|
Post by Victor on Jul 1, 2019 7:07:01 GMT
Looking forward to sharing opinions and thoughts about the album
|
|
|
Post by kursaal75 on Jul 1, 2019 7:24:20 GMT
I played the album last night T...Victor, I will give my opinion later.
|
|
|
Post by markquo on Jul 1, 2019 9:28:08 GMT
One of the very best that set the standard,proper Quo Cheers
|
|
|
Post by blagult on Jul 1, 2019 10:46:23 GMT
Absolutely cracking album. Only ‘ Oh Baby ‘ that doesn’t entirely float my boat but still not a skip. This album had more light and shade than any other album that followed. The ballads are just sublime. I mean ‘A Year ‘ is just a masterpiece! I may be in a minority here but to me they nailed Roadhouse on this album more so than the live album to me. It’s played at a better tempo which gives it that power. Not too Quickly. The album is still as relevant today as it ever was !
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2019 11:16:04 GMT
For me the best ever Quo album and the album that got me into the band, all be it a couple of years late. I still remember the first time I heard it and was totally blown away, a band in total musical synch, playing and vocals just perfect but still with that wonderful rawness. Great songs of their own, good mix of styles and for me an even better version of Roadhouse Blues than the original Doors one, a song that would massively lift the rock element if it was brought back into the live set now with Richie on vocals. The simple studio technique also made this album the thumping powerhouse it is, capturing the live sound of a band at the height of their powers and creativity. It will always remain one of my top five albums of all time.
|
|
|
Post by 4th Chord on Jul 1, 2019 11:29:22 GMT
Never heard of it. Is it any good?
|
|
|
Post by paradiseflats on Jul 1, 2019 12:02:31 GMT
Never heard of it. Is it any good? You probably won’t. Stick to Perfect Remedy. It has too much power for you.
|
|
|
Post by paradiseflats on Jul 1, 2019 12:19:51 GMT
I probably could write about Piledriver for a long long time.
Look at the cover it tells you everything you need to know. Heads down no nonsense boogie. Not sure where the woogie went. An album for the ages. Bought my first copy second hand. Some time in the 80s. I can’t remember exactly but it must have been ‘83 or ‘84. I think ‘83.
The song writing is very strong throughout. I don’t think there is a weak song on the album. I know this may sound odd, but it’s the album that is their best overall but it’s not my favourite.
Dont waste my time is Status Quo. It’s a catchy melodic rock song, lovely chorus and has an amazingly melodic solo. A live favourite. I love this song. If your foot doesn’t tap whilst you listen to it. You may well have passed on.
Oh baby. May be the weakest song on the album. However I do like the drumming and live it improves no end.
A year. Is a great song. Alan’s finest moment. It’s amazing. Still has echoes of their former psychedelic selves. The solo is some of Francis’s best work. Love the lyrics. Which isn’t something I often say about Quo songs.
Unspoken words another great song. Blues with a side order of blues. Again Francis’s playing is great.
Big fatty. Oh yes please. Great song. Live one of their best to. Any gig without it is a lesser gig.
Paperplane. Great commercial rock.
All the reasons. Superb song. One of Ricks best vocals.
Roadhouse. The Quo sound. Totally Quo’d up. Love it.
To think how good this is. They left off Softer ride.
One of the greatest test albums of all the times. Sadly doesn’t get the recognition outside of Quo circles.
Great sounding album to.
If if you haven’t realised I love this album.
|
|
redwine
New Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 29
|
Post by redwine on Jul 1, 2019 16:18:22 GMT
For me, this is one of the best Quo albums. Whenever non-fans ask me to recommend a Quo album that shows the band off at it's best, I'd almost always tell them to check out Piledriver. (Depends on my mood, though, sometimes I'd tell them to check out DOTH, Hello, Quo or BFY).
I might be in a minority here, but I actually think that RB is possibly the weakest track on the album, and for me the album would have been better with 100% original tracks. I know RB was a huge part of the set around that time, and I can see why the band would have wanted to get it on record.....but for me....I'd have preferred another original to close out the album. Maybe they just didn't have another original track around then???
|
|
gav
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,150
Favourite Quo Album: On The Level
|
Post by gav on Jul 1, 2019 17:12:47 GMT
I kind of ruined this album for myself when i realised it doesn't live up to its name, with 2 going on 3 tracks out of 8 quite soft and un-piledriving.
If i want a piledriver of an album, i turn to OTL, which pretty much never lets up until near the end (Where I Am).
That said, listening to it as a complete album, and not singleing out the mellower tracks, it's a very good album and document.
Thinking about it, the only albums from the Lancaster era that don't really have any softer tracks, slower tracks, or ballads are NTL and 1+9+8+2?
|
|
|
Post by dennis on Jul 1, 2019 18:29:41 GMT
My absolute favourite Quo album & yet I feel it's slightly diminished by not including Softer Ride. TBH, I do include it - my Piledriver playlist reads as follows:
Side 1
Don't Waste My Time Unspoken Words Paper Plane All The Reasons A Year
Side 2
Softer Ride Oh Baby Big Fat Mama Roadhouse Blues
Still only 22 minutes per side - perfect!
|
|
viza
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 411
|
Post by viza on Jul 1, 2019 18:39:57 GMT
This is my favorite album by Quo! Over all the songs are very varied on this album but at the same time they complement each other extremely well. Not a single weak song. Remember playing "Don't waste my time" with my band at the graduation ceremony at 8th grade. I was the only Quo fan at my school. It's fun to play and it's impossible to not headbang to this one. "Oh Baby" is one of my favorites, nice harmonies and it has a totally different tempo than other songs. "A Year" is one of their greatest ballads and includes a killer guitar solo. Unspoken Words is a proof that they could really play the blues. It's wonderful. "Big Fat Mama" has always been my favorite Quo track. It's amazing, heavy and raw. "Paper Plane" is a bit of a standard track but it works. "All the Reasons" is another great ballad that shows another side of the band. Didn't appreciate it that much at first but it has really grown in my ears. "Roadhouse Blues" is a great cover and I prefer this to the Doors version.
|
|
gav
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,150
Favourite Quo Album: On The Level
|
Post by gav on Jul 1, 2019 18:40:25 GMT
I've not checked the credits, but i wonder if Softer Ride was mixed in a different session, or on a different console, or by a different person, as it doesn't have the production values of anything on Piledriver but has the same 'sonics' as the Hello! tracks.
It seems to be a bit less earthy, a bit more metallic, and has less of the warmth of the Piledriver tracks. Maybe it was a last minute recording done after Piledriver was done and dusted?
|
|
gav
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,150
Favourite Quo Album: On The Level
|
Post by gav on Jul 1, 2019 18:48:54 GMT
Unspoken Words is a proof that they could really play the blues. It's wonderful. I agree. Rossi frequently says in retrospect that he was never part of that cool, studied, group of blues aficionados that most of the big bands of the late 60's/early 70's were, yet he comes up with the licks here in a pretty fluid, mature, and developed way, even for 1972. He's already got his own unique take on the blues.
For much of Quo he revved it up a fair bit in tune with the energy of the music, but this gentler, more soulful style he played on tracks like this and other stuff like Blue For You, are quite startlingly natural (considering he barely played lead a couple of years before), and i'd probably play these kind of tracks to any Quo-doubter or music snob and check their reaction!
Edit #1: that said, his solo in Unspoken Words is very dynamic by his standards, and is gentle in places, but quite manic in other places.
Edit #2: UW is undoubtedly a blues song, but the melody takes it a bit further out the confines of that genre. I think it was Lancaster that once said that Rossi's melodies in Quo were not standard bluesy melodies, but utilising an unorthodox mix of white and black notes, or words to that effect. I find Quo's take on the blues much more interesting than pure blues, which i find pretty dull on the whole. Blues chord structures married to more 'pop' melody, and i don't mean pop in a bad way!
|
|
|
Post by dennis on Jul 1, 2019 21:55:24 GMT
Just for good the measure, the "intellectual" view from the esteemed Robert Christgau : "Piledriver - No more plasticene for these lads--it's boogie all the way, and if only they'd go with stuff like "Don't Waste My Time" and "Big Fat Mama" for an entire side I might even wish 'em goodspeed. But of course they can't, they know boogie gets boring after a while, and so without a singer or an axeman or fancy chords they try a couple of ballads and a blues, which are also boring. C+"
Like most of the "reviews" I've read from his illustrious pen, they seem to give the impression that he's spent more time thinking how to write something that may enhance his standing as a critic than he has actually listening to the album he's meant to be reviewing.
|
|