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Post by MrWaistcoat on Sept 2, 2019 18:13:37 GMT
Some contradictory comments so far on the production
Funny I was going to say "timeless" but someone put "dated" before I could 🤔
I think the sound is great and matches the material perfectly. Francis voice sounds great, possibly his best. John Shroeder is underrated imo and doesn't get the credit. At the end of the day people are still listening to this album nearly 50 years later...
With MG and Railroad they had nailed the formula. I don't agree with the "band in transition" comments we sometimes see with "the dog album"
With SL, we get a stonking hard Rock epic that is very original. I don't think we got one again that didn't follow the formula
Never was sure what I thought of Nanana. As for making three appearances, we'll, there's always the skip button. But you can see why, there's not enough light and shade. Needs a lakky lady type track somewhere. It kinda feels like it's a song short. Shame DTD isn't on there
I love how un commercial this album is.
Groovy album artwork, man 😎😆
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Post by kursaal75 on Sept 2, 2019 18:31:25 GMT
The 'Dog Of Two Head' album, the album that probably got my in to Quo, due to my elder sister playing the album quite a lot, while I was playing T.Rex, Slade and various other singles that were in the charts in 1971
Mean Girl, Railroad were my favourites, before Umletiung and Gerdundula grew on me. I was getting annoyed with the extracts of Na Na Na, but I do like the track. Someone's Learning is still one of my all time favourite tracks, but when I did get the CD format, I could hear the squeak on John's bass drum pedal during the quite passage towards the end of the track.
8/10
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Post by dontthinkitmatters on Sept 4, 2019 18:34:09 GMT
Great stuff by Mike, Ritchie , Alan and Coughlan with an excellent contribution by Manston and James.
And you could see them for 65p !
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gerh
Grizzled Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,948 
Favourite Quo Album: 'Hello' [and 'Quo Live']
Favourite other bands.: Zappa, Kansas, Rush, Deep Purple, Yes, Richard Thompson, Horslips, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest etc etc. [ANYONE but Kiss!]
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Post by gerh on Sept 4, 2019 18:58:39 GMT
Great stuff by Mike, Ritchie , Alan and Coughlan with an excellent contribution by Manston and James. And you could see them for 65p ! I, for one, wouldn't pay 65p to see FRQ now  |
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gerh
Grizzled Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 2,948
Favourite Quo Album: 'Hello' [and 'Quo Live']
Favourite other bands.: Zappa, Kansas, Rush, Deep Purple, Yes, Richard Thompson, Horslips, Rory Gallagher, Thin Lizzy, Judas Priest etc etc. [ANYONE but Kiss!]
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Post by gerh on Sept 4, 2019 19:08:55 GMT
Discovered 'Dog' after Live/Piledriver/Hello/Quo/OTL & BFY [& in that order too!] and wondered at the time why it wasn't more widely known. For the most part I love it - the gloomy-ish sound of it, the complete opposite to the awful earlier Psychedelic poo, from AL's fabulous songs AND the Totally Brilliant 'Railroad' to the sleeve art - but good God, spare me the risible 'Nanana' - jeez, even back then FR was writing some shite, but I s'pose as rossiswaistcoat says, there's always the skip button! |
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Sept 4, 2019 22:12:50 GMT
I don't really have a relationship with the album, as it was long before my time and I never felt like spinning it much when I got it, but Umeitlung and Gerdundula are two of my favourite Quo songs and at least half the others are really good. Railroad I know much better live. Na Na Na is a week bit irritating, but not as irritating as I always think it is going to be.
A little CD made up of the best tracks off Dog and Ma Kelly is one of my favourite Quo albums. That is really how it is - quite a few tracks I like qauite a lot, and several others I am rather indifferent to. Mean Girl has never been a favourite, but I admit it's energetic and belts along.
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Post by curiousgirl on Sept 4, 2019 22:33:34 GMT
So last night, after @dolliebloo ticked me off for not listening to complete albums (only kidding) I gave this album a virtual spin on my bus ride home yesterday. Wow! Far Out Man. I loved it. It isn't an album I knew back in the day because I had all the tracks in a different order on a compilation cassette which combined it with Ma Kelly and Spare Parts. I love the musical progression of sound over the album. It covers the transition of the hippy era into heavy rock. The tracks from Umleitung to Gerdundula have either a hippy, folky or blues vibes. Mean Girl gives a hint at the heavier sound which kicks off with Railroad. And then just to be sure we get it, Someone's Learning. Clearly influenced by Zepplin and a Whole Lotta Love from a couple of years before. I'm unsure about the final Nanana but I suspect its on the end for the lyrics which hope we'll all buy the next album. I don't know if its dated but the sound of those early tracks is clearly very 60s/early 70s. And so maybe they are copying too many other bands while they found their own sound? Actually as I type this Youtube has just thrown up Child in Time 1970 which was clearly another influence on this album. What I also loved was how 'tight' they were. Clearly John and Alan kept the rhythm together for Rick and Francis to do their 2 guitar than over. Another foreshadowing of songs to come like 4500x. I always enjoy the light and heavy with Quo. So this is a 5* album for me. |
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Post by dontthinkitmatters on Sept 6, 2019 9:51:27 GMT
So what was the story behind the use of Manston and James, presume it was Bob who was James?
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Sept 6, 2019 12:02:08 GMT
Every time I have seen this mentioned, I don't remember them ever explaining why they chose an alias or why they chose those names. I have two theories.
One is that they wanted to test of people would react differently to a different kind of song if it wasn't obviously one of their own songs. (I have no idea if this happened.) The argument against this theory is that Gerdundula happened fairly early in their Quo career and the "three chords" jolly jest hadn't become current by that point. But I could be wrong about that as well.
My other theory is that they nicked the main riff from a very reputable composer and they were hiding in case anyone noticed. I always thought it was Beethoven, but I had the conversation with a well versed Beethoven buff many years later, and he said that it wasn't. Which is a pity really as, if you are going to nick, nick from the best. (Beethoven would have been proud, and they could have had him on piano as a guest.) But it's definitely a borrowing, I heard it being played by an orchestra on Radio 4. Does anyone else recognise it? BTW when Paul played it on the Channel 4 documentary Rock On and On, it's defo how it was played on Radio 4, so I reckon HE knows, but I have never had the neck to email and ask him.
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Post by paradiseflats on Sept 12, 2019 14:37:07 GMT
Sadly but understandably this discussion will be put to one side. As focus is elsewhere.
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Post by paradiseflats on Sept 12, 2019 14:39:50 GMT
So what was the story behind the use of Manston and James, presume it was Bob who was James? [https://www.discogs.com/pt_BR/artist/1322580-ManstonJames |
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Post by dontthinkitmatters on Sept 12, 2019 18:48:03 GMT
Ahhh! So, John Manston was Bob then and Colin James was Rossi.
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Post by quovadis on Sept 12, 2019 22:14:30 GMT
Gr8 album luv umleitung pure boogie heads down and luv sgoimh
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Post by charles on Sept 13, 2019 13:52:02 GMT
I'm glad the kids are giving it the thumbs up. (SMFH)*
*60 new abbreviations for young people, 2014
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viza
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 411
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Post by viza on Sept 15, 2019 21:03:42 GMT
So what was the story behind the use of Manston and James, presume it was Bob who was James? Gerdundula was not published through Valley Music (Quos official publishing company) but Birchwood Music/EMI. Because of copyright reasons they weren't aloud to use their real names. |
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