded by
Status Quo, and I've been playing the guitar for 'bout twenty years, mostly playing Quo
songs. (I've got a Gibson L6-S and a Squire Telecaster). Some of the things that I've
taken to the book of "Reasons for Quo" through this time are:
Here are some links to other sites that relates to Status Quo; the official one and other great sites made by Quo fans all over the world:
Eric Fave - Quo France
Ronny Hafvenström - Pages of Matchstickmen
Roger Johansson - Raiders of the lost chord
Gert Ohlsson - Rock 'Til You Drop
Mike Paxman - Official Status Quo Page
Gustavo Pereira & Fernando Vieira - Status Quo Brasil
Martin van den Berg - Rockin' All Over the World
You may also subscribe the Status Quo mailing list open for all fans
over the world, send subscription request mail to:
majordomo@rory.eng.sun.com
The message body must consist of the line: subscribe status-quo
The list is run by Mike Oliver.
The words and opinions appearing on this page are my own. Nothing stated here is to be considered official information about Status Quo.