hawkquo
New Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 34
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Post by hawkquo on Jan 25, 2017 11:36:18 GMT
Some interesting points, i think one of the things with DC was having Mutt Lange Produce Highway to Hell and BIB. That was a big reason they broke as massive as they did, just the right mix of commercial appeal mixed with low down and dirty rock n roll swagger, by this time Quo were producing stuff like RAOTW, Again, Again, Whatever You Want which in comparison would (imo) have confused our American cousins as to what they really were, a lot of the rough edges had been smoothed off by then, it wasn't AOR in the Foreigner, Journey mould but at the same time it was quite tame in comparison.
I'm a big believer in the fact that whilst you need the material as DC proved, you also need a lot of luck, and that comes down to doing what people want at any certain point in history, so take away everything else, most importantly Bon passing away, but DC would have still become the massive act they still are (even with the clown Rose fronting them) as they were quite simply in the right place at the right time!
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Jan 25, 2017 16:49:18 GMT
Francis is a control freak [NB: NOT a "perfectionist"!] & so he has been driven toward ever greater control of the band, but now he has complete control, due to the most unfortunate & unplanned circumstances, he won't be happy as, ultimately his dis-satisfaction arises from issues he has with himself. Hence his lack of respect for his own work, let alone that of his colleagues. Maybe one day, when he's finally comfortable with himself, he'll be able to look back objectively at his career & appreciate the level of achievement through the decades. That does have the sting of truth about it. He's always been self deprecating, but it came to start feeling like a defence. Some advice to performing artists, "stay away from your reviews, stay away from social media", is actually quite good advice, because it concentrates all the hostility and crap, very often far beyond constructive criticism, and Francis is one of those people who takes it too much to heart, hence some of his hostility back. I am left feeling that we might have had more from "FF" if so much shit commentary had not been created around it. But it really is water under the bridge now.
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Jan 25, 2017 16:56:03 GMT
Imo, Quo's best work was behind them with the release of the Live! album. They limped into the '80s & the breakup started. After Live Aid they no longer even sounded much like Quo live, to me. However, the Quo name had to be sustained as Francis knew he couldn't succeed solo. Hardly surprising, seeing as he seems to have peaked as a song-writer by about 1974. Francis no longer wanted to be a "rock star" so dragged his band into bland strum along mediocrity - but then relied on all the old rock classics on the road! I've always been amazed that they sustained an audience over the last 30 odd years, but while people keep going they'll keep going through the motions. It is a tragedy the reunions didn't happen sooner, but then it's also a tragedy they let it all turn to shit in the first place. With the view of hindsight, I also wonder that if the reunions had happened earlier, then Quo would have ended then too. I don't think in 2003/04 say, Francis would have had a different view on the FF line that he did in 2013/14. So the fall out between him and Rick would probably still have happened. Only difference is that PLC Quo might have had a chance. It's an interesting view ... it could well have got under Rick's saddle and started a chain reaction leading in that direction. The only catch is that "Quo" would still be the big marketable name, and Rick has shown in the past that he was just as keen to hang onto that lifebelt as Francis was. Rick only "left" this time because the "electrics" were theoretically ending, and his health situation had become unsustainable for a big touring band. I wonder ... thought ... would Rick have had the neck, back in say 2004, to do some PLC work as a side project? That would be the proof of the pudding.
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Post by curiousgirl on Jan 25, 2017 18:03:00 GMT
With the view of hindsight, I also wonder that if the reunions had happened earlier, then Quo would have ended then too. I don't think in 2003/04 say, Francis would have had a different view on the FF line that he did in 2013/14. So the fall out between him and Rick would probably still have happened. Only difference is that PLC Quo might have had a chance. It's an interesting view ... it could well have got under Rick's saddle and started a chain reaction leading in that direction. The only catch is that "Quo" would still be the big marketable name, and Rick has shown in the past that he was just as keen to hang onto that lifebelt as Francis was. Rick only "left" this time because the "electrics" were theoretically ending, and his health situation had become unsustainable for a big touring band. I wonder ... thought ... would Rick have had the neck, back in say 2004, to do some PLC work as a side project? That would be the proof of the pudding. Darn it Mrs F, you are quite right. Shows how lapsed a fan I am that I forgot they were still a big name then. I think they might well have considered PLC as a side project. Whether or not it would get the go ahead from Francis if he felt under threat by it - only being in their 50s. A random but connected thought from that 2015 interview Rick gave with the DJ in Spain. Rick is discussing his estate agents venture and reveals that he has old Quo posters and gold discs in the offices there. He was well aware of how much he too needed the Quo brand to survive.
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Post by Whoppa Choppa on Jan 25, 2017 19:03:29 GMT
Some advice to performing artists, "stay away from your reviews, stay away from social media", is actually quite good advice, because it concentrates all the hostility and crap, very often far beyond constructive criticism, and Francis is one of those people who takes it too much to heart, hence some of his hostility back. I am left feeling that we might have had more from "FF" if so much shit commentary had not been created around it. @mrs Flittersnoop : What have I missed here? IIRC, the only one making shit commentaries after the FF was tafkar himself. And also comments about the "heydays were 70% sh!t" came from the insecure little...
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Jan 25, 2017 19:35:32 GMT
First sentence spot on. IMO Quo had a fair head start on Accadacca back in '76-77. I saw DC quite a few times before they left Oz to take on UKs best. I also saw Quo, over here a couple times and without a doubt Quo were a way better band....so what happened? I still can't work out how DC overtook Quo and cracked the US big time. I only assume Quo had others bands with similar sound but DCs unique hard riff licks, along with the very unique Angus made them a stand out attraction for a those Yanks hungry for rock. Number of factors I suppose.
The BIB album, Bon's death, they had a frontman, they toured there for years previously... Also, their music was straight out heavy rock, which Americans love.
It's like Queen. They were top of the world when Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust were massive hits there. Disco/Funk and Rockabilly were also big things over there.....Then, they released Radio Ga Ga and I Want To Break Free and it fell to pieces because Americans hated that kind of stuff, especially the videos.
Also, think it has something to do with Francis' voice. Honestly think, if they kept producing albums like Piledriver and Quo, they would have cracked it
In terms of the rest of the world.....AC/DC overtook them because of the direction of the music changed with Quo, meaning worse albums, and JC and Alan were thrown out and replaced with.....Well, whatever adjective you want to describe Alan's replacement with
Hot Space was the downfall of Queen in America. None of the tracks made any impression on the charts, the track Body Language was banned due to it's video and Freddie's image in that vid was very "Cloneish". Lots of Americans had a major problem with Freddie's look.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Jan 25, 2017 19:41:24 GMT
Some interesting points, i think one of the things with DC was having Mutt Lange Produce Highway to Hell and BIB. That was a big reason they broke as massive as they did, just the right mix of commercial appeal mixed with low down and dirty rock n roll swagger, by this time Quo were producing stuff like RAOTW, Again, Again, Whatever You Want which in comparison would (imo) have confused our American cousins as to what they really were, a lot of the rough edges had been smoothed off by then, it wasn't AOR in the Foreigner, Journey mould but at the same time it was quite tame in comparison. I'm a big believer in the fact that whilst you need the material as DC proved, you also need a lot of luck, and that comes down to doing what people want at any certain point in history, so take away everything else, most importantly Bon passing away, but DC would have still become the massive act they still are (even with the clown Rose fronting them) as they were quite simply in the right place at the right time! Exactly It's like Slade they tried so hard to make it in America and they should have. Especially when you had bands like Kiss almost copying them. Luck played a big part in making DC big along with Mutt, he was the reason Def Leppard made it. Foghat made it in America with a very similar sound to Quo but not really well known here.
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Post by Railroad17 on Jan 25, 2017 20:30:24 GMT
Imo, Quo's best work was behind them with the release of the Live! album. They limped into the '80s & the breakup started. After Live Aid they no longer even sounded much like Quo live, to me. However, the Quo name had to be sustained as Francis knew he couldn't succeed solo. Hardly surprising, seeing as he seems to have peaked as a song-writer by about 1974. Francis no longer wanted to be a "rock star" so dragged his band into bland strum along mediocrity - but then relied on all the old rock classics on the road! I've always been amazed that they sustained an audience over the last 30 odd years, but while people keep going they'll keep going through the motions. It is a tragedy the reunions didn't happen sooner, but then it's also a tragedy they let it all turn to shit in the first place. Watershed moment the live album. I've mentioned before that an NME journo suggested to Parfitt that they split after BFY because the standard they'd set was going to be impossible to maintain.. was he was right?The live shows in the Coghlan era did seem to benefit from an aggressive moodiness (if you went you'd know what I mean.Kircher smiled on stage...not JC's bag at all) Although Rhino and the drummers have done a brilliant job and the reunions were great they don't even come close to the Status Quo I saw in 77/81...they were such mental gigs,the old bone shaking drone,dry ice, the torch along the back of the vox amps lighting the way onstage,shadowy figures in clouds of dry ice, confidence boosting strum from Parfitt and then Caroline.
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Post by Detroit on Jan 25, 2017 20:35:38 GMT
Imo, Quo's best work was behind them with the release of the Live! album. They limped into the '80s & the breakup started. After Live Aid they no longer even sounded much like Quo live, to me. However, the Quo name had to be sustained as Francis knew he couldn't succeed solo. Hardly surprising, seeing as he seems to have peaked as a song-writer by about 1974. Francis no longer wanted to be a "rock star" so dragged his band into bland strum along mediocrity - but then relied on all the old rock classics on the road! I've always been amazed that they sustained an audience over the last 30 odd years, but while people keep going they'll keep going through the motions. It is a tragedy the reunions didn't happen sooner, but then it's also a tragedy they let it all turn to shit in the first place. Watershed moment the live album. I've mentioned before that an NME journo suggested to Parfitt that they split after BFY because the standard they'd set was going to be impossible to maintain.. was he was right?The live shows in the Coghlan era did seem to benefit from an aggressive moodiness (if you went you'd know what I mean.Kircher smiled on stage...not JC's bag at all) Although Rhino and the drummers have done a brilliant job and the reunions were great they don't even come close to the Status Quo I saw in 77/81...they were such mental gigs,the old bone shaking drone,dry ice, the torch along the back of the vox amps lighting the way onstage,shadowy figures in clouds of dry ice, confidence boosting strum from Parfitt and then Caroline. I think he was wrong. The band started a new standard with RAOTW. It was sub-standard though.
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Post by Railroad17 on Jan 25, 2017 20:41:19 GMT
Watershed moment the live album. I've mentioned before that an NME journo suggested to Parfitt that they split after BFY because the standard they'd set was going to be impossible to maintain.. was he was right?The live shows in the Coghlan era did seem to benefit from an aggressive moodiness (if you went you'd know what I mean.Kircher smiled on stage...not JC's bag at all) Although Rhino and the drummers have done a brilliant job and the reunions were great they don't even come close to the Status Quo I saw in 77/81...they were such mental gigs,the old bone shaking drone,dry ice, the torch along the back of the vox amps lighting the way onstage,shadowy figures in clouds of dry ice, confidence boosting strum from Parfitt and then Caroline. I think he was wrong. The band started a new standard with RAOTW. It was sub-standard though. I think that the real massive never the same again moment is Lancaster to OZ.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Jan 25, 2017 20:47:34 GMT
I think he was wrong. The band started a new standard with RAOTW. It was sub-standard though. I think that the real massive never the same again moment is Lancaster to OZ. That changed the dynamics of the band for sure. They toured together of course but back then travelling from OZ was hard work. Alan has also said at that time they never used to eat properly that made things difficult plus by 1977 the Coke had started.
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Post by freewilly on Jan 25, 2017 22:24:12 GMT
I think that the real massive never the same again moment is Lancaster to OZ. That changed the dynamics of the band for sure. They toured together of course but back then travelling from OZ was hard work. Alan has also said at that time they never used to eat properly that made things difficult plus by 1977 the Coke had started. Which is a very interesting point.... Living On An Island, written and released in 1979, has a line about "working on another line" Francis has made a number of references about been out of it on Coke during the late 70s So where has the story about "starting Coke in 1980" in Ireland come from? I'm Irish and while I wasn't born or alive during in 1980, I know Ireland was completely and utterly arseways back then, that Cocaine would have been near impossible to get for another 4 years
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Post by Quoincidence on Jan 25, 2017 22:27:51 GMT
If Quo had cracked America, they'd probably have had a bigger drug problem than they did... and the FF would not have lasted till the 90's at all! considering that Quo had to do stunts just to stay in the public eye throughout that period doesn't mean the Frantics would be any different. Albums were going to shit during the early 80's and to even bring it back up to a standard that would please Quo fans, they would have to take a few years off to simply have a break and get their musical juices flowing again... and it would give Rossi the ability to blow off some steam and try his solo career like he wanted to.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Jan 25, 2017 22:44:12 GMT
If Quo had cracked America, they'd probably have had a bigger drug problem than they did... and the FF would not have lasted till the 90's at all! considering that Quo had to do stunts just to stay in the public eye throughout that period doesn't mean the Frantics would be any different. Albums were going to shit during the early 80's and to even bring it back up to a standard that would please Quo fans, they would have to take a few years off to simply have a break and get their musical juices flowing again... and it would give Rossi the ability to blow off some steam and try his solo career like he wanted to. True and while it's sad that we have now lost Ricky. I think if they had made it in the states we would have lost him much earlier. That's what happened to Steve Clark.
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Post by The Lord Flasheart on Jan 25, 2017 22:45:45 GMT
That changed the dynamics of the band for sure. They toured together of course but back then travelling from OZ was hard work. Alan has also said at that time they never used to eat properly that made things difficult plus by 1977 the Coke had started. Which is a very interesting point.... Living On An Island, written and released in 1979, has a line about "working on another line" Francis has made a number of references about been out of it on Coke during the late 70s So where has the story about "starting Coke in 1980" in Ireland come from? I'm Irish and while I wasn't born or alive during in 1980, I know Ireland was completely and utterly arseways back then, that Cocaine would have been near impossible to get for another 4 years Probably not imposible if you had money. Wasn't Phil taking it back then? Though I suppose he might not have spent much time in Ireland in those days. I also think Quo were taking it around 77/78, there is something in the Just For The Record book about them trying it in Toronto then again in Ireland a few months later. Breaking Away also from 1979 has the line "Pass Along the Whisky and the Coke". Which Coke though I know it's a drink but could be a double meaning.
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