When I Awake (cover by Fabienne Delsol)

I think when you hear these old 60s Quo tracks sung by someone else you realise how good they were even then as songsmiths. I like those covers. Is she English? French?

Years ago I remember reading an article in a recording/sound engineer magazine about Toe Rag studios and the effort put in to creating the old authentic type sounds with original recording equipment, processors, pedals, amps, guitars etc., rather than using computer modelling synthesised equipment. The article was an interview with the owner and operator but from memory Fabienne Delsol and The Bristols were referenced and when I searched them out I was pleasantly surprised to find the version of When My Mind is Not Live. For myself it was clear demonstration of the dedication and soul of those behind it to capture a sound and feel and thought this was one case where a cover actually added to the original, and could even be considered as good if not better, but that was really irrelevant as it stood on its own merits, so comparison was unnecessary.

I have thought this only about a few covers of Quo, the other main ones being the fantastic Persephone Bees cover of Paper Plane ,
Camper Van Beethoven cover of Pictures of Matchstickmen which excited me when I heard it first in a trendy, small record shop in Brighton in the 1980's and where Quo would not have been considered playable and/or relevant

the Luar Na Lubre and Mago de Oz covers of Gerdundula


Wortmann vs. Parfitt: Everything

Stetuskwoo 'Too Close to the Ground

and ofcourse the wonderful 'jamesboogiewoogie' several Quo piano interpretations/arrangements, Inc A Year, Slow Train, Fine Fine Fine, Railroad, Resurrection, etc., (now that would be a fine acoustic Quo album!)


(The songs and arrangements by Fabienne Delsol, based largely on the original, also put the 'three chord' myth to bed with the orchestration containing numerous chords in the progression and do highlight how good Quo were musically in those days, of course aided by John Schroeder who I feel never really got the recognition for his work with Quo, which are really masterpieces. I have heard it stated, I think by Francis, that John Lennon thought highly of Pictures of Matchstickmen and expressed interest in working with the writer, but this seems highly unlikely to myself)