|
Post by MrWaistcoat on Jul 9, 2020 18:08:32 GMT
dennis I always think of WYW as very slick and produced. Given the previous 2 albums, I imagine WYW must have been received with a mixture of relief and delight from the then hardcore. To me, something like "don't stop me now" has a rougher, harder sound than anything after Live!, while Take Me Away is the darkest, heaviest boogie workout that came after Live! Of course it's always the case that fans hear stuff differently, gives us stuff to talk about! I'm just trying to explain why the album is so popular. I also think the title track hinted at a new, mature approach for the future. As with JS, the great work was thrown away. Btw I do love the sound on JS, eg guitars on Lies sound brilliant. So many songs written in similar vien later simply didn't work because of lack of oomph.
|
|
|
Post by MrWaistcoat on Jul 9, 2020 18:09:56 GMT
Well I am only 43. And that’s old enough 😬 Lucky you Btw, I will be seriously impressed if you bought NTL when it was released !
|
|
|
Post by railroad007 on Jul 9, 2020 19:49:06 GMT
I think I'll revisit both of them.I remember skipping Run To Mummy Don't Drive My Car Name Of The Game What Your Proposing (bought the single on release) Falling In Falling Out Mountain Lady Enough Is Enough (Exactly what I thought half way through)
|
|
|
Post by dennis on Jul 9, 2020 22:01:24 GMT
dennis I always think of WYW as very slick and produced. Given the previous 2 albums, I imagine WYW must have been received with a mixture of relief and delight from the then hardcore. To me, something like "don't stop me now" has a rougher, harder sound than anything after Live!, while Take Me Away is the darkest, heaviest boogie workout that came after Live! Of course it's always the case that fans hear stuff differently, gives us stuff to talk about! I'm just trying to explain why the album is so popular. I also think the title track hinted at a new, mature approach for the future. As with JS, the great work was thrown away. Btw I do love the sound on JS, eg guitars on Lies sound brilliant. So many songs written in similar vien later simply didn't work because of lack of oomph. Of course, a lot may be to do with how & when you first heard a particular album - even down to what equipment you were using & whether circumstances allowed you to do justice to the recording on playback. Maybe there's a part of you that always hears an album or song the same way you first heard it & that for ever colours your judgement one way or the other.
|
|
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
|
Post by mortified on Jul 10, 2020 8:15:26 GMT
Although not 100% cast in stone, there is probably a general consensus that Quo's best albums were recorded between 1971 and 1976. After that, things get a little more inconsistent and those we particularly like get slotted in here and there. For me, there are quite a lot but different strokes and all that.
It would be hard, maybe downright impossible, to have a career spanning over 50 years and to produce album after album of consistently good music. I like to think we'd all agree that it is when it becomes more of a "business" than a personal art form that the material begins to suffer. Deliberately trying to target this audience or that one rather than writing and performing for the sheer enjoyment and fulfilment. Or maybe that personal satisfaction gets lost along the way somewhere when it comes to recording a song and trying to make it sound something that it isn't, which distracts from the original intention. I'm no musician or songwriter so I'm only guessing.
That may sound naïve these days but it's a viewpoint I have always held since I started listening to music. Which was a bit before Quo really made it big.
In amongst all the business and lame commercial stunts, both with album releases and promotion, there is the occasional brilliant accident that demonstrates what Quo are truly capable of.
|
|
|
Post by railroad007 on Jul 10, 2020 17:23:49 GMT
Although not 100% cast in stone, there is probably a general consensus that Quo's best albums were recorded between 1971 and 1976. After that, things get a little more inconsistent and those we particularly like get slotted in here and there. For me, there are quite a lot but different strokes and all that. It would be hard, maybe downright impossible, to have a career spanning over 50 years and to produce album after album of consistently good music. I like to think we'd all agree that it is when it becomes more of a "business" than a personal art form that the material begins to suffer. Deliberately trying to target this audience or that one rather than writing and performing for the sheer enjoyment and fulfilment. Or maybe that personal satisfaction gets lost along the way somewhere when it comes to recording a song and trying to make it sound something that it isn't, which distracts from the original intention. I'm no musician or songwriter so I'm only guessing. That may sound naïve these days but it's a viewpoint I have always held since I started listening to music. Which was a bit before Quo really made it big. In amongst all the business and lame commercial stunts, both with album releases and promotion, there is the occasional brilliant accident that demonstrates what Quo are truly capable of. The best fighters are hungry fighters?
|
|
|
Post by fretbuzzzzz on Jul 10, 2020 23:19:47 GMT
Without sounding pretentious listening to never too late take me on a bit of a journey. It’s one quo album that is satisfying as a whole start to finish and more than the sum of its parts. Side one is quite light mood wise, but side 2 is much darker in tone and mood. I think side 2 is the best thing they ever recorded Yes, but with the exception of Take me away on side one which is in my eyes one of their darkest songs. That solo and that constant repeating octave bass... the lyric of course... one of my absolute favorite quo songs ever Intriguing as to what Rick had in mind for a re-recording of 'Take Me Away' for his solo album after Quo. Taking on the vocals of course for starters, but 'Take Me Away' on NTL is a Class A, monster of a track and hard to imagine it any other way.
|
|
|
Post by blagult on Jul 10, 2020 23:58:29 GMT
NTL is just sheer class. As usual on release day heading back home with album on the bus home Perusing over the cover and song titles. Just wondering what it would sound like. The cover didn’t fill me with excitement although the return of the printed lyrics were a welcoming site. Needn’t have worried. Blew JS clean out of the water by a country mile. I had already started to be bored of Run to Mummy etc.. so was a bonus this being released in Double quick time. You play NTL today and every song still sounds as fresh and stands up. Even Carol is still as powerful as anything they ever recorded ! No brainier for me...top 3.
|
|
|
Post by fretbuzzzzz on Jul 11, 2020 0:11:43 GMT
Never understood the love for Never Too Late. I don't so much dislike the songs as I rather dislike what they've done with them. For me it rivals If You Can't Stand The Heat for the weakest album '70-'81. The curious thing is that it's sister album, Just Supposin' is my favourite post Live! album. I suspect its more popular with those of us who are probably somewhere around 50-55. Quo were still winning new fans at that time and more again off the back of the NWOBHM. Like no other this is rock from start to finish. The sound is great What a shame the sound wasn't the blueprint for the rest of the decade I sensed at that time that Quo had to move with the times to some degree and NTL seemed to fit the bill for the early/mid 80s. It was quite obvious at a Rock Club that I went to each week, back in the early-mid 80s, that the floor fillers were Saxon, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest played at huge decibels and the likes of Van Halen, Y&T and Sammy Hagar were equally popular. John Peel used to say that Quo's 'Down Down' never failed to fill the floor at his DJ events. Don't remember hearing 'Down Down' at the Rock Club but think it probably would have hit the spot for the punters as fairly brash and metal sounding. Though for some reason, when it came to Quo, they would insist on playing 'Backwater' in particular and it never failed to empty the floor for some reason. Being a Quo devotee that did make me wince. The lead solo in 'Backwater' is one of my all-time favourite Quo highlights but it was clear that the Quo Backwater 'sound/style' wasn't that exciting anymore to a new generation by the early/mid 80s. We are in different times now and retro boogie rock can still have its day and even a refreshing change of sound on playlists but back then it started to sound old hat when up against the new wave metal merchants and American rock.
|
|
|
Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Jul 11, 2020 0:47:53 GMT
I suspect its more popular with those of us who are probably somewhere around 50-55. Quo were still winning new fans at that time and more again off the back of the NWOBHM. Like no other this is rock from start to finish. The sound is great What a shame the sound wasn't the blueprint for the rest of the decade
That is funny, because at that time it was Quo that got me into the NWOBHM, which had a knock on effect come 25 years later of me becoming a rabid Iron Maiden fan, with the usual expensive and muddy consequences. (No Download this year ... phooey.)
|
|
|
Post by Mrs Flittersnoop on Jul 11, 2020 0:56:34 GMT
dennis I always think of WYW as very slick and produced. Given the previous 2 albums, I imagine WYW must have been received with a mixture of relief and delight from the then hardcore. To me, something like "don't stop me now" has a rougher, harder sound than anything after Live!, while Take Me Away is the darkest, heaviest boogie workout that came after Live! Of course it's always the case that fans hear stuff differently, gives us stuff to talk about! I'm just trying to explain why the album is so popular. I also think the title track hinted at a new, mature approach for the future. As with JS, the great work was thrown away. Btw I do love the sound on JS, eg guitars on Lies sound brilliant. So many songs written in similar vien later simply didn't work because of lack of oomph. Of course, a lot may be to do with how & when you first heard a particular album - even down to what equipment you were using & whether circumstances allowed you to do justice to the recording on playback. Maybe there's a part of you that always hears an album or song the same way you first heard it & that for ever colours your judgement one way or the other. I'm sure something like this happens, and appreciation changes with familiarity too. But on the NTL/JS conundrum, because I was working backwards at that stage, I got them both at the same time. I didn't know anything about them being recorded in the same sessions, but to me NTL sounded like leftovers from whatever was on the previous album. I guess we are just wired somewhere to appreciate different songs and subtle differences of approach. I agree that Take Me Away is one of the greats, though.
|
|
|
Post by dontthinkitmatters on Jul 26, 2020 9:23:00 GMT
Hard to do this. Been thinking of posting for a while but cannot come up with a definitive list yet,as I am finding it impossible to split some of them as it depends on the mood and how long since I last played one.
Might have to wuss out and group them platinum, gold , silver, bronze and the rest. No.1 is easy however 'Live'. Tried to group the next in some sort of order.
Here goes.
1. Live
2.On The Level 3.Dog Of Two Head 4.Quo 5.Piledriver 6.Blue for You 7.Hello
8. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon 9. Whatever You Want 10. Just Supposin
11. Never Too Late
12. Rocking All Over The World
13. 1*9*8*2
Unrated 14-33 All the rest in whatever incarnation of the band, incl. If you cant Stand the Heat . No order given as I dont like them, apart from the odd couple of songs . Nos 12 and 13 were very lucky not to be included in this bin. No12 may have been skewed by the remix .
|
|
peppercorn
New Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1
Favourite Quo Album: Quo
|
Post by peppercorn on Feb 6, 2024 12:58:25 GMT
Hi, I'm new here from Oz.
I'm not a Status Quo freak and haven't even heard all of their albums. Obviously, I've heard all of their hits in my 66 years and have always appreciated Status Quo for their energy as well as their clever song writing abilities and musical prowess.
When I was 18 or so, I listened to the album Quo and loved it. I still do. I think it's evidence of a group of young men full of energy and who've been playing together for years that honed them into powerful machine. It's a brilliant album. The songs are all really strong and the interplay between the guitarists is unique and even perfect. The drumming is musically adventurous in parts and shows imagination without ever losing power.
The singing is also unique for a heavy rock band. The boys sing pretty soft for a rock band and sing instead of screaming. Francis Rossi has a unique sound to his voice and uses it with restraint yet without the listener ever feeling a need for anything more than what he offers. Listen to how he ends the note in 'Roll Over Lay Down' in the 1st line of the verses. "......night and early one morning" He ends the melody by raising the note at the end of the phrase which very few singers do and, it works really well. He has a clear and slightly nasally sound to his voice but it's not annoying or weak. Obviously, on the Quo album, (and other early albums) he doubles his vocals on the recordings, but it's done in such a way that adds texture and tone to his voice and become almost a signature sound to his recordings back in those days. Alan Lancaster and Rick Parfitts harmonies work perfectly in the audio space between the guitars too. On the Quo album Alan Lancaster's voice perfectly cuts through the mix and sounds great. He sings high and clear. The guitars work perfectly together. Like twins. The interplay is really clever, simple but so effective. The songs too are all very strong and well arranged. My fav is probably Lonely Man but, there's not a weak song on the entire album imo. I reckon it's a perfect snapshot of a time or music that'll never be repeated and I doubt, the Band could ever find that energy again regardless of how hard they tried. Sure, they wrote many great songs after the Quo album but, I doubt that they could ever capture the energy and musical creativity that they did on Quo? Of course, my opinion is totally subjective but I thought I'd add my thoughts and respect here because I recently listened to the album again after not hearing it for 40 years or so. It's just a great album! and a wonderful vehicle that returns me to my youth with that incredible energetic oomph that they captured perfectly on that Vinyl through those songs. Quite an experience. The Band seem to joke about searching for the 4th Chord but Quo is an album that proves their musical abilities without any doubt whatsoever. No 4th chord is needed imo.
|
|
|
Post by MrWaistcoat on Feb 6, 2024 14:05:12 GMT
Hi, I'm new here from Oz. I'm not a Status Quo freak and haven't even heard all of their albums. Obviously, I've heard all of their hits in my 66 years and have always appreciated Status Quo for their energy as well as their clever song writing abilities and musical prowess. When I was 18 or so, I listened to the album Quo and loved it. I still do. I think it's evidence of a group of young men full of energy and who've been playing together for years that honed them into powerful machine. It's a brilliant album. The songs are all really strong and the interplay between the guitarists is unique and even perfect. The drumming is musically adventurous in parts and shows imagination without ever losing power. The singing is also unique for a heavy rock band. The boys sing pretty soft for a rock band and sing instead of screaming. Francis Rossi has a unique sound to his voice and uses it with restraint yet without the listener ever feeling a need for anything more than what he offers. Listen to how he ends the note in 'Roll Over Lay Down' in the 1st line of the verses. "......night and early one morning" He ends the melody by raising the note at the end of the phrase which very few singers do and, it works really well. He has a clear and slightly nasally sound to his voice but it's not annoying or weak. Obviously, on the Quo album, (and other early albums) he doubles his vocals on the recordings, but it's done in such a way that adds texture and tone to his voice and become almost a signature sound to his recordings back in those days. Alan Lancaster and Rick Parfitts harmonies work perfectly in the audio space between the guitars too. On the Quo album Alan Lancaster's voice perfectly cuts through the mix and sounds great. He sings high and clear. The guitars work perfectly together. Like twins. The interplay is really clever, simple but so effective. The songs too are all very strong and well arranged. My fav is probably Lonely Man but, there's not a weak song on the entire album imo. I reckon it's a perfect snapshot of a time or music that'll never be repeated and I doubt, the Band could ever find that energy again regardless of how hard they tried. Sure, they wrote many great songs after the Quo album but, I doubt that they could ever capture the energy and musical creativity that they did on Quo? Of course, my opinion is totally subjective but I thought I'd add my thoughts and respect here because I recently listened to the album again after not hearing it for 40 years or so. It's just a great album! and a wonderful vehicle that returns me to my youth with that incredible energetic oomph that they captured perfectly on that Vinyl through those songs. Quite an experience. The Band seem to joke about searching for the 4th Chord but Quo is an album that proves their musical abilities without any doubt whatsoever. No 4th chord is needed imo. Hi and welcome to the board And thx for resurrecting an old but interesting thread
|
|
|
Post by quomaster on Feb 9, 2024 0:45:47 GMT
The beauty is we all have different tastes.
I, for one don't really get "Quo", it just doesn't work for me and I have it down the bottom of my Top 10. However I love the two albums either side. Odd.
|
|