Album of the month September 2020: Thirsty Work

The songs with Andy involved in the writing were good, the massive number of Rossi/Frost numbers were bland beyond belief. Rick's lack of involvement and lack of interest in the album were so obvious.

I think that if this album was produced like Rock Til You Drop was, even with the same tracklisting, it could have been better. Or, at least, be regarded as better by Quo fans. I don't dislike it; as in, to me, all Quo albums have their own place, but it is very poppy, yes. Mostly because of the sound. Songs like I Didn't Mean It, Like It Or Not, Rude Awakening Time, Ciao-Ciao, Back On My Feet, with the sound of RTYD, could have been more appreciated, I think, and could have raised the album a bit more.
On the other hand, songs like Sorry and Tango are what they are, because of the composition alone, I would say.

Not part of the album itself, but Down To You is great. Again, could have sounded rockier if produced with RTYD's sound.

Cannot really say how I feel about this album for fear of being banned by a mod.

I'm sure you'd be welcomed with open arms and cupcakes over on Teacups'n'Milkjugs. You may have to pack your Lederhosen though...

So this album ‘inspired’ the pub tour didn’t it?

This is the album where Quo became Que?

Difficult to review this objectively as it’s release coincided with the height of my being a fan of the band.

I drove to Manchester HMV to a signing aged just 18 to meet them for the first time on the week of release. My main memory being that I was very nervous and Rossi was a bit of a prick in person.

The good. I loved 4 tracks. I didn’t mean it. Soft in the head, RAT and Goin nowhere. I also quiet liked She knew too much.

And I convinced myself through playing and playing that the rest were ok/good

However it’s pretty clear with a mature head on my shoulders that this is the sound of the barrel being scraped so hard your fingers bleed

It’s woeful. A complete turd.

To think that this was released the same year as Definitely Maybe, an album that had the swagger and sound of Quo in parts just makes me realise how much in their own bizarre little bubble in Rossi’s loft they were recording this.

Who exactly did they think would like this music? How would you even describe it. What is the genre?

Tango? It’s like looking at a croissant with a pencil stuck in it. It makes so sense. The middle 8 is embarrassing. I remember taking over it in the car to distract people from how bad it was.

Sail away? How can they have heard that intro in the studio and not laughed.

Sherri? Sorry? Queenie? Ye gods what an affront.

And the b sides were no better. Apart from maybe Down to you

The best word to describe it is weird. The overall sound is bright but the guitars are not there. I used to play this back to back with Never too late to compare the sound and wonder where it had all gone wrong. Especially after they had released RTYD previously.

All in all a bewildering curio. In the same way that finding a dog shit in your cornflakes is. You wonder how it happened. And hope it never does again

It’s failure was it’s legacy that led to the risible and worse Dont Stop which represented the nadir, being dropped by a major label and making Under the influence - an album that has the feel of five blokes recording an album in their spare time in a garage on the cheap.