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Post by QuocaQuola1 on Mar 3, 2017 21:25:28 GMT
One sunny evening back in the summer of 2002 I was driving home from work. I'd stuck the radio on to catch the 6 o'clock news and just as I was about to switch stations I heard this riff. And this riff turned out to be Jam Side Down.
Now, I hadn't listened to Quo in 18 years at this point and hadn't actually heard of them much over the years before then. I hadn't listened to any of there albums since 84/85 and completely lost interest after EOTR. I didn't even know if they were still going and had forgot about them quite frankly. I heard the odd new song on the radio up until the early 90s then nothing. They just weren't what they used to be.
So anyway, this riff builds and the song kicks into gear and I think to myself "Oi this sounds familiar", and then those timeless nasally vocals crept in and what was coming out of the left speaker was all too familiar.
Instantly I liked this song. It had the plodding along effect that made Quo great for nodding your head to. So, the whole "That was the Quo with their new hit single Jam Side Down from their forthcoming album Heavy Traffic" came, and the album came out just after summer which was the first Quo album I bought since NTL.
I stuck it in the CD player and straight away my love was reignited. Blues And Rhythm is easily one of their best songs since their heyday, great lyrics, great driving song. From start to finish it's safe to say I loved every minute of that album.
A few days later I headed to the parents house and went straight to the attic. Over in the corner under an old tartan rug covered in dust was my old Lenco turntable, the rest of my hi-fi and a crate of all their 70s albums (in fucking great shape too) looking up at me. I carried the whole lot down to the front room, got everything set up, cleaned the LP, put it on the turntable and dropped the needle...
"Is there anybody out there who wants to rock?!"...
I hadn't had goosebumps like that since the first time I ever listened to Live! with my mates back on the day it came out.
The rest of that Saturday I sat there, legs crossed in front of the hi-fi, like a kid on Christmas morning scrambling through these albums and reliving my teenage years. My love was truly reignited.
So, had I have been late out of work that evening and not heard Jam Side Down on the radio, there's a great chance that I wouldn't be writing this now.
Heavy Traffic's a great album no matter what anyone says, to me at least.
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Xland
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 308
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Post by Xland on Mar 3, 2017 21:55:49 GMT
For me it's the post 85 line up's Hello album, with RTYD being their Piledriver to carry that kind of comparison on a bit, I'm not at all saying they are as good as those albums, not at all, but I think some will know what I mean by it.
Heavy Traffic is a very good Quo album in my view, I think most of the tracks on there the FF would have been proud to record in 2002 or the 70's, it's not perfect, but it reignited my interest too, simply to me it was finally Quo back sounding like Quo. Quo writing and recording blues based rock tunes. Probably 1 or 2 filler tracks, but I like most of it to be honest, although for me Heavy Traffic the song should have been the single and I'd have had Rhythm Of Life in the middle of the album followed by The Madness ending with Don't Remember Anymore!!!
A real return to form, listened to it loads that year, although the sound could probably do with a bit of a boost now if that's possible.
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viza
Rocker Rollin'
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Post by viza on Mar 3, 2017 22:13:01 GMT
The best post 81' album without a doubt! But I think it would be even better if it was just 10 songs and some of the fillers were left out.
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Mar 4, 2017 11:08:21 GMT
Not perfect but a solid record. I love Blues and Rhythm. And although it does as some have pointed out have dynamic problems, I love All Stand Up. It's a throughplayable album with minimal skip points. Jam Side Down is silly but bearable. I love Green too - it's the sort of thing that people who like things like that will like.
The Madness should have been on it. There's got to be a reason. Is Francis even on The Madness?
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Post by freewilly on Mar 4, 2017 11:52:55 GMT
It feels like a band effort.
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Post by jaynieeee on Mar 4, 2017 12:07:07 GMT
Liked most of it when it came out, however, they left too many of the songa from it the setlist for far too long and in end that was a big part of me getting fed up with the setlist and reason I gave up on them live, the two FF tours excepted.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 15:03:09 GMT
Probably a lot of auto-repeat here from the past, but from a personal perspective, the post 85 period took a basic template from the pre 85 period, but (mostly) developed this within the part changed membership in a very different way to the original. Hence I've have never had a perspective of comparison or like for like expectations that the latter should have lived up to the former. But more importantly than that, especially in relevance to this post, should ever have tried to.
On that basis, Heavy Traffic rates as a good album on the more rock orientated scale of the post 85 band catalogue - but, for me anyway, it is not the best of the whole post 85 period. Emphasis again here of 'the best', implying rating HT against its own post 85 contemporaries, and not against any of the pre-85 original band catalogue.
I think that ISOTFC is a better and more dynamic album than HT. Furthermore, this album and also both RTYD and UTI balance some of the best pop and rock content that the post 85 period offered, rather than attempting the impossible task of trying to match up/compete with the best of either the rock (most especially)or even more pop orientated product of the original band era.
Chalk and cheese come to mind.
The problem with Heavy Traffic, and then QPQ some years after it, is that they both try too hard to emulate the best of the pre 85 period. Consequently this conflicts with, and is tainted by, the underlying perception that the post 85 band have separate purpose in their own right. ISOTFC I think has greater depth and variety of style throughout than either HT or QPQ.
HT stuck too much to one formula to try and appease long disillusioned pre 85 fans. QPQ was far two one-paced, as part of another attempt to try to recreate former rock glory, after a flying start
ISOTFC manages to come across, as I see it, a much more self penned modern day Quo rock album which uses the best of the post 85 bands own ideas. This helps create a modern day Quo dynamic that can be identified by the relatively lower amount of samey filler that is present on both HT and QPQ - and suggests that in each of the latter cases they ran out of ideas. But they both probably ran out of ideas because the objectives were too focussed on former era emulation, than newly thought out rock (or pop) product
Still, HT was/is a good modern Quo album. Think that Blues and Rhythm and Jam Side Down represent the best rock, and pop respectively on this album.
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sincity
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 369
Favourite Quo Album: Hello
Favourite other bands.: Blackberry Smoke, AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Iron Maiden
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Post by sincity on Mar 4, 2017 21:19:45 GMT
Each to their own obviously but personally i think ISOTFC is absolutely dreadful truly dreadful nothing at all saves that album imo, I do however love HT & always have to me its the closest the band came to sounding like they did in the `70s possibly a track or 2 too long but in the main a brilliant album admist the pish they brought out post 85
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Post by paradiseflats on Mar 4, 2017 21:31:00 GMT
If Im honest, it's years since I listened to it all the way through. It starts well but tails off badly.
To quote 4th chord, yes it's better than most post 85 albums. But it's like giving a thirsty man a glass of water in the desert.
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Post by granny on Mar 4, 2017 23:48:29 GMT
ISOTFC I think has greater depth and variety of style throughout than either HT or QPQ.
Altogether a very well reasoned post catlady.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 5, 2017 10:37:27 GMT
Each to their own obviously but personally i think ISOTFC is absolutely dreadful truly dreadful nothing at all saves that album imo, I do however love HT & always have to me its the closest the band came to sounding like they did in the `70s possibly a track or 2 too long but in the main a brilliant album admist the pish they brought out post 85 That's fair enough for sure - all subjective opinion as always
The other part of the problem I was talking about in terms of HT trying too hard to emulate the original band is attached to the attitude they have had towards the set list which has comprised 70's hits (hence further copying the original band) and with the equally static bulk of any of their own work being The Oriental and CUOY from the HT album.
Aside from any subjective views over the album itself, I will never understand the fixation over these two songs and the refusal to take one or two other (better) songs from this album, (let alone a much greater swab representation of a 30 yr old catalogue!)
Notwithstanding my criticism of the album, there are other decent choices available from HT that could have re-shuffled the set to add at least some freshness and dynamics and further diminish any impression that the band felt that emulating the original was safer ahead of advertising their own quite different take on the staple Quo formula - through playing their own catalogue.
The FF might always remain as the ultimate mint, but especially in light of the joy of the reunions, it might have set up extra interest if inspiration had been ignited within the post 85 camp to adopt a much more spontaneous approach to their own music.
All completely academic now of course with the sad loss of Rick obviously well eclipsing all this as a yesterday whinge of no further importance, but its still relevant to this particular take on the topic
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Post by curiousgirl on Mar 5, 2017 11:04:23 GMT
I think I've worked out why the Oriental and CUOY are the ones in the setlist. Royalties for a certain bass player. Look at the co-writing credit on both songs.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Mar 5, 2017 11:18:23 GMT
There's only IDRA that I think is poor. I like all the others. This album delighted me massively when it came out. It's an album I will always go back to and play, even if it's only every few years or so. For me the best album post 1981, just wish the sound had more oomph and more heaviness. Would love a remix to include the madness and the excellent you let me down.
Still think SG was the best song since NTL, and not sure it's been bettered since.
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Post by Victor on Mar 5, 2017 11:29:09 GMT
I know I feel different about this album then most...to me it's never been a too good album, it comes across too cold and sterile to me...like them trying too hard to be old glory and not succeeding...I have always preferred UTI to this, maybe not as heavy but just appeals more to me
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Post by gentlemanjoe on Mar 5, 2017 12:05:10 GMT
Must admit I prefer Quid Pro Quo, although Heavy Traffic comes a close 2nd.
I could easily live without the rest
A few too many fillers on HT, I really like Never Say Never. it seemed to be Mats drumming that seemed to put the backbone back into the live and recorded performances.
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