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Post by freewilly on Oct 7, 2021 11:41:42 GMT
So I decided to read this yesterday... I'm not sure if the book is messy and contradictory or if the individual is messy and contradictory. Either way, fucking hell... It's quite an eye opener. What a lot of us thought and said about Francis, he admits to but, then contradicts that by almost denying it and then getting defensive. Examples: "I now had all that I ever wanted! A band I had full control over without someone that had equal say" "We were all in it together, doing it for one another" "I hated Rick's rock voice" "Overdose was the best track on Army and Rick sang it brilliantly" On the band and his relationships in the mid 80s, he admits to blowing Quo and his relationship with an Irish woman called Liz. Then, a few paragraphs later, he insisted he was right to get away from the band. In one sentence he expresses how he was wrong not to tell Pete Kircher about the reformation in 86 (Something he says that hurt Pete quite a lot) and then the next sentence he tries to justify it. The "Sly two faced Gemini that I am" line caught me off guard a little bit. Two things that kept jumping out at me (Probably because he constantly kept repeating them) 1. He denied it for years but, clearly the criticism of the band in the press did, does and will continue to sting him, a lot worse than I ever thought. 2. Leadership: He constantly keeps bringing up that Alan saw himself as the leader or that Rick wanted to be the leader/more of the spotlight. Alan allegedly telling him in 86 that, he knew Francis was "the main man in the band" and then saying he now finally had what he always wanted, a band he had full control over. That to me signals that Francis felt threatened by that and maybe still does and is what keeps him going. A very complex character. *On a side note, he mentions pushing musical boundaries...I don't think Quo pushed any musical boundaries from 1982 onwards, even in their own realm, with the exception of Bula Quo perhaps
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Post by curiousgirl on Oct 7, 2021 12:37:59 GMT
Interesting thoughts and observations. I enjoyed reading them. You make a lot of sense.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Oct 7, 2021 12:50:34 GMT
So I decided to read this yesterday... I'm not sure if the book is messy and contradictory or if the individual is messy and contradictory. Either way, fucking hell... It's quite an eye opener. What a lot of us thought and said about Francis, he admits to but, then contradicts that by almost denying it and then getting defensive. Examples: "I now had all that I ever wanted! A band I had full control over without someone that had equal say" "We were all in it together, doing it for one another" "I hated Rick's rock voice" "Overdose was the best track on Army and Rick sang it brilliantly" On the band and his relationships in the mid 80s, he admits to blowing Quo and his relationship with an Irish woman called Liz. Then, a few paragraphs later, he insisted he was right to get away from the band. In one sentence he expresses how he was wrong not to tell Pete Kircher about the reformation in 86 (Something he says that hurt Pete quite a lot) and then the next sentence he tries to justify it. The "Sly two faced Gemini that I am" line caught me off guard a little bit. Two things that kept jumping out at me (Probably because he constantly kept repeating them) 1. He denied it for years but, clearly the criticism of the band in the press did, does and will continue to sting him, a lot worse than I ever thought. 2. Leadership: He constantly keeps bringing up that Alan saw himself as the leader or that Rick wanted to be the leader/more of the spotlight. Alan allegedly telling him in 86 that, he knew Francis was "the main man in the band" and then saying he now finally had what he always wanted, a band he had full control over. That to me signals that Francis felt threatened by that and maybe still does and is what keeps him going. A very complex character. *On a side note, he mentions pushing musical boundaries...I don't think Quo pushed any musical boundaries from 1982 onwards, even in their own realm, with the exception of Bula Quo perhaps Cant remember if it's in the book, but I have seen an interview where he says. If you tell him not to do something he will do the opposite. "Cant sell records without touring" "Ill try" "Cant make records without Spud and Nuff" "We will try" "Cant make records or tour without Rick" "We will try" He is a very complex character some things he has said I identify with in my personal life like,looking forward to something is usually better than when it actually happens.
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uwe
Rocker Rollin'
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Post by uwe on Oct 7, 2021 16:39:30 GMT
I read the book too a while ago. It made no great efforts to portray its subject in an overtly positive light to put it mildly!
Rossi is unperturbed by statements made by himself in the past, he's a knee-jerk interview partner and quipster. It makes him sound caustic and callous on one hand, but he's refreshingly open (and unbothered about what people might think) on the other. But he's more than just a sardonic tough cookie. I witnessed his reaction to Alan losing it physically at the Stuttgart Frantic Four gig (towards the end, Alan could neither play bass, nor sing, nor stand and almost toppled over, Rossi took over the lead vocal in Bye Bye Johnny in the middle of the song) and you could see "both Rossis" in his frequent sideways looks to Alan. One was "You're ruining our performance, you stupid prick!", the other "My God, what's happening to Nuff?"
As regards the leadership discussion, all through the 70ies, I was never in doubt that Francis was the front guy of Quo, if not quite the leader in a dictatorial sense. Sort of what Paul Stanley is to Kiss. It didn't matter if Alan or Rick sometimes sang or wrote more songs than him, live he was the master of ceremonies for the band, did all the stage raps and the only improviser on stage. Rick and Alan had both fine voices, but there is something in Rossi's very quintessentially English nasal delivery that is unmistakably Quo. He is not really a rock singer and that - along with his penchant for major scale solos in a world where most guitarists play (or know) only minor scale solos - made Quo special.
I can understand that getting along with Alan wasn't always easy. His refusal to promote Marguerita Time was one such thing. I play in bands myself. Whenever you veto another guy's fave track, ask yourself what is more longlasting and more worthy of preservation for the band: Your satisfaction for "showing him" and his frustration about that OR his glee and gratitude that you perform the song you don't like just to do him a favor?
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Post by blagult on Oct 7, 2021 19:27:04 GMT
You make a great point regarding his Leadership particularly live. I really don’t think Quo would have become what they were without Francis doing his thing. Banter, Stagecraft, improvisation etc… In fact I think Rick snd Alan they left it to Him probably because they knew he was the master at it. And a mainly 12 bar shuffle band certainly needed it to build that fan base. Keep things interesting at a gig. Quo absolutely needed his stage leadership to become what they were. They didn’t get that early 70s following by their vinyl output alone. It was built up by Francis Banter on stage just as much as the music. There has never been anyone better at it in any band ever. Regarding the book. A great read. Let’s fave it Nothing boring about it wether you agree with him or not.
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uwe
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Post by uwe on Oct 8, 2021 13:56:56 GMT
To me, Rossi always had tongue-in-cheek complete authority on stage. Even if the old beanpole just stood there playing rhythm to a Parfitt riff-solo or while Alan was doing vocals, it was clear to me, he's the guy. Alan was this lovable and cuddly mustached & muscular macho figure and Parfitt the blond rock god and of course girls' favorite, but neither of them really communicated with the audience, they threw (iconic!) shapes and were archetypes you could project your teenage adulation on (though I realized him as the leader, I never wanted to be Francis, I wanted to be Alan or Rick!). If you pictured Francis, Alan, Rick and John as a street gang, a group of gunslingers or GoodFellas in a Hollywood movie, you would always expect Rossi to play the world-weary, fast-tongued gang leader with quips to pull the rug from underneath his men at any time.
So any talk about Rick becoming the band leader and taking Francis' role would have bemused me too. Rick's idiosyncratic rhythm guitar playing was as vital to Quo as Johnny Ramone's, Malcolm Young's and Keith Richards' contributions to their respective bands plus I really liked his voice and songwriting (he was perhaps the strongest songwriter of the three), but a bandleader to me he was not, he just wasn't cut out for that role. At the same time, I never saw Rossi on stage as domineering the other two, he left ample space for both of them. Good leaders do that.
If there is one negative thing to say about Modern Quo (and I'm not one of their bashers) it is that Rossi sometimes strikes me as very lonely up there on stage with his new men; Parfitt to his left and Lancaster to his right were not just an immaculate headbanger trinity, the other two - not at all overtly, but with natural grace - also supported him in his front man role, like pillars. Those days are gone. Francis is now the unquestioned good-natured boss on stage, but no longer the leader of a gang.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Oct 8, 2021 15:10:01 GMT
There a few old threads from when it came out, maybe admin could merge them?
He is certainly very contrary, which he himself admits. I agree he's a complex character. Faults aside, he's given us all a lot of pleasure in our lives 👍
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uwe
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Post by uwe on Oct 8, 2021 15:38:59 GMT
I find his own impatience with and bewilderment at being a living breathing contradiction very familiar. Mind you, I'm also in my second marriage, so do have empiric experience! Very non-male of him - which of course explains a lot of his conflicts with Alan's blue collar machismo.
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gerh
Grizzled Rocker Rollin'
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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 Oct 8, 2021 15:42:08 GMT
Interesting thoughts and observations. I enjoyed reading them. You make a lot of sense. as opposed to FR who, frequently, makes very little.
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uwe
Rocker Rollin'
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Post by uwe on Oct 8, 2021 15:47:00 GMT
When he sang "He changes his mind more than a woman ..." in Johnny & Mary, he was really on to something. I wonder if he realized how much a Robert Palmer lyric described his personality.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Oct 8, 2021 17:56:24 GMT
When he sang " He changes his mind more than a woman ..." in Johnny & Mary, he was really on to something. I wonder if he realized how much a Robert Palmer lyric described his personality. And yet in other ways so stubborn to change
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uwe
Rocker Rollin'
Other than Quo? Deep Purple, Judas Priest, Blue Öyster Cult, Wishbone Ash, Be-Bop Deluxe, Sparks ...
Posts: 100
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Post by uwe on Oct 8, 2021 21:33:07 GMT
Like refusing to ever even attempt - in more than 55 years of lead guitar playing - a proper minor key solo! Francis Rossi - the Brit lead guitarist with the "happiest" solos of his generation. In his next life no doubt, he'll be reborn as a member of a Southern Rock band, they will let him do a few C&W songs as well.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Oct 8, 2021 21:44:59 GMT
Like refusing to ever even attempt - in more than 55 years of lead guitar playing - a proper minor key solo! Francis Rossi - the Brit lead guitarist with the "happiest" solos That wasn't a fact I knew I've always thought Quo music was happy music, does this help explain why? Does this mean the Rythem section was always major chords too? So also a Rick thing?
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Post by gentlemanjoe on Oct 8, 2021 23:03:20 GMT
Like refusing to ever even attempt - in more than 55 years of lead guitar playing - a proper minor key solo! Francis Rossi - the Brit lead guitarist with the "happiest" solos of his generation. In his next life no doubt, he'll be reborn as a member of a Southern Rock band, they will let him do a few C&W songs as well. Unspoken Words?
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Post by freewilly on Oct 9, 2021 0:07:50 GMT
Francis misses the days of himself, Alan, Rick and John, fighting against it all. He's trying to recreate it now with the current line up, as he says in his book. "It feels like when we were young and against the world" Who is we? Richie wasn't even born! He says he doesn't want nostalgia and then wants to keep going to feel like he did in the 70s? As he said himself in the book, he blew Quo like his relationship at the time in 1984 and then he gets all defensive. Not speculation, not my words, his own. His book feels like an internal conversation with himself. His little dig at John was very uncalled for!! John never said a bad word about him so he should have been more respectful in that regard. Then again, the way he speaks about John's drumming skills and the 70s output, maybe that's his, "Fuck you for leaving us!! type thing He does say Calling should have been the single off Army and I agree *I am not having a go, just expressing my thoughts and emotions on the book. Francis printed/wrote it so... I agree with some of what he says and he's still my all time idol as far as lead guitarists go... Also, "Pip done a great job" my fucking arse!! He was comparing the sound of Quo's output for the Army and AC albums against Bon Jovi and Def Leppard and saying Pip done a great job... With the exception of the song ITAN, Pip didn't come anywhere near DL or Bon Jovi!! Granted, I know R or F never gave him the material and were never in their full capacity and didn't have Alan or anyone else to reign them in but, that is a fucking laughable statement...
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