matt
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1,013
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Post by matt on May 5, 2022 16:50:49 GMT
I just realised this morning that from the recording of Rock n Roll in 1980 to Burning Bridges in 1988 Francis only wrote 2 singles - Marguerita time and dreamin. Just made me think again whether the stick he gets for the direction the band took is wholly justified to be just aimed at him.
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Post by freewilly on May 5, 2022 17:18:56 GMT
1. He says he wanted it lighter and more on that side (See Modern Romanace)
2. He wanted to do In The Army Now (Which I like but, it's a problem for some)
3. Listen to the songs he wrote on some of albums in the 80s, up to PR
4. He wanted to go that direction but, as you pointed out, he wasn't exactly great with coming out with stuff himself
5. His ego was out of control
So yeah, I'd put it on his shoulders.
That being said, I don't mind any direction a band takes, so long as the songs are good. Majority of times, they weren't
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Post by blagult on May 5, 2022 21:17:30 GMT
Quo were done after ‘ Never too late ‘ Simple as !
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mortified
4500 Timer
Posts: 5,861 
Favourite Quo Album: Hello!
Favourite other bands.: Talking Heads, Rolling Stones, Sheryl Crow, Gary Numan, Alabama 3, ZZ Top, Paul van Dyk, Jeff Beck, Bowie, Gerry Rafferty, Band of Skulls, UFO, S.A.H.B
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Post by mortified on May 6, 2022 4:42:32 GMT
I don't think the contribution of Bernie Frost can be understated. He and Francis were prolific writers and Francis composed in an entirely different style with him during the 80's - and beyond. When Bob came back into the fold, that style changed back again to something more familiar and more enjoyable to most of us.
And it has to be said; the rest of the band didn't exactly come up with many classics to counteract things.
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matt
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1,013
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Post by matt on May 6, 2022 7:21:13 GMT
I think that’s the key point. Rick didn’t write anything worthy of a single for a long time. Although I really like Ain’t Complaining as a song.
He fell into a repetitive writing style from the 80s onwards.
No contract
End of the line
Loving game
Man overboard
One man band
Shine on
All minor chord moody 1/3/5 riffs. Some better than others.
Aside from ok rag blues Alan had nothing at all since NTL. His solo stuff is very poor.
So yeah I guess a combo or ego, drugs, tiredness and getting older with less balls and inspiration is to blame.
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Post by freewilly on May 6, 2022 12:05:43 GMT
I think that’s the key point. Rick didn’t write anything worthy of a single for a long time. Although I really like Ain’t Complaining as a song. He fell into a repetitive writing style from the 80s onwards. No contract End of the line Loving game Man overboard One man band Shine on All minor chord moody 1/3/5 riffs. Some better than others. Aside from ok rag blues Alan had nothing at all since NTL. His solo stuff is very poor. So yeah I guess a combo or ego, drugs, tiredness and getting older with less balls and inspiration is to blame. 4 albums in 3 years is ridiculous by anyone's standards and because of that, standards will drop. If Francis hated the rock stuff, he was going to veer away from working with Alan and the band in general, he said he hated writing with Rick so going by that, how is it going to work? How is a band supposed to produce top quality material if a member doesn't wish to work with that people in the band? Alan, who knows what his solo stuff could have become if the band was pulling together. (See The Wild Ones. Alan's song but Francis worked with him to get it to where it got) Same with Rick. It's subjective as with anyone in regard music but, anything Rick wrote between 82 and 88, are all a hell of a lot better than anything Francis came out with. Low barometer perhaps but, that's the comparison we're dealing with |
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matt
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1,013
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Post by matt on May 10, 2022 7:59:02 GMT
Not sure I wholly agree.
Long legged girls, one for the money, no contract, rock n roll floorboards etc are all poorer than say Young Pretender IMO,
But then Resurrection, get out and walk, ain’t complaining, ending the line I would agree with you.
Horses for courses I guess but any way you look at it it’s not a golden era is it 😂
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Post by freewilly on May 10, 2022 15:59:19 GMT
Not sure I wholly agree. Long legged girls, one for the money, no contract, rock n roll floorboards etc are all poorer than say Young Pretender IMO, But then Resurrection, get out and walk, ain’t complaining, ending the line I would agree with you. Horses for courses I guess but any way you look at it it’s not a golden era is it 😂 I actually like the Rick ones you listed in the first paragraph. One For Money for example, the melody still sticks in my head and whilst it's far from the standard set by Quo, at the very least, it's him writing something different, as opposed to Francis and the type of song he constantly tried to get on albums (Looking Out For Caroline sounds like a TPAOY reject, which makes it sound like a TW reject, which would probably make it a PR reject etc etc)* *Don't like Floorboards. But yeah, not a golden period at all |
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