Status Quo album-by-album thread (50 Years of Quo)

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by JulesRules, Jul 25, 2017.

  1. Johns44

    Johns44 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yateley, UK
    Think I am one of those Quo fans who bucks the trend as I really like Thirsty Work. I think it's a cracking album and some of Famous in the Last Century is great. Perfect Remedy has about 5 decent songs on it, but the rest are not so good.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  2. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Good stuff! You're a real fan! I can't see anybody who likes these albums voting for them as a top 5 favourite though.
     
  3. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    That's the problem, if you did a vote you'd need to give everyone more than say 5 votes otherwise the same few albums would be the only ones to receive a vote. If you allowed say 10 votes each then maybe some of the later era albums will get votes, not many but I'd likely vote for the likes of Rock Til You Drop.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  4. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I could see Heavy Traffic doing relatively well. That one was very well received at the time and the live set was great then too. It was very rock based and they didn't play In The Army Now, Marguerita Time etc.
     
    John Fell likes this.
  5. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I've only seen the band live between 1991 and 2016 and they've never played Marguerita Time.

    In The Army Now pretty much every concert but thats okay. I'd even hum along to Marguerita if they've done it.

    Would be nice to get a feel for the popularity of later albums, they wont get big votes but even if they got a few you'd get the understanding of how popular each album is rather than just votes for the golden frantic four era.

    Is it 41 albums in total if its studio and live albums? I thought it was 40 but forgot Tokyo Quo (which I have, great/raw album, live albums must be included if only to include Glasgow Apollo.) How many votes would you give each person to be able to get an accurate view on popularity of each Quo album??? I'm not sure.
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  6. Johns44

    Johns44 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yateley, UK
    Trouble is I'd put Thirsty Work in my Top 5
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  7. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Oooooooh, now i'm interested. Be good to get a view of peoples top 5's or 10's. Have to admit I havent even considered my own yet. Off to have a think.
     
  8. Johns44

    Johns44 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yateley, UK
    I know we haven't got past Piledriver but my Top 5 would be

    1. Rockin All Over the World (why? - my first Quo album and still love it)
    2. On the Level (class all the way through)
    3. Rock Til You Drop
    4. Whatever You Want
    5. Thirsty Work (I don't care I like it..lol)
     
    Almost Simon and Man at C&A like this.
  9. Ma Kelly

    Ma Kelly Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    You what?! I will go as far as admitting that I have a massive soft spot for Marguerita Time when it comes to Quo guilty pleasures, but Thirsty Work?! You're a brave man!
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  10. Johns44

    Johns44 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Yateley, UK
    Can't help it I think it has some great stuff on it. Going Nowhere, Ciao Ciao, Soft in the Head and Confidence I think are excellent and for me there is only a couple of duffers on there and Restless isn't one of them.
     
    Ma Kelly, Man at C&A and Almost Simon like this.
  11. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Question is do you put a live album as part of your top 5 or keep it to studio albums?
     
  12. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Are you thinking of Live Alive Quo?
     
    Almost Simon likes this.
  13. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    :laughup:

    ;)

    No, Live at Glasgow Apollo comes just ahead of that one. :D
     
    Man at C&A likes this.
  14. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    1. Quo (can't be beaten for me.)
    2. Live (Glasgow 1976)
    3. Blue For You
    4. Piledriver
    5. On The Level / Rock Til You Drop

    Tough call squeezing in a top 5, top 10 would be easier. If Live albums left out then Live will have to drop.

    I think my love of both Quo/Blue for You is that I bought a 2for cd of those together back in the 90s. 2 great albums that play very well together. Piledriver gets the nod next. On The Level is class as Johns44 suggests. I am very fond of Rock Til You Drop. Hello has to drop out, definite top 10 though.
     
  15. Man at C&A

    Man at C&A Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    My top 5 are rather predictable:

    1. Piledriver
    2. Hello!
    3. Dog of Two Head
    4. Blue For You
    5. Quo

    Ma Kelly's & On the Level at the same standard as 4 & 5. I like a lot of later stuff but the 1970 - 1976 run is just so good I can't pick anything outside of it. My next few would be:

    6. On the Level
    7. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon
    8. Rockin' All Over the World
    9. Whatever You Want
    10. Heavy Traffic

    I've never heard Thirsty Work and have a pristine vinyl Rock Til You Drop that I've never played. I will do later this week.

    Of course this is only studio, Quo Live is a blinder!
     
  16. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
  17. Ma Kelly

    Ma Kelly Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    I wish I liked that live album more than I do. I mean, I think it's an absolute ugly beast of an album, so I appreciate it a great deal and some songs are just fantastic, but I'm just not a massive fan of live albums. So no Live album in my top five. I'm also probably the only Hawkwind fan who doesn't like Space Ritual for the same reason.

    My top five would be:

    Blue for You
    Quo
    On the Level
    Piledriver
    Dog of Two Head

    Well that's my order today at least.

    Edit. ****, forgot to put Spare Parts in my top 5!
     
    mikmcmee, psubliminal and Man at C&A like this.
  18. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    1973: Hello!
    [​IMG]

    1973: Hello!
    1. Roll Over Lay Down (Parfitt/Lancaster/Rossi/Young/Coghlan) 5:43 L
    2. Claudie (Rossi/Young) 4:06 L
    3. A Reason for Living (Parfitt/Rossi) 3:44 A
    4. Blue Eyed Lady (Parfitt/Lancaster) 3:54 L
    5. Caroline (Rossi/Young) 4:19 L
    6. Softer Ride (Parfitt/Lancaster) 4:02 L
    7. And It’s Better Now (Rossi/Young) 3:20 A
    8. Forty-Five Hundred Times (Rossi/Parfitt) 9:53 L

    Andy Bown – Piano on “Blue-Eyed Lady”
    John Mealing – Piano on “Forty-Five Hundred Times”
    Steve Farr – Alto Sax on “Blue-Eyed Lady” and “Forty-Five Hundred Times”
    Stewart Blandamer – Tenor Saxophone on “Blue-Eyed Lady” and “Forty-Five Hundred Times”

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    2015 Deluxe Edition DISC TWO: Bonus Tracks
    1. Joanne [B-Side of “Caroline”] (Parfitt/Lancaster) [also 2005 remaster] 4:08
    Original Demos 1971
    2. Caroline [Fast] 2:12
    3. Caroline [Slow] 3:10
    Live at Reading Festival 25th August 1973
    4. Don’t Waste My Time 4:23 [also 2005 Piledriver remaster]
    Promo Edits
    5. Caroline [A&M Mono Promo Mix] 2:44
    6. Caroline [A&M Stereo Edit & Promo Mix] 2:45
    Live at Dublin National Stadium 10th April 1973
    7. Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home [incl. Cat’s Squirrel] 25:17

    “Hello!” continues where “Piledriver” left off, even topping its predecessor’s success – it’s the first Quo album to top the British charts. And “Caroline” became an eternal standard, more melodic than “Paper Plane” and from 1977 on almost always the live set opener. I love the album – “Piledriver” might just be a tad bit better overall; but I think that "Hello" has a better flow and there are at least two tracks on it that are almost impossible to top. Plus the cover (for the first time with the familiar logo) is iconic simplicity.

    Track by track:

    Roll Over Lay Down: Dun dudun dudun du dun dudun dudun dudun. What an opening! Then Francis comes in with an unforgettable guitar motif. “ROLD” is one of those classics and so unmistakably Quo that it pretty much sums up their entire sound in less than six minutes. The chorus is simple genius, the guitar solo is breathtakingly beautifully constructed and then they quiet down only to kick back in with an epic crescendo. And there’s another solo before it finally ends!

    Claudie: By comparison, this song sounds far tamer and it’s one of the first indications of Francis’ and Bob’s love for country music, something that Rick wasn’t so crazy about. I'm probably alone with that opinion but I feel the heavy guitars don't fit the melodic song that well – the Aquostic version sounds more authentic to me!

    A Reason for Living: Always loved this one, because of the lively rhythm and nice bluesy slide guitar. The lyrics are interesting, one of the more spiritual Quo songs.

    Blue Eyed Lady: It seems that my opinion on this album deviates from the consensus. In this case, lots of fans are positively crazy about the song but I'm not! It’s OK – a good album track; the most interesting thing about it is the five intros in a row. But I'm not really fond of the melody. Trivia: This is the first Status Quo song that features Andy Bown – you can hear him adding his typical piano licks in the background.

    Caroline: A classic but I'm honestly tired of it. Also, those guitar overtones are annoying.

    Softer Ride: Bizarre that Quo thought this wouldn’t be good enough for “Piledriver” so it originally appeared on the b-side of “Paper Plane” only. Well, it was too good to be forgotten! One of the most explosive Quo tracks, with startling dynamic jumps, and a fast-paced shuffle. (Also, it’s the only song where Francis’ and Rick’s usual vocal roles are swapped.)

    And It’s Better Now: I’ve honestly never thought much about why I'd always been indifferent about this song until it was the lead single of “Aquostic” – and then I realized that the original version was treated with lots of effects and burdened with instrumental parts, all of which got in the way of the song itself. So again, while it’s a nice track, I prefer the re-worked, stripped down arrangement. But certainly it’s a nice contrast to the closing epic…

    Forty-Five Hundred Times: In the liner notes, Francis complains that when he was writing with Rick, Rick kept trying to improve what they already had and it just started to wear ol’ Frame out. But if this song is any indication, it probably would have been better if they’d continued to write together. Cause “Forty-Five Hundred Times” is Quo’s crowning achievement. It starts all quiet and subdued, and then it rocks like a massive monster before changing gears not once but twice. Watch out for the bass/guitar unison break and Francis’ endless solos. An unbelievable track! Only problem: It’s too short‼ (But then the live versions make up for that.)

    The deluxe edition contains some interesting comments from Alan and Bob about the songwriting. Apparently, the credits are not always accurate. Bob claims to have co-written “Forty-Five Hundred Times” as well as “Softer Ride” and Alan says that Francis also had a hand in “Softer Ride” (not that surprising when you think about it). What’s frustrating is hearing Bob say he still has the original demo of “Claudie” – at a length of 44 minutes, surely this could have been added to disc 2?

    “Joanne” is interesting to listen to because of the psychedelic vocal effects and the Shadows-esque guitar but clearly not strong enough to deserve a place on the LP. Alan Lancaster (who wrote it) hated the song but Francis loved it, go figure…

    The two demo versions of “Caroline” show some interesting differences to the final version, particularly the extra repeat. But I would have placed the slow version first. The live version of “Don't Waste My Time” from Reading Festival rocks like a beast. (Trivia: Andy Bown also played at the same festival and his song “Long Legged Linda” was featured on the Reading Festival LP alongside DWMT. We’ll come across that one again.) The promo edits of “Caroline” are not too essential. Finally, there is an audience recording of “Is It Really Me? / Gotta Go Home” that, while the sound is as bad as expected, showcases a side to Quo that’s very unusual. Francis takes off with his guitar, plays outside time and space, while the rest of the band plays together like one man. There are all kinds of interesting places in this journey, including a jig and some Cream quotes – fitting since this seemingly endless improvisation is quite close to Cream! There’s even a hint of Pink Floyd at certain moments when the guitar gets all atonal and scratchy. Listen to Francis today and you wouldn’t believe it’s the same guy… though his audience interaction hasn’t changed that much!

    Comparing the 2005 remaster by Time Turan to the 2014 deluxe edition by Andy Pearce, neither are sonic wonders but I prefer the deluxe edition. It brings out the detail (e.g. the sax parts) more but it also reveals the limitations of the original recordings in some cases. Certainly the dynamics are captured better on Pearce’s mastering.
     
  19. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Good to see Blue For You getting some attention in the top 5's/10's so far. Great album.
     
    Man at C&A and Ma Kelly like this.
  20. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Aaaah, Hello, another classic. I need to play it tomorrow and give a full view of it. I dont own the deluxe edition, only the vinyl and cd.

    At least one Quo performance still exists in glorious colour......

     
    JulesRules likes this.
  21. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    Which CD version?

    That video is on the double DVD "Accept No Substitute", I think.
     
  22. Ma Kelly

    Ma Kelly Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Ah Hello! I'm always surprised that this seems to always top polls of Quo albums as it's by far and away my least favourite of the Frantic Four stuff. To me it's not as rocking as the three albums that follow and the production doesn't seem quite as filfthy as Piledrivers, nor is it as varied as Piledriver or DoTH. Say if you compare the sound of Don't Waste My Time to Roll Over Lay Down, where the former is a mountain of fuzz, the latter has always struck me as sound rather empty. And as a single, Caroline has an irresistable melody (probably my Exhibit A in why Rossi is one of the greatest pop songwriters) but it's just not as 'cool' as Paper Plane. And the 77 Live version, being about twice as fast and featuring a patented Spud-cymbal-thrashing at the end is way better.

    Elsewhere, Reason for Living has always struck me as Quo by numbers, while Blue Eyed Lady is great but it's one of their songs where the fadeout seems to come at the wrong time, like they were just getting going. And It's Better Now is really nice but yeah it's slightly overproduced. 4500 Times is of coarse monumental...until the second half of the song where they run of steam and just go for a fadeout. I'm vaguely indifferent to Softer Ride too - has always sounded a bit 'dumb' to me. I really like Claudie though.

    Yeah I dunno, I wish I could be more enthusiastic about this album, and I do like it, I just wish it was dirtier sounding like the albums surrounding it.
     
    Man at C&A and JulesRules like this.
  23. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    a solid effort..... 6,5/10
     
  24. Ma Kelly

    Ma Kelly Senior Member

    Location:
    England
    Actually I forgot about the slide on this track (and And Its Better Now) as I do really like that about this song. Always wish Rossi did more of that stuff - not that he's an amazing blues slide player, but it suits his melodic playing.
     
    JulesRules likes this.
  25. JulesRules

    JulesRules Weaponized, Deranged Warthog Thug Thread Starter

    Location:
    Germany
    It's interesting to hear the "shift" between the slide and regular guitar parts. He's capable of playing in different styles, so much that if you're not familiar with the band, you might think it's two different players.
    I agree with that, still I like it a lot and it's a great point of entry. Much more so than Quo, which sounds too rough and distorted for my taste. But we'll get to that later.
     
    mikmcmee likes this.

Share This Page

molar-endocrine