mortified
4500 Timer
Posts: 6,668 
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
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Post by mortified on Nov 8, 2024 13:38:52 GMT
Releasing Heavy Traffic as a single to promote the album seemed a no brainer to me, particularly as a first single, but then I don't know the ins and outs of the politics involved. And there will have been politics. There always is. Francis's solo is excellent but you do realise Radio 2 wouldn't have played it?  The DJ cutting the song short with " that was the latest Status Quo single sitting this week at no.8 in the BBC singles chart. And now over to Dave with the traffic news for all you weary commuters." |
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Post by 4th Chord on Nov 8, 2024 14:03:01 GMT
You're all mad. ASU is much better than HT
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mortified
4500 Timer
Posts: 6,668
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
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Post by mortified on Nov 8, 2024 14:27:13 GMT
Well it's a longer acronym, I'll give you that |
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Post by rateuslow on Nov 8, 2024 15:22:37 GMT
I think Heavy Traffic was the most singles-worthy. I remember hearing it on Radio 2, I think it was the Johnnie Walker drive-time show and wondered at the time if it was going to be the next single. It's got the right amount of Quo drive and a darn good hook to boot.
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roadhouse
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1,115
Favourite other bands.: Thin Lizzy, Saxon, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Queen, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple
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Post by roadhouse on Nov 8, 2024 16:43:40 GMT
I think Heavy Traffic was the most singles-worthy. I remember hearing it on Radio 2, I think it was the Johnnie Walker drive-time show and wondered at the time if it was going to be the next single. It's got the right amount of Quo drive and a darn good hook to boot. I must be in the minority club, as to my ears Heavy traffic as wonderful as it is, just doesn't feel like a single to me. But then again I'm no expert, I thought All stand up was gonna be top ten, and keep the new momentum going after Jam side down. For me JSD was a surprise hit. I think even the band were surprised in a pleasant way. |
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Xland
Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 377
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Post by Xland on Nov 8, 2024 20:51:36 GMT
I did like & still do like All Stand Up, it's a great direct no nonsense rocker that Quo have done so well at times over the decades, but in terms of a lead single, I just think Heavy Traffic was the middle ground or bridge between that & the more poppy Jam Side Down. It had both rock n roll & commercial radio friendly appeal, not always an easy thing to come up with, but as other state, just the whole marketing angle for the album & tour, it just would have helped I reckon. Don't get me wrong, don't think it would have changed the world, but I do think a Top 10 could have been achieved with it, but who knows? Another thing though, why do we need single "edits" for tracks that come in under 4min30secs & in case of Heavy Traffic has it's own fade out from around 4min10secs anyway? As that young little girl complaining about the ice cream price earlier in the year would say, "bloody hell"! |
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Post by Quoincidence on Nov 8, 2024 21:35:45 GMT
The solo on the single edit of Heavy Traffic is cut down, seeing 14 seconds of it removed.
The hi-hat count-in also isn't present at the start, whereas it is on the album version - this matches the rough mixes of the album from April, 2002.
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Post by rockonquo on Nov 8, 2024 21:41:33 GMT
You're all mad. ASU is much better than HT Agree, you fans are all mad. Also agree, ASU is a more rock than HT. |
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Post by 4th Chord on Nov 9, 2024 18:57:35 GMT
You're all mad. ASU is much better than HT Agree, you fans are all mad. Also agree, ASU is a more rock than HT. Yes! HT is a bit plodding when it comes down to it. ASU has much more excitement to it. |
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roadhouse
Veteran Rocker Rollin'
Posts: 1,115
Favourite other bands.: Thin Lizzy, Saxon, AC/DC, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Queen, Black Sabbath, Rainbow, Deep Purple
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Post by roadhouse on Nov 9, 2024 23:35:08 GMT
I agree, HT, is a plod along song, it never did anything for me really. But then so too was JSD, but that surprised me it was a hit. It makes you sometimes think who was controlling everything.
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Post by rockonquo on Nov 10, 2024 8:36:13 GMT
Agree, you fans are all mad. Also agree, ASU is a more rock than HT. Yes! HT is a bit plodding when it comes down to it. ASU has much more excitement to it. I'm surprised it didn't become a hit single, i remember reading the FTMO magazine saying people loved hearing it as well of 'solid gold' when the first time they start playing it.  |
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Post by cammythemortonfan on Nov 11, 2024 0:25:18 GMT
Heavy Traffic has swagger
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Post by No Contract on Nov 13, 2024 17:54:09 GMT
I'm working from memory here, so don't shoot me down if I'm wrong on the facts (it was a long time ago!)... I seem to recall that ASU had been in the Quo set for quite a while before the HT album was released and - along with Solid Gold, which had also been put in the set before the album came out - it had created a strong reaction from the fans before we'd even heard the recorded version. To me, it made perfect sense therefore to release ASU as the first single prior to the album being released because there was already a lot of excitement about it and I'm positive it would have been a huge hit. It should have then been followed by SG or HT as the next single. The issue with ASU's apparent lack of success as a single was because, from memory, the album had already been released when it came out and therefore none of us needed to buy it in a single format. I'll never understand why a plodder like Jam Side Down, with its tacky video, came out first because ASU, SG or HT were far stronger and radio-friendly, so they would have been great adverts for the album. These songs also showed the general public / lapsed fans that Quo could still write great songs, whereas releasing a John David track for the first single gave the impression that Quo (or record company) no longer had any confidence in the band. And this is probably the truth at the time. |
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Post by rateuslow on Nov 14, 2024 18:07:27 GMT
Small correction to above (agreed, it was a while ago, sir) - Jam Side Down was by Terry Britten and Charlie Dore. John David didn't write any of the songs on the Heavy Traffic album. But, in addition to that it seemed a bit strange that the first two singles off In The Army Now and both singles off The Party Ain't Over Yet were written by John. Good for his royalties cheques though.
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The DJ cutting the song short with "that was the latest Status Quo single sitting this week at no.8 in the BBC singles chart. And now over to Dave with the traffic news for all you weary commuters."
