redwine
New Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 29
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Post by redwine on Sept 9, 2019 13:51:36 GMT
I've listened a good few times now.
All pretty good IMO. Probably as good as we can expect at this stage. Up there with the best bits from UTI, HT and TPAOY, so it's a modern-Quo album first and foremost. If anything, measured against those albums, it's probably better in the sense that with those ones about half the album was good and the other half was very meh. Backbone is more consistent, nothing really stands out as duff.
Having said that, there's nothing on there that would make me rewind and listen to a track for a second time straightaway (like a lot of Quo stuff from 72-75), but nothing strikes me as instantly skippable either.
2 Possible candidates for skipping in the future:
Backing Off. I think the instrumental side of it is fine but the vocal melody annoys me a bit.
Running out of time: I'm just not fond of Quo songs that try to have 'big' messages, and the melody plods a bit. Sounds like something from TW. I thought the bit of a 'break down' in the middle was going to lead to something, but the whole track is just a bit flat.
But that's it, two possible skippers. That's a pretty good return and is not something I can say of many Quo albums, especially from the past 30 years.
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Post by curiousgirl on Sept 9, 2019 16:24:28 GMT
After my 4th listen yesterday, I thought I was clear about how I felt about. That I was glad I'd heard it, glad it wasn't terrible but I'll most likely stick with the earlier albums. But they're still writing some catchy tunes and this morning I woke up with one playing in my mind. So I thought I'd give it another 'virtual spin' - my 5th listen. I had a bitter-sweet experience. With 3 muscians/song writers who have been with the band since the 70s, Francis, Bob and Andy, I do detect a strong link back to their roots on this album. And the bass playing from Rhino was certainly heavy man. It can never have that original sound because we have a different line. I accept that. I'm starting to really like Cut Me Some Slack but... then I thought, I'd have love to have heard Rick sing it. For me, its crying out for his voice. And of course that led me down the dangerous path of wondering what the whole song would have sounded like with the FF line-up. I now think these 3 tracks hark back to those early days: CMSS, Liberty Lane and I Wanna Runaway with you. I See You're In Some Trouble is from 1+9+8+2 to my ears, cloth eared or not. Waiting For a Woman, Backbone, Better Take Care and Falling Off the World - later Quo from I guess either UTI (I've never heard) or HT. Waiting for a Woman does remind me of Blues and Rhythm. Running Out of Time ends the album because its Quo worried about the future, climate change and unsaid, they're all getting older. Well 3 of them are. As an album, I don't know how often I'll listen to it but I do think they can still write some good songs still.Or I wouldn't keep hearing them in my mind.
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Post by quovadis on Sept 9, 2019 16:35:32 GMT
Gud point equo it's not a bad album for me ut as I said onprevious post very few rockers on it apart from 2 cmss& get out of my head there's more c&w tracks
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Triggsy
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 229
Favourite Quo Album: On The Level
Favourite other bands.: AC/DC Greenday Airbourne
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Post by Triggsy on Sept 9, 2019 19:16:19 GMT
After listening to the snippets last week, and parts of it since it arrived at the weekend, tonight I played the whole album through (including the 2 Bonus tracks) This is only an initial overall review, but the first half of the album appears stronger than the latter half, yes there's some great riffs on there and it is very much Quo of 2019 for sure, the production (That's ruined a fair few Quo albums) is spot on, and with contributions from all involved it balances out well. Ever since Rossi and Young patched up their differences Quo releases have been far more appealing in my book and this is no exception. Initial stand out tracks for me? 'Waiting for a Woman' 'Cut Me Some Slack' 'I Wanna Run Away With You' unsurprisingly. The Dedication to the Late Great RJP makes up for lack of tributes to the Quo Legend previously, for whatever reasons since his untimely passing, 'Backbone' in general is a decent album from a close knit Band, and to compare it to anything else from the classic era of Quo would be unfair IMO...I'll say 8/10...more complete run throughs forthcoming though
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equo
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 76
Favourite Quo Album: Quo
Favourite other bands.: Pink Floyd
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Post by equo on Sept 9, 2019 20:36:33 GMT
I just heard the bonus track "face the music", I like that one! Written by Malone? Strong chorus, played it 3 times in a row. The first song that hit me right away. Love the solo, but as always....way too short! No idea what that keyboard loop at the end of the song is doing there, but I love the piano in this one. I think Malone and Rossi should write together.
So, purely based on this song I'll raise my earlier 5/10 to 6/10.
I know I wasn't all that positive in my earlier post, but don't get me wrong, I'm happy it seems the album is doing well. I just wish for times that have all long gone by.
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tqontq
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 579
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Post by tqontq on Sept 10, 2019 5:28:05 GMT
Let's start with some positive thoughts. It does have some catchy bits on it, Rossi can still write a catchy melody. And yes, it sounds like they had some fun creating this album. But that's all I have... There's not a single song for me that really stands out or gets me excited at all. I don't like the backing vocals on any of the songs, to me they don't match with Rossi's voice. That's where I miss Ricks vocals, in better harmony with Francis. I also miss the drive Rick's guitar could give to a song. Malone's vocals are very poor sounding to me. Not a lead singer, so don't. The drums sound very "narrow", stuffed in the middle, not dynamic at all. Someone mentioned they sound more "pop" than "rock", I agree. This band has nothing to do with Status Quo. They are afraid to really rock on this album. It all sounds very decent to me. I hoped they would give us some more Two way traffic, Moving on, Dust to gold type of songs. That were the type of songs I was looking forward to. But there isn't a single one. 5/10 for me. I tend to agree with the above. I think the weak drumming sound stops the album from being harder and more rocking. Very thin and lacking oomph. With Rossi's country style refrains getting the better of a bunch of tracks I find they turn a rock song into a pop song and this stops them from truly making a statement. I don't mind the album as a whole. As many have said, there is nothing cringeworthy on this album but I do feel we, as fans, or so called fans, are so used to sub standard music output from modern Quo that our expectations are so much lower because of it and we, subsequently, listen to an album like Backbone, with a higher degree of acceptance. Nothing stands out at all but I do like quite a few of the numbers so I guess that means it is all ok. So...nothing terrible, but nothing particularly great either. Two Way Traffic, DTG, Moving On, Frozen Hero, for example, are far far superior to anything on Backbone. Oh Cut Me Some Slack could have been a serious rock number if the drumming sound was harder. Still my favourite though. Good luck Francis Quo. Read more: statusquo.boards.net/thread/12856/backbone-opinions?page=7#ixzz5z63NLt6j
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Post by Gaz on Sept 10, 2019 11:16:27 GMT
After my 4th listen yesterday, I thought I was clear about how I felt about. That I was glad I'd heard it, glad it wasn't terrible but I'll most likely stick with the earlier albums. But they're still writing some catchy tunes and this morning I woke up with one playing in my mind. So I thought I'd give it another 'virtual spin' - my 5th listen. I had a bitter-sweet experience. With 3 muscians/song writers who have been with the band since the 70s, Francis, Bob and Andy, I do detect a strong link back to their roots on this album. And the bass playing from Rhino was certainly heavy man. It can never have that original sound because we have a different line. I accept that. I'm starting to really like Cut Me Some Slack but... then I thought, I'd have love to have heard Rick sing it. For me, its crying out for his voice. And of course that led me down the dangerous path of wondering what the whole song would have sounded like with the FF line-up. I now think these 3 tracks hark back to those early days: CMSS, Liberty Lane and I Wanna Runaway with you. I See You're In Some Trouble is from 1+9+8+2 to my ears, cloth eared or not. Waiting For a Woman, Backbone, Better Take Care and Falling Off the World - later Quo from I guess either UTI (I've never heard) or HT. Waiting for a Woman does remind me of Blues and Rhythm. Running Out of Time ends the album because its Quo worried about the future, climate change and unsaid, they're all getting older. Well 3 of them are. As an album, I don't know how often I'll listen to it but I do think they can still write some good songs still.Or I wouldn't keep hearing them in my mind. Hey CQ, would you be tempted to go to a Quo gig if a few songs from the album were played?
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Sept 10, 2019 18:02:54 GMT
To be fair Quo didn't write the song themselves. It's a John David cover Is that like eating a stolen steak. Not your fault as you didn’t punch it !🙄
Or like eating the pheasant someone else ran over so it's not poaching?
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Post by curiousgirl on Sept 10, 2019 20:51:16 GMT
Hi Gaz, sadly no. This might sound a bit precious. I'm happy to listen to the new material. I'm still enjoying the new album. But to actually see this other version when my last Quo gig was 2014 at Hammersmith. No. There are many other live gigs/bands I can see who I haven't seen and that excites me. I'm either a bit odd or too sentimental.
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Post by americanquo on Sept 10, 2019 22:05:00 GMT
Finally listened to it all the way through in proper fashion, cranked up and in the car.
As a Status Quo Album: Meh. 4/10. As a post-Quo album: 7.5/10.
3 pretty good songs, if I can remember them...Liberty Lane, Cut Me Some Slack, Backbone. None up to he best of Quid Pro Quo, but pretty good overall. Most of the others are all fairly forgettable mid-tempo rockers that I wouldn't turn off if they came on the radio, but I won't be seeking out, either. If Post-Quo were any old band I'd say it was a good effort that desperately needs a top notch rhythm section. Malone was better than I expected. Not Rick, but nobody is. Surprisingly, Rossi was far and away the high point of the album and he pretty much carried the rest of the band. I truly think he put his best into this album. A remix could ditch all of the ridiculous dance-hall piano noise but we all know that won't happen.
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Post by charles on Sept 12, 2019 8:00:51 GMT
Yesterday I had my first listenings of the new album while working in the new kitchen. Today I'll listen to it deliberately and give my opinions as they come: 1. Waiting: It's different, so that's a plus. I like the laidback guitars and rhythm, shame about the underwhelming "give 'em up" chorus; it's definetely the wrong song to start an album. 5/10 2. Cut me: like the opening riff and the rocky bounce; it's what I want from Quo. It has a bite. I'm glad Andy is kept on the leash on this one. I even increased the volume, Always a good sign. 7/10 3. Liberty Lane: an immediate favourite. Great melodies, good singing, 9/10 4. I see ...trouble: Awful. The rhythm section is terrible on this one, but the song in itself is very weak. SKIP. 1/10 5. Backing Off: Good start, with some nice twists and good guitar. 7/10 6. I Wanna Run: a bit too traditional for me, a song for Rick? Nothing new here, move on. 3/10 7. Backbone: Not too bad, even Leon gets his moment here. I'm tapping my foot so let's be generous: 6/10 8. Better Take Care: That's more like it! Groovy (man). This song makes me feel good. Finally some guitar as well. 8.5/10 9. Falling: Not too happy with the intro, but I like the melody of this one; the chorus lets it a bit down though. The guitar is excellent though (which is a soft spot): 6/10 10. Get Out: At last another singer! Great rhythm, let's pick up the pace boys; Never been too keen on oh-oh-ohs, but I let it slide this time. The irony of it all: finally some young blood to inject new ideas in the songwriting, it pays off, well done Ritchie, and then the thought suddenly crosses my mind that this song would have been perfect for Rick. 8.5/10 11.Running: Nice and innocent, inoffensive and very lite (or should that be post-Quo?) 3.5/10
All in all a decent album which I will buy. From experience I know some songs might grow on me for while, but after a few months my initial scores will be the correct ones.
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Post by paradiseflats on Sept 12, 2019 8:31:12 GMT
Thought I would give it another spin.
And I just think its bang average apart from a couple of good songs.
If I was to score it out of 10, I would give it a 5/10. I wouldn't argue its the best album to be released by Francis since the early 80s. That's damning something with faint praise. I think what is noticeable is the lack of light and shade on the album. Its all so samey. Now if you record something in a week to get a 'groove' that's probably enevitable.
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Post by charles on Sept 12, 2019 8:31:40 GMT
... I See You're In Some Trouble is from 1+9+8+2 to my ears, cloth eared or not. ...Exactly. That's why I gave it a 1/10.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Sept 12, 2019 13:26:37 GMT
Listened loudly in the car today
I like the running order, it's a good album to listen to, nothing I dislike. Mildly frustrated by the weakness of some of the drum sounds, but no other complaints.
I didn't like WFAW and BO from the samples , yet they are favorites.
After the album finished there was time to play it again but I didn't want to. I think this will be an album that will work as an enjoyable occasional listen.
There aren't that many albums that are enjoyable from start to finish, I think the band will rightly feel proud of this
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Sept 12, 2019 13:40:47 GMT
... I See You're In Some Trouble is from 1+9+8+2 to my ears, cloth eared or not. ...Exactly. That's why I gave it a 1/10. When the vocal harmony and guitars crash in early on, it's a genuinely brilliant moment. Gets a bit silly towards the end but I can't help but love the song. Yes, would fit well on 1982
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