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Post by 4th Chord on Nov 24, 2019 19:14:10 GMT
Could Rick have made it on his own. Forgetting the debt he had etc, but as an artist. I err on the side of yes. Probably.
If he'd found a great songwriting partner and producer, he had the stage presence to carry his own band.
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Post by Quoincidence on Nov 24, 2019 19:30:41 GMT
Of course he could! With the voice he had back then and the flexibility of his musical skills... definitely.
Imagine had he gone on a solo tour to promote Recorded Delivery, had that been released. Himself, Pip Williams, Jeff Rich, John "Rhino" Edwards and whoever else... However, it wouldn't have lasted long with him becoming lazy with song writing from the 90s onwards.
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Post by MrWaistcoat on Nov 24, 2019 22:50:38 GMT
Yes but no!
It wouldn't have worked. Public only interested in SQ.
Think Rick could have gone down the hard Rock road and made a living touring theatres and not having hit singles. But Recorded Delivery meant Rick was in musical no man's land at the time, and imo it would have been unlikely to have made any impact
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Post by freewilly on Nov 25, 2019 0:05:15 GMT
Without question!
For how long though is another story.
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Post by fretbuzzzzz on Nov 25, 2019 0:21:03 GMT
Sadly, somebody or bodies had been whispering in Rick's ear suggesting that he was the better singer in Quo and this possibly resulted in contributing towards some discontent with Rossi being 'No.1'. Certainly seemed to herald a sea change in their relationship and not for better.
Back in '86, as said previously, Rick possibly would not have had the discipline to see things through, in the long term, if left to his own devices.
I imagine Rick would have served up plenty of pomp style rock in the 80s and of its time, but beyond that I'm not sure where he would have gone.
Back then, Rossi used to say that the punters didn't really want Jagger without Keef and he said it seemed to be the same with regards to him and Parfitt.
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Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Nov 25, 2019 1:01:45 GMT
It's very difficult being a creative bandleader. Not many are. With his background, maybe Rick would have been really good in musical theatre. He was always happier as part of a team.
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tqontq
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 556
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Post by tqontq on Nov 25, 2019 7:30:45 GMT
In my view...definitely not. Neither member of Quo are prolific songwriters on their own and neither member of Quo have the image or profile to carry themselves through as solo artists. Quo are the sum of all parts. Put the four of them together and you have magic (for the most part). Separated they are all rather average musicians and songwriters. They need each other for things to fall into place.
Sadly there would have been no record company or public interest in Rick as a solo artist, exactly as was the case with Mr. Rossi. He would have died a musical death if he did not continue under the Quo brand.
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Post by charles on Nov 25, 2019 15:12:54 GMT
… is what I think too.
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Post by curiousgirl on Nov 25, 2019 15:31:08 GMT
In answer to the OP: I think your second sentence lies at the crux of the answer.
If he had found a great song writing partner and producer. But also someone to give him focus and discipline too.
Yes, he had a great stage presence and charisma which he discovered at 15, in the working men's clubs. But to be a solo artist, is that enough? Rod Stewart - not my kind of voice - made it on his voice. But did Rick have that special something? I don't know because I think of Rick's playing and his stage presence rather than his singing.
The elephant in the room is what he had in common with other great talents such as Hurricane Higgins and George Best. I think sadly that side of his character is what really held him back. He had the potential but didn't know how to focus it thanks to "Fame" and "Show Biz" which is basically a faustian pact. Some can handle it and some can't.
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Post by paradiseflats on Nov 25, 2019 16:25:43 GMT
In answer to the OP: I think your second sentence lies at the crux of the answer. If he had found a great song writing partner and producer. But also someone to give him focus and discipline too. Yes, he had a great stage presence and charisma which he discovered at 15, in the working men's clubs. But to be a solo artist, is that enough? Rod Stewart - not my kind of voice - made it on his voice. But did Rick have that special something? I don't know because I think of Rick's playing and his stage presence rather than his singing. The elephant in the room is what he had in common with other great talents such as Hurricane Higgins and George Best. I think sadly that side of his character is what really held him back. He had the potential but didn't know how to focus it thanks to "Fame" and "Show Biz" which is basically a faustian pact. Some can handle it and some can't. I think what held him back was for whatever reason, his inability to write good songs post '81 or at least songs that could cut through to make him a big name in his own right. Was it down to his lifestyle maybe... but as far back as Hello, Francis said he was a nightmare to write songs with. He said as early as that it wasn't his drinking or drugs but his inability to leave alone what they had written. So is that his character, well yes but not in the way you probably meant in your post. I am sure now a days , he would have been diagnosed with some disorder or other. I suppose deep down, how many people from the music biz who are not considered to be the band leader and not even the main singer, go on to have a successive solo career. Dave Grohol went from drums to band leader and I guess Phil Collins but it is rare and off the top of my head cant think of many except George Harrison.
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Post by curiousgirl on Nov 25, 2019 21:48:41 GMT
A very sad but probably simple answer to your point paradiseflats. 1980 and the tragedy of losing his daughter Heidi when she was only 2.
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Post by fretbuzzzzz on Nov 26, 2019 0:40:53 GMT
A very sad but probably simple answer to your point paradiseflats . 1980 and the tragedy of losing his daughter Heidi when she was only 2. Good thoughts CG. It seems from that point on, Rick wasn't always in the studio every day when needed eg. 1+9+8+2 etc and dealing with tragedy in his own way. He needed to get back on the road to help distract and salvage something from it all, but the writing side and recording side would inevitably take a back seat for a period of time. Time had to pass before he could marshal his thoughts and feelings and 'Recorded Delivery' had been a positive move for Rick, thought not for the record company. John Eden did the best he could to help Rick and they kept Rick busy and financially stable by using his home studio for various projects such as helping out with Graham Bonnet's 'Line Up' album.
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Dark
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 330
Favourite Quo Album: Quo
Favourite other bands.: Iron Maiden, Deep Purple, Huey Lewis,
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Post by Dark on Nov 26, 2019 9:44:48 GMT
He had the musical ability to go out and front his own band, and obviously along with any solo tracks he wrote, there was a back catalog of Quo stuff to fill out a set. So yes I believe he could have made a career for himself, not as successful as Quo, but a decent career.
What he lacked was probably both the interest and ability to handle the business side of music. So with a good management team looking out for him and keeping him on the straight and narrow, he could have done it. Left to his own devices on the other hand, I'm not sure he would have made it through. Mind if Quo hadn't got back together, maybe he would have been forced to clean up and sort out the professional side of the business for his own sake.
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Post by markquo on Nov 26, 2019 14:55:25 GMT
If Quo hadn’t reformed in 86:we wouldn’t have had the travesty of all those albums released under the Quo banner Cheers
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Post by vivfromcov on Dec 3, 2019 22:10:53 GMT
Sadly, I agree he probably wouldn’t have had long term success. Like tqontq I think it needed the 4 of them to create the magic needed to retain the Quo Army. His songs on their own wouldn’t have the same quality without input from the others. I’d say the same about Francis and Alan. And I don’t think the general public audience would have taken to him on his own without the cheeky chappy double act. I don’t know, but I suspect that Francis took control of the writing/recording process, taking advantage of Rick’s ‘laziness’ so he could do it all his way. Rick’s creativity in wanting to always change songs and not leave them alone could mean he was the author of all those quirky changes and time signatures that we love from the early days. Perhaps the reason he didn’t have much input in the recent albums was because he had given up trying. It is well documented how Francis always wanted to be in control, re-recording parts of songs himself. That must have been frustrating and hurtful for the rest of the band to have their input so disrespected. Rick just wanted his way too.....“What about me...?”
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