quodec
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Twelve bar blues is now alright.
Posts: 1,205
Favourite Quo Album: Blue For You
Favourite other bands.: early AC/DC, Angel City, Blackfoot, Rose Tattoo, Slade
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Post by quodec on Oct 9, 2019 15:42:19 GMT
What was the story with this song? After two fantastic heavy rock singles from the BFY album, late in '76 we get a Quo'd up country song at the end of the year! Was it a Rossi inspired precursor for the country rock songs on RAOTW in 1977 or just a throw away single for the Christmas market? I'd be interested in hearing your views.
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Post by dennis on Oct 9, 2019 15:59:13 GMT
After the string of marvellous hits co-written by Rossi & Young, culminating in 1974 with Down Down, Quo depended on songs written by Parfitt or others for single release. This only abated somewhat when Rossi & Frost managed to generate a few tracks worthy of release in 1980.
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Post by fretbuzzzzz on Oct 9, 2019 16:10:00 GMT
The band went into the studio and put down their tracks for the song but went off on tour (Australia?) before it had been mixed etc Roger Glover had been asked to produce the single and decided to reconstruct a few things and mess with the tempo.
Alan had put down a bass track/s in the studio but in the end Roger Glover decided to re-record the bass. It is Roger on the bass on the single. I suppose he could do it if anybody could, as bass player with Deep Purple etc.
As the band said...when they came back home, they came back to a different sounding track than the one they thought they had recorded.
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Post by frozenhero on Oct 9, 2019 16:10:12 GMT
Hold You Back was a single, although not in the UK
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Post by dennis on Oct 9, 2019 16:22:34 GMT
Hold You Back was a single, although not in the UK Aye, a double A-side release backing Rockers Rollin' in Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Australia & New Zealand.
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Post by swingseat on Oct 12, 2019 16:03:48 GMT
I think this an excellent song -its worth listening to the original and see how it was completely re-worked to retain the country feel but also allow for the typical Quo like sound to come through and change the accent of the song to something quite different, yet somehow still complimentary to its origins. Most fans strongly dislike Quo doing cover re-works, but they have been more skilled than many artists/bands at this in my opinion. As one who likes country music with both blues and rock influences within, it remains a good reason to like this song.
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Post by unspokenwords on Oct 12, 2019 16:57:37 GMT
I think that the band were thinking of a new direction and I remember an interview at the time where Rossi and Parfitt were sitting in one of their country piles, talked about this and also about the American market etc., They were wanting to soften and commercialise the sound more and Rossi had both the Eagles and Abba as the direction he wanted the band to go in (not realising he did not have the same song writing skills and talent or musical ability as these bands).
For this various producers were being considered including Roger Glover, Dave Edmunds etc., as part of this new direction and Wild Side of Life was part of the experimenting with the sound and producers.
They also recorded the Apollo live album as part of the leaving of the old sound behind.
As such Quo softened, just when punk was hitting the airwaves, and also decided that they would jettison the sound they had perfected over the classic series of albums up to Blue For You (although they did not fully seem to know that the softening was doing this)...and of course they opted for Pip Williams as part of the thought out strategy to become global and be like the Eagles, forgetting that they were actually Status Quo and had forged their own sound!
Depends on opinion as to whether they succeeded in this, for Rossi still has a career of sorts and this may be sign that it worked, and who knows if things would have turned out better career wise if RAOTW had have followed in the footsteps of its predecessors. It did however create problems for they seriously struggled thereafter to get back to that classic run of albums quality when initial indications were that fans were not happy but also it did not make them The Eagles or Fleetwood Mac.
Wild Side of Life had in my opinion a pivotal role in this but only as the test bed for a softer Quo direction.
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Post by freewilly on Oct 12, 2019 17:42:58 GMT
In my opinion, they(he?) barked up the wrong tree.
They went from making music they felt like making, to making music they thought was appealing to a mass audience. They weren't ABBA, The Eagles or Fleetwood Mac and a listen to any of their albums would indicate Quo(Rossi) were well out of their depth. It wasn't them.
LOAI, A Year, Lonely Man, Rock n Roll, Who Am I, songs like that in my opinion, are absolutely brilliant. Sure they're different from the norm but, you felt something because it's what the band felt and wanted to portray to the listener. They mean't it. The Wild Ones, Alan may have got the credit for it but, it was Francis who fell in love with it and turned it and arranged it into what it became.
By comparison, songs like Address Book, Tommy, Looking Out For Caroline are so contrived and forced that it leaves one thinking they're in a fucking elevator. It's almost saying "Look what we(I) can do!!!"
Sad in my mind. Ego ruins a good thing.
WSOL is a good track though
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Post by dennis on Oct 14, 2019 11:00:18 GMT
tbh, I always prefered the b-side All Through The Night
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Post by Victor on Oct 14, 2019 11:13:30 GMT
tbh, I always prefered the b-side All Through The Night Yep, same here, Love All through the night !
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Oct 14, 2019 12:01:20 GMT
12gold bars was one of the first Quo things I got, so I accepted all the songs as one package. It's only quite recently I've come to appreciate what a shock this must have been to fans at the time
Had no idea Alan had his bass removed and redone by Glover. Guess he wasn't pleased! Would be interesting to hear Alans version if one ever surfaces 👍
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Post by fretbuzzzzz on Oct 14, 2019 13:33:08 GMT
12gold bars was one of the first Quo things I got, so I accepted all the songs as one package. It's only quite recently I've come to appreciate what a shock this must have been to fans at the time Had no idea Alan had his bass removed and redone by Glover. Guess he wasn't pleased! Would be interesting to hear Alans version if one ever surfaces 👍 I don't know if the band had recorded a complete version as such before going off on tour or even if they and Alan still had work to do on the track before release, but Glover dubbed in a new bass part...perhaps a quicker tempo over anything Alan may have put down. We know Francis "likes this one", but he said at one time that he thought it had been a mistake to mess with it. From accounts, Rick and Alan both liked the record. Presumably Alan wasn't that upset.
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viza
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 411
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Post by viza on Oct 15, 2019 6:26:02 GMT
Have nothing against it but I'm glad it's just a single and not an album track. It's better on its own. All Through the Night is a great song.
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stringybob
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 323
Favourite Quo Album: Quo
Favourite other bands.: Many and varied
Member is Online
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Post by stringybob on Oct 15, 2019 17:59:09 GMT
I'd kind of assumed the 'demo' version included as a bonus track on the remastered 'Blue For You' to be the original recording featuring Alan and John. To these ears it's far too polished to be a demo and the bass is far more typical of Alan's sound. The drum fills are likewise recognisably John's. I remember seeing an interview with FR and RP where they discussed playing drums and cymbals on the eventual release (which would account for the simplistic drumming, totally unlike Spud's usual style).
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