So they didn't play Hard Time live, despite starting the album with it? But they did play For You? Interesting set-list decision there.
I've always liked a lot of the songs on this album but, like many fans, thought the LP sounded tinny, a bit shrill and weedy. I still enjoyed it but thought it was a huge drop off after the superb sounding Blue For You. I only got the remix about a month ago. I absolutely love it! Hold You Back is a fantastic opener, though placing Baby Boy second isn't a good decision to me. A naff song too early. But overall the remix makes this sound much nearer to Blue For You than it did. A lot of it actually rocks now. RAOTW is a fine album, even if it is their weakest for a while. I didn't know John Coghlan was not well during these sessions. I like his playing on it and just thought it was a change of style. Not quite another Quo classic but a very good record that is much improved by the remix. Favourite tracks are Hold You Back, Too Far Gone and Can't Give You More. There's nothing I don't like on this album, though Baby Boy was not a step in the right direction!
All things considered, this is pretty good if a little more commercial. Sometimes the synthesizers are a little annoying. Rockin' All Over The World is a somewhat overplayed at this point but still enjoyable. Dirty Water (One of their better more mellow tracks.) and Hold You Back were also fairly popular and are among the highlights. The other tracks that I enjoy the most are Hard Time, You Don't Own Me and Rockers Rollin'. It would be nice to hear some good sounding live versions of You Don't Own Me and Rockers Rollin'. I also prefer the remixed version of the album.
My favourite Quo album ever, thanks in no small part to it being my first Quo album ever. Doesn't really matter which way round I review as it would be the same for the original and the remaster. Rockin’ All over the World Remixed: 1. Hold You Back (Rossi/Young/Parfitt) 5:10 Fantastic song, great live, brilliant intro and one to get you jumping 2. Baby Boy (Rossi/Young) 3:18 To some it maybe a bit twee but I really like it 3. Rockers Rollin' (Parfitt/Lynton) 4:42 L Fabulous and one of Parfitt's best 4. Who Am I? (Williams/Hutchins) 5:11 Definitely can see what Quo were trying to achieve with their sound listening to this one. Again love it 5. Rockin' All Over The World (Fogerty) 3:51 L Done to death but then they would be lynched if they didn't play it. Even though i love the song, I am happy to skip it now and again 6. Dirty Water (Rossi/Young) 4:16 L Always thought this was the weakest song on the album. Never liked it live either 7. Can't Give You More (Rossi/Young) 5:26 L Great driving rocker 8. Let's Ride (Lancaster) 3:05 Very modern sounding for Quo at the time but still had energy and punch 9. For You (Parfitt) 3:08 L Lovely ballad in memory of Rick's daughter 10. Too Far Gone (Lancaster) 3:09 Love the horns on it and definitely very American sounding to me 11. You Don't Own Me (Lancaster/Mick Green) 3:29 L Again Mr Lancaster comes up trumps 12. Hard Time (Rossi/Parfitt) 4:39 Love it, love it, love it. I can see where people who had followed Quo prior to this album where coming from in terms of their criticism of the smoother sound, etc. However if they are honest it really is just a progression on from On The Level and Blue For You, but where it suffered was the fact it sounded over produced (something which John Eden rectified to his credit). I could play the album every day of the week and not be sick of it.
RAOTW is an album that, despite its obvious flaws, I still really like. I mean, it still sounds like the Quo and I like the Quo so there you go. That said it is so terribly wimpy - neutered bass, no solos (apart from Rockers Rollin really), no Spud rocking out, though I suppose the appendicitis might explain things to a certain extent though it was also clearly a result of trying to smooth their rough edges. Oh and of course the synths. There aren't really that many synth moments I suppose, but I still think they're totally unnecssary. Most of the songs are pretty great - poppy, but the band had always been poppy. Just wished they sounded dirtier. Big fan of Baby Boy too - I get why loads hate that song, but I think the melody is pretty killer and I love Spud's drumming. He's said it was his favourite to play and I think you can really tell. Hold You Back is the album's highlight - the most rocking and the one that sounds most like classic Quo. Too Far Gone is another favourite of mine - it's terribly cheesey, but again the melodies are great, and so is Rossi's little solo. The stinkers? Hmmm...well Let's Ride reaaaaaaaaaaally suffers from the dodgy mix - it sounds like it should be really matcho but it's just limp. I've always hated Rockers Rollin' - the stop-start dynamic irritates me, the lyrics are embarrassing and I hate them flipping synths. Who Am I sounds like Quo-by-numbers...and they didn't even write it! For You is fairly sickly. I wanted to like the remix more - it certainly makes Let's Ride more powerful - but in the end it just sounds like I'm listening to a work in progress rather than a finished album. Can't put my finger on it, but I can't ever imagine something that sounded like that would've ever have been released back in the day and some of the decisions are baffling. Like the tempo changes, the stripping out of Who Am I so it sounds like a shell of a song, or the riff in the second verse of You Don't Own Me being really buried. Essentially I was hoping it would sound more like Blue For You but it just doesn't - the original playing, writing and recording were just too different I guess. Oh well, it just as well I like the original then, warts and all.
Thanks for pointing that out! I'd never noticed that before and now I can't unhear it! (Not a massive fan of the Quo's Wanderer on account of it being rubbish).
True. And I suppose it's not as bad as Judas Priest's Rocka Rolla (pronounced Roh-ka Rolla?!). Clutching at straws now...
Have got a recording of the John Peel show when he plays some of the tracks from this new Quo album. Proof he wasn't just playing Punk/New Wave in 1978. Honestly, I cant recall the tracks from this album aside from Again and Again and Accident Prone, will have to dig it out for a listen.
Didn't he play I'm Giving Up My Worrying and complain that you couldn't headbang to it? Have no idea how I 'know' that though.
Me too. It's one of those albums that my head says is a bit sh*te, but my heart loves it nonetheless. Well apart from Stones - there's no liking that monstrosity.
For You wasn't played live until much later (2000s), I think. But yeah, it's a bit of a mystery to me why "Hard Time" wasn't even tried out live.
That's not bad, but I'm not sure how it fits in with Quo. It was actually already recorded in 1976, so would have fit in with the BFY deluxe... but then again, maybe not.
