Status Quo Albums (25)
'In Search of the Fourth Chord'
Release Date 9/17/2007
Tracks 14
Label Edel
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What The Critics Say
When a band has been recording for over 40 years they are either still innovative and new or a parody of their former selves. Status Quo fell into the latter category with their 33rd album and 37th appearance in the charts (including hits compilations), In Search Of The Fourth Chord which was produced by Pip Williams who had also produced the classics Rockin' All Over The World, Whatever You Want and In The Army Now. For years the band had been derided for playing a style of boogie blues, rock n roll with the obligatory three chords, and on this album, they fight back against the critics with tongues very firmly in cheeks as they search for that elusive fourth chord, even according to the cover art, enlisting the help of Indiana Jones with both Parfitt and Rossi, the mainstays of Status Quo dressed as the intrepid explorer with the graphics lifted directly from the Raiders Of The Lost Arc -- Temple Of Doom -- Last Crusade trilogy. As for the music, it was more of what every fan had come to expect, head banging, guitar led riff heavy music with the band swaying up and down. Status Quo were never afraid to change their style and Electric Arena was a slow blues number and Hold Me borrowed a riff from Chris Rea's Auberge. Although Pennsylvania Blues Tonight was a drum beat and bass led chugger with the guitars left very much in the background and Tongue Tied was an acoustic ballad reminiscent of their hit Living On An Island, I Don't Wanna Hurt You Anymore, Bad News and Gravy Train wouldn't have sounded out of place on any of their classic 1970s albums but Figure Of Eight wasn't so much looking for a fourth chord but the chorus didn't even have a second note in the melody. ~ Sharon Mawer, All Music Guide
'The Party Ain't Over Yet'
Release Date 1/1/2005
Tracks 13
Label Sanctuary
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What The Critics Say
The Party Ain't Over Yet was titled to mark the celebrations surrounding Status Quo's 40th anniversary -- and very well-titled it was. The first decade of the new century had so far seen the band vacillate between some genuinely powerful all-new albums, and a pair of covers collections that, apparently, the record company insisted upon. Party falls into the former category, and it does the old firm proud, building upon the dynamism of Heavy Traffic with another album chock-full of drop-dead gorgeous rockers. The title track sets the mood, confident and crunching, and bulldozing any lingering past specters by never allowing the energy to flag. True, the band's now-entrenched fascination with country-rock does raise its head occasionally, but there's also a fine nod in the direction of Quo's roots in the early '70s prog boom, "Nevashooda," while "This Is Me" is as unselfconsciously psychedelic as anything they've done since the days of "Matchstick Men." Possibly the album is not as all-round powerful as Heavy Traffic, but that is only to be expected -- Quo wasn't as good as Hello!, either. But with 40 years under their belt, Quo really should know what they're doing now, and The Party Ain't Over Yet is a promise to savor. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
'Heavy Traffic'
Release Date 9/17/2002
Tracks 13
Label Universal International
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Although Status Quo's commercial status has never been in doubt, few long-time fans have truly rated their '80s-'90s era output alongside the bedazzling blues boogie classics that they unleashed earlier in their lifespan -- that peerless run of albums that stretched between Piledriver and Rockin' All Over the World. Too many clichés, too much fuss, too little heads down, no nonsense rock & oll. If you gave up on Quo any time in the past 20 years, you're not alone. But, if you return to the fold for Heavy Traffic, you won't be alone either.Quite simply, Heavy Traffic is Quo's finest studio album since Blue for You -- bar none. Recorded with all five bandmembers simply standing together in the studio and playing -- exactly like they used to work, before producers and computers and technology came along -- it offers nothing more or less than Quo ever should have represented. Crunchy rhythms, driving tempos, a blue-collar barroom barrage that doesn't even let up for the ballads -- because there aren't any! Neither are there any cover versions and, if a few of the band's own old ghosts do filter through, that's only to be expected; there are, after all, only so many things you can do with the trademark Quo sound. So "Creepin' Up on You" has a hint of "Roll Over Lay Down" playing around its fringes, and "All Stand Up" is a bit like "Down Down." One might also detect a distinctly Free-esque edge to "Rhythm of Life," but that's no bad thing either. Indeed, it serves only to remind us just how closely affiliated the two bands were during their early-'70s prime -- and this is the sound of Quo re-establishing their half of the balance. Beyond the realm of any expectation -- a masterpiece! ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
'Famous in the Last Century'
Release Date 1/1/2000
Tracks 17
Label Universal Music TV UK
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Who would've thought that 35 years into their career, Status Quo would release their finest album long after the general public lost interest? Leaving Polygram, their major-label home for nearly all of their career, Quo (guitarists Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt, bassist John "Rhino" Edwards, keyboardist Andy Bown, and drummer Jeff Rich) signed with Eagle Records in the U.K. and proceeded to record a new platter. What came out was an amazing collection of pop songs by one of England's top rock & roll bands. Though they've left their trademark boogie behind, Quo proved on this album that they could still rock out and write great songs. Rossi's vocals are still smooth and his and Parfitt's riffs are rich and plentiful, while Bown, Edwards, and Rich prove that they are more than hired sidemen. "Twenty Wild Horses" starts the album with a successful blend of rock smarts and folk riffs. "Under the Influence" and "Round and Round" are splendid blasts of melodic rock with a bit of boogie creeping back into the mix. "Shine On" is Parfitt's tale of his recent bypass surgery with a bluesy/folk backdrop. "Little White Lies" is Quo's most overtly pop track on the album and would've been a huge hit had it been on a major label. And so it goes on. There are plenty more gems to be found on this album, and the message will remain the same: This is the finest Quo album of their career and if you're interested in starting a Quo collection, you should start here! ~ Stephen Schnee, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
1994's Thirsty Work is one of those peculiar albums that Status Quo seemed increasingly prone to during the 1980s and 1990s, whereby they would follow a return-to-form corker with something that leaves you wondering just who you're listening to. In this case, it was the spectacular Rock Til You Drop that had just raised hopes back to stratospheric proportions, only for them all to be dashed within minutes of the next record's opening cut kicking off. And "Going Nowhere" is actually one of Thirsty Work's better moments. Returning to the more pop than rock realms that scarred their late-'80s output, Thirsty Work is best remembered for the hit "I Didn't Mean It," and the driving pulse of "Rude Awakening Time." But a band that prided itself on its ability to revamp the most unlikely of cover songs comes up against an unyielding wall when faced by Jennifer Warnes' "Restless," while their own "Lover of the Human Race" could politely be described as "experimental," provided you're not too concerned about whether it works or not. Elsewhere, "Sherri Don't Fail Me Now" is rendered all the more pallid by the decision to release it as a single -- if this really was the best the record company could find, no wonder the fans stayed away in droves. But "Ciao, Ciao" and "Soft in the Head" restore one's faith in the band just a little -- and at least remind us why we loved the group in the first place. It's just a shame that Quo themselves don't seem so sure. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A decade on from their last in-concert album, Status Quo return to the concert hall for only their third live set, the unequivocally titled, and triumphantly track listed Live Alive Quo. And, from the moment the guitars tear the top of your head away, ushering in the opening "Whatever You Want," it's apparent that no matter how many demons might assail the band's studio output, in concert they remain the same denim'n'dandruff brigade they always were. "Burning Bridges," that most infuriatingly contagious of rock & roll jigs, the driving "Caroline," the inevitable "Rockin' All over the World," and a scintillating return to the mid-'70s standby of "Roadhouse Blues" are all undeniable peaks, while a closing salvo that kicks off with "Don't Drive My Car" finds the band locked into the kind of groove that even their heyday found rare. Of course you cannot, and would not, compare Live Alive Quo to the sound of the band in its prime -- the 1971 Swedish radio recording, the 1973 BBC broadcast, and the 1977 Live album are all vastly superior to this. But the continuity is peerless, and the excitement levels are just as high. Go on, give it a go! [The 2006 reissue of the album includes bonus tracks.] ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Bearing in mind that almost anything Status Quo chose to do could only be a vast improvement on their last album, Ain't Complaining, Perfect Remedy was very well titled - and that despite being far from perfect itself. Indeed, "Tommy's In Love" is arguably the worst song the band had ever recorded, while "Not At All"] only sprang to attention when it became the band's worst performing 45 since the very early 1970s.It's also worth remembering that, while the album does abandon its predecessor's attempt to locate a new band sound, that's only because it thinks it has found one, in the form of producer {$Pip Williams' slick, country rock approach. It has a little more in common with some of the band's efforts from the early 80s ("Living On An Island" would have fit nicely in here), but still you can't help wondering what was wrong with the band;'s own sound? And how long before they get back to it? ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Almost four years after their last studio album, and two years after Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt agreed to relaunch the hitherto moribund band, Status Quo bounced back with an album that came as close as Christmas to restating the glories that most fans believed were buried a decade earlier. The title track sets things off in the way they mean to go on, a romping cover of a Bolland & Bolland number that could not have been further from the Quo norm if it had tried. But the band make it its own, and then keep on sparking, through an excellent cover of Ian Hunter's "Speechless," on to the hit single "Dreamin'," and peaking with the seething "Overdose." Indeed, no matter how many crimes against their own reputation may have been committed by Quo earlier in the decade, In the Army Now offered salvation and forgiveness all round. And, just for a moment there, it felt like this was one reunion that really was going to improve on its prototype. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
For a band whose greatest achievements were cut on-stage, Status Quo were never especially generous when it came to live recordings -- a point that Francis Rossi conceded when he admitted he wasn't actually a fan of such things. But 1977's Live remains one of the decade's most crucial in-concert recordings and, though Live at the NEC can barely compete with it in terms of fiery abandon, still it captures the band in full flight, across a track listing that could almost double as a greatest-hits collection. Recorded on May 14, 1982 for Prince Charles' Prince's Trust charity, and released on both CD and VHS, it's an enjoyable blast made all the more exciting by the knowledge that drummer Pete Kircher was still feeling his way into the departed John Coghlan's well-practiced boots. But, from the opening thrill of "Caroline," through speedball takes on "Rocking All Over the World," "Don't Drive My Car" and "Whatever You Want," and onto the stunning finale of "Don't Waste My Time," Live at the NEC is difficult to walk away from, and one only wishes that they'd spread it out across a double album. Because the show deserved it. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide
