Okay, need to up the mood after that Rick solo track. This for me is a GREAT Christmas single, only wish it had been released in the late 70's or 80's as would now be played endlessly every Christmas.
"Another years gone rock 'n' rollin' by"... Yeah, this one has charm and is catchy. It's very likeable. Would have been a huge hit in the 80s.
Honestly, Back To Back is, for me at least, a great listen. A definite 5/5 album. 1982 is certainly not a complete disaster but it's not without its weaknesses. I'd give it a 3/5. Give 'em a blast. Be brave I second your comment about the thread!
Thanks - I am happy to give anything a go. I checked out 3 songs from Back To Back last night. Ol' Rag Blues is seriously good. Great track. Then played Going Down Town Tonight and Too Close To The Ground. What can I say? - sorry there were utterly terrible. I will try a few songs from 1+9+8+2 tonight. Gut feeling is my Quo collection is still not going to extend past 1981. But you never know.
Glad that you liked Ol' Rag Blues, at least! Keep plugging away. I'm sure that, at worst, you'll come up with a compilation you'll enjoy.
Totally off topic, and my apologies, but I was wondering if anyone knew if the Status Quo 5 classic albums little box set uses the same Andy Pearce mastering as the deluxe editions? Anyone know?
Hopefully, time to move on with the new era. Some good singles on that album, have to admit I don't really know the album itself but will give it a listen.
I think we can cover 1986- 2o17 in one page of this thread can't we? Apologises in advance. I imagine it is like when I read stuff that Dylan's been downhill since Blonde On Blonde or Blood On The Tracks - it's quite annoying. I've actually read positive things about some of the post Frantic Four albums - Heavy Traffic, In Search Of The Fourth Chord, Quid Pro Quo.....
Plenty to like. I actually look forward to revisiting some of the albums I may have all too easily dismissed in the past. Rock Til You Drop (1991) is a big favourite of mine, Heavy Traffic, and the others you mentioned. I think the only ones I would seriously question are those covers albums. But those aside, even if the albums aren't classics there's plenty of good tracks to enjoy in the post Live Aid era. Just looking forward to getting started.............
I actzally planned to cover this song anyway, but you beat me to it!! Also, I figured it might be time to make a few points about things that got left by the wayside, since we're currently in the no-man’s land between the Quo line-ups… (I'll post ITAN later this day!) After I started this thread, I found a CD in a shop called “The Very Best of the Early Years” that contains a lot of early Pye-era material I didn't have yet, including the complete Spectres and Traffic Jam singles and the stereo remixes of the debut album. So now, having listened to those a bit more, I can talk a bit more about the early recordings! I actually don't think “Black Veils of Melancholy” is so extremely similar to “Pictures of Matchstick Men” (though it’s definitely a weaker song); however “Sunny Cellophane Skies” does have some quite strong similarities! “Laticia” seems to be a song about a prostitute? “Mystery Song” is also. And “Someone Show Me Home”. Gee! I quite like “Auntie Nellie”, it has a strange structure and Francis’ guitar reminds me of Steve Hackett! Glad you asked, sorry that I couldn’t find the time for that question earlier. Somebody has uploaded the DR values and the result is rather surprising… Piledriver, Hello! and Quo are more compressed on the 5 Classic Albums Set than the deluxe editions. On the Level is less compressed on the set (if it is otherwise derived from the same mastering as the deluxe edition, it could be the best digital version out there). Blue for You has identical DR values, which means that they’re very likely the same mastering. Also, comparing the two versions of the "Wild Side of Life" demo a bit further, I've noticed that the one labelled "Honky Tonk Angel" sounds dampened, and looking at the spectrogram it has a pretty sudden frequency cut-off around 15.8 kHz... Finally, here are the video releases of Live at the N.E.C.: The VHS (1982): 1. Caroline 2. Roll Over Lay Down 3. Backwater 4. Little Lady 5. Don't Drive My Car 6. Whatever You Want 7. Hold You Back 8. Rockin’ All Over the World 9. Over the Edge 10. Big Fat Mama 11. Roadhouse Blues 12. Rain 13. Down Down 14. Bye Bye Johnny The DVD (Live at the BBC, 2010): 1. Caroline 2. Roll Over Lay Down 3. Backwater 4. Little Lady 5. Don't Drive My Car 6. Whatever You Want 7. Hold You Back 8. Rockin' All Over The World 9. Dirty Water 10. Down Down 11. Don't Waste My Time Plus I realize I'd forgotten to post the tracklisting for 12 Gold Bars Volume II – duh! 1. What You're Proposin’ 2. Lies 3. Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like 4. Don't Drive My Car 5. Dear John 6. Rock ‘n’ Roll [Single Edit] 7. Ol’ Rag Blues 8. Mess of the Blues 9. Marguerita Time 10. Going Down Town Tonight 11. The Wanderer 12. Caroline [Live at the N.E.C.]
I used to love Quo in the 70's, (the Live LP from the Glasgow Apollo being a firm favourite) the turn of dislike came about when the Rocking All Over the World LP came out - it was okay, it just didn't have the same rawness that previous LP's provided. Coghlan leaving during the 1+9+8+2 recording really was the end of listening to their new stuff for me, the 1982 LP just didn't have anything that interested me. I miss the rawness that they had from the likes of Piledriver, and On the Level. Actually went to see them last year (or was it the year before) in London at the O2, Rossi and Parfitt were still good, but the others had big boots to fill from when I last saw them complete with Lancaster. It just wasn't the same; I can't see them ever playing classics like Forty Five hundred times again live.
The thing that strikes me about those Spectres singles (and the Traffic Jam single to a lesser extent) is how bass-heavy they are, especially the cover of We Ain't Got Nothing Yet and Neighbour Neighbour. There's none of that on the debut album and something like Sheila could've really used it. So it's a strange one - the production on something like Matchstick Men is great and a big part of why it works, and yet I prefer their earlier more garagey sound. Which leads me to conclude that it's a good job I wasn't around back in 1968 or else I'd be one of those "yeah I preferred them before their debut album came out" kind of numpties!
1986: In the Army Now 1985-86: Live Aid, Quo’s Back and In the Army Now In The Army Now (1986) 1. Rollin’ Home (John David) 4:25 M/A 2. Calling (Rossi/Frost) 4:03 3. In Your Eyes (Rossi/Frost) 5:07 4. Save Me (Parfitt/Rossi) 4:24 5. In the Army Now (Rob Bolland/Ferdi Bolland) 4:40 L 6. Dreamin’ (Rossi/Frost) 2:54 L 7. End of the Line (Parfitt/Ricky Patrick) 4:58 8. Invitation (Rossi/Young) 3:15 9. Red Sky (John David) 4:13 M 10. Speechless (Ian Hunter) 3:40 11. Overdose (Parfitt/Pip Williams) 5:24 L 2006 Bonus Tracks: 12. Lonely (Parfitt/Rossi) 5:07 [B-Side of “Rollin’ Home”] 13. Keep Me Guessing (Parfitt/Rossi/Young) 4:31 [B-Side of “Rollin’ Home” 12”] 14. Don't Give It Up [+] (John ‘Rhino’ Edwards/Richard Lightman/Parfitt/Rossi) 4:22 [B-Side of “Red Sky”] 15. Heartburn (Parfitt/Patrick/Rossi) 4:22 [B-Side of “In the Army Now”] 16. Late Last Night [+] (Parfitt/Rossi/Young) 4:45 [B-Side of “In the Army Now” 12”] 17. Long Legged Girls [+] (Parfitt/Williams) 5:33 [B-Side of “Dreamin’”, original release 4:24] Missing bonus tracks: 1. Naughty Girl [Original Single Version] [cancelled A-Side] 2. Naughty Girl [Extended Re-Mix] 5:41 [cancelled 12” A-Side] 3. Rock 'n’ Roll Floorboards 4:14 [cancelled B-Side] 4. Rollin’ Home [Single Version] 4:00 5. In the Army Now [Single Version] 3:54 6. In the Army Now [Military Mix, remixed by Pip Williams] 5:55 [12” & CD single A-Side] 7. Dreamin’ [Single Version] 3:04 8. Dreamin’ [Wet Mix] 4:26 [12” & CD single A-Side] 9. The Quo Christmas Cake Mix [produced by Sonny-X] 5:56 [B-Side of “Dreamin’” 12”] a. The Wanderer b. Whatever You Want c. Something ‘Bout You Baby I Like d. Roll Over Lay Down e. Rain f. Break the Rules g. Rockin’ All Over the World 10. In the Army Now [Remix] 4:44 [“Ain’t Complaining” CD single] [+] indicates a track from Rick Parfitt’s “Recorded Delivery” album · Francis Rossi – Vocals, Guitar · Rick Parfitt – Vocals, Guitar · John ‘Rhino’ Edwards – Bass · Andy Bown – Keyboards · Jeff Rich – Drums Bernie Frost – additional vocals Paul "Wix" Wickens – additional keyboards Vicki Brown, Stevie Lange and Katie Kissoon – backing vocals on “Long Legged Girls” Pip Williams – additional guitars [uncredited on In the Army Now tracks] Micky Moody – lead guitar on “Late Last Night” (?) and “Long Legged Girls” Rick had recorded a solo album called “Recorded Delivery” (produced by Pip); Francis and Bernie had recorded a dolo album called “Flying Debris”. The first wasn’t released at all, the second one never got beyond two singles (“Modern Romance” and the re-recorded “Jealousy”). Instead, the record company insisted on getting another Quo album, particularly since the band had been ‘forced’ by Bob Geldof to open Live Aid (Francis and Rick are also on the Band Aid single “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, but I can’t hear either of them) and was suddenly a hot topic again. But Francis had already declared he couldn’t make another album with Alan, so Rick suggested using the rhythm section from his solo project: John “Rhino” Edwards and Jeff Rich. They had already played together e.g. as part of the Climax Blues Band. Francis was reluctant but warmed to the idea after first rehearsals. When Alan heard that the band was recording an album without him, he went to court and the release of the first single “Naughty Girl” (aka Dreamin’) was cancelled (the b-side “Rock & Roll Floorboards” remains unreleased… I'm waiting for the deluxe edition). In the end Francis and Rick got the name and Alan had lost a lot of money in the process. (A question that keeps bugging me: Did they really record “Dreamin’” with Pip, then went to Dave Edmunds for two singles only to go back to Pip once again? Or is the original “Naughty Girl” a Dave Edmunds production, thereby a different mix/version to the one on the album? It seems the latter theory might be true. I've now heard that the original version had one little additional vocal from Rick in the middle eight.) The comeback album was uneven and many of the b-sides were better than some of the album tracks. Nonetheless, the album had brought the band a lot of new fans, mainly thanks to the massively successful singles. And I will admit that it has some pretty good spots… Rollin’ Home: Poppy catchy Quo in the vein of the previous two LPs, but with even less rock edge than before. The drumming also sounds rather stiff. However, the production is rather good; Dave Edmunds did a good job of not overdoing the 80s sound and maintaining a fat rhythmic base. The best thing about this song is the video clip! Calling: Unlike the opener, this is a shuffle, but a very weak one IMO. Pip’s production is much more of its time (reverb-laden and trebly), and the synths are too dominant in parts (what’s up with those farting horn emulations anyway?). That said, I don’t think this track is a disaster, just a disappointment. In Your Eyes: That’s one hell of an intro! But then it just falls apart. What’s worse is that the main hook is almost copied from “Overkill” by Men at Work (which is a far better song). At least this track starts to gather some speed near the end and actually starts rocking (!) with Francis’ solo and Jeff Rich banging on the cymbals. The ending is great, the rest of the song not so much. Save Me: I remember a song called “Save Me” by Clout; can’t say this is any better, unfortunately. It’s an attempt at a riff-driven shuffle track, but it sounds weak and uninspired. One of the few Rossi/Parfitt co-writes and it’s certainly chunkier than the Rossi/Frost songs, but suffers from the lightweight production. On an album like JS it might have sounded better. In the Army Now: Classic. Francis had the right instinct when he first heard the song (the Bolland & Bolland original) and thought it would be a massive hit. Quo slowed it down somewhat and made some subtle changes, which resulted in it having less of an angry punk edge but becoming darker and more dramatic. The tension built up through the course of the song is noteworthy; Andy’s organ during “You got your orders better shoot on sight” just kills it. As the 3rd single after “Rollin’ Home” and “Red Sky” it was the new line-up’s 1st really big hit and cemented the comeback. (an interesting bit of trivia is that the Bolland brothers also co-wrote Falco’s worldwide hit “Rock Me Amadeus”, thereby having two hugely successful songs in a rather short time period.) Dreamin’: Up and down. But truth be told, I don’t think this is a bad song, but it’s ruined by a horrible arrangement. It was the first song Francis and Bernie ever wrote together and stems from the early to mid-70s, so try to imagine this song performed by the FF and without those ridiculous saxotromphone synths – wouldn’t be so bad, would it? (The single version, as heard on e.g. “Whatever You Want – The Best of Status Quo”, is not only longer, but actually a shorter edit of the so-called “Wet Mix”. Nothing to do with wet dreamin’ but with the amount of echo and reverb applied to the tracks.) End of the Line: Down and up. This ultra-dramatic and dark song is, IMO, one of the best things Rick has ever done. Whereas the production sounds ‘wrong’ with many of the previous songs, here it fits 100%. The synths give me goose-bumps, the guitar at the end rips the heart right outta me. Unbelievable. Oh, why did they never play it live? Too demanding on Rick’s voice, maybe? Anyway, besides the singles this is the main reason to have this album, IMO. A truly amazing song. Invitation: Hey, where’d that Rossi/Young song come from? As we’ve learned in this thread, the track originates from the 1978/79 period but wasn’t given a full studio recording until 1986. Being a full-on country ballad, it’s a welcome oasis from the synthetic sounds of the rest of the LP. But as I’ve already mentioned, the production sounds too glossy and not earthy enough. (Is that an accordion in the background? Early shades of Aquostic?) Red Sky: ZZ Quo. The second Dave Edmunds production is the rockiest song on the ITAN album and features the synths adding bite to the guitars instead of intruding an otherwise good arrangement. That solo is oh-so Rossi. Again, the darker, minor key songs work better on the LP. It’s also always outstanding live, even if they tend to only play it in medleys. Speechless: Once again, Quo pick a really weird song to cover, it’s this album’s “Going Down Town Tonight”. I don’t know Ian Hunter’s original but Francis’ vocal delivery is just rrrrrridiculous (“all those years I spent clinging to your WARM BREAST” - ok) and the synths are this time really the icing on the… er, you get the idea. Not good at all. Overdose: Oh, Status Quo still have a BASS PLAYER? Indeed! And Rhino makes his mark with the intro (and the outro, where he throws in some high notes, showing his capabilities). What starts out as another synth-laden track (keyboards moving from one channel to the other) drops into something similar to the “End of the Line” intro. Rick sings with passion, and overall this is a song with some surprise elements and a great chorus. It’s not quite as good as “End of the Line” though, because that was darker and this is not quite sure whether it wants to be light or dark. (Anybody else hear that guitar riff in the 2nd verse? Doesn’t that sound like something by The Beatles?) On to the bonus tracks! Lonely: This is an actual Status Quo song, and far better than about half of the LP! It’s a Rossi/Parfitt co-write like “Save Me” but one that really shuffles like it should, and with a trademark “endless ending” like “Rockin’ All over the World”! Even the synths don’t bother me. Keep Me Guessing: This is even better IMO. The riff sounds like it’s taken from the Quo album, Rick gets the most out of his vocal chords and overall it rocks like few tracks from the period (I know it’s from the late 70s). Who played the sax solo? It’s great! Don’t Give It Up: This is one of the songs from Rick’s unreleased solo album, but apart from Rhino playing with far more creativity than in his first Quo tracks you won’t hear much of a difference to the darker songs from ITAN, except that this track is a bit inferior. With a guitar solo it could have been better. The sax (I assume it’s the same guy as on “Keep Me Guessing”) isn’t bad though. Heartburn: This is very 80s, but it has such a great, driving rhythm that I can’t help but love it. Like “End of the Line” and “Overdose”, Rick turns in another outstanding vocal. The chords are really interesting too, particularly in the bridge part. And then we have Francis adding a great little guitar solo before the song returns to the opening soundscape – and what is this? Surely not a crescendo? OK, it’s not *quite* as effective as “Roll Over Lay Down”, but what is? Many of the sounds and ideas heard here would reappear later in songs such as “Bad News”, “Hold Me” or “Run and Hide”. Late Last Night: That melody sounds more Rossi than Parfitt to me, though Rick sings it (like all the b-sides from the era). Supposedly it is from Rick’s solo album, but the guitar could as well be played by Francis… hm… it’s one of the fastest tracks on any Quo release of the era and as I've mentioned before, has a vaguely Chuck Berry-esque ‘thing’ to it. Long Legged Girls: I don’t know why but Rick’s vocal reminds me of Roger Daltrey. This track sounds like a forerunner of “Ain’t Complaining” (also co-written by Pip) with its mid-tempo stomp. This is a guitar solo that definitely wasn’t played by Francis, since the track is from “Recorded Delivery”.
I didn't know Edwards and Rich had played in Climax Blues Band. This was the performance i saw (albeit not until the early 90's repeats of Top of the Pops,) which suggested they had worked together before.
This is where Quo become bloody awful for quite a while for me. I can't stand ITAN as a song but it worked for them. There's only Red Sky that I like here. I haven't heard the extras. I couldn't take any more! I bought Red Sky as a double pack 7" single. I liked Don't Give It Up on the B-side, but I was 12! I bought it because I liked Red Sky and it had Rockin' All Over The World & Whatever You Want on the bonus single. It was my first Quo record.
I don't own the album but very much remember the singles. ITAN itself has long been part of the trio of tunes they always seemed to play together live in concert - ITAN, Rocking all over the world and whatever you want. I have heard it too many times, I liked it a lot for a while but time and too many plays in concert has dimmed its appeal. I'll give the album a play from youtube tomorrow, need to hear the other tracks.
