Status Quo

This album rocks! One of the best live albums I've ever heard! I'd been wanting to get this for so long, and one day I decided on getting it. It has a great song selection, practically all the best ones. 1976 was the perfect year for recording a live album because Quo were at the peak of their success, and they still had the original lineup of Francis, Rick, Alan, and John.

The sound quality is great. It's just like being there when you turn your stereo up maximum. The audience is crazy. The band said that their wildest fans were in Glasgow, so the Glasgow Apollo couldn't have been a better place to record this.

I find it unusual that they played "Caroline" for the encore instead of for the opening song, but it was really cool that way; it added a new twist to their typical live show. They do end with Bye Bye Johnny though. All songs are played perfectly and it's super raw and super heavy.

'Not much more to say other than, if you like live rock and you're a Quo fan. this album is an absolute must for you're collection.

LIVE is a great album by Status Quo, a British hard rock band who've racked up more hit singles than the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The second disc contains most of the best songs, but the first disc has its moments, too. The fact that band leaders Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt believe that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since 2005 for drug smuggling was wrongfully convicted makes LIVE an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

I've been into hard rock and bluesy rock for 38 yrs. I'm 53 now and have survived over 200 live concerts. This live concert is the kinda music that people like me live for. Beg, borrow or steal for the money to buy this double CD, you will be glad you did. It is the kinda CD that will make you go out and buy a new stereo.

If you have fond memories of being up front at concerts by the likes of Humble Pie, Black Oak Arkansas, Rory Gallagher, Foghat, the Faces, BTO, Thin Lizzy, Skynyrd, etc...then you'll love this one from the Quo. It's been remastered, the sound quality is outstanding, the tracks are in the right running order, and the bottom line is that it's good enough to make you wish you were there at the Apollo in Glasgow the night they recorded it!

I first bought this on vinyl when it originally came out and I still think that one of the best things about Quo was that they did a decidedly better job than most bands of that era at knowing when to take a full on rocker of a song and throttle it back just long enough to make you sit up and listen closer...just in time for them to slam right back into the rocking!

For me, the first disc of this set is worth the price of admission alone - I love every last glorious second of "Forty-Five Hundred Times"!. The second disc tends to get a mite repetitive before it's all over, but that's a very small quibble.

Heretical or not, this tends to find its way into my changer more often than even Skynyrd's "One More From The Road".

Buy it, turn it up, it'll make you smile!

One of the truly great live albums, by a fantastic live group at its peak. It's most unfortunate that most of North America never really tuned in to Status Quo, to see why they are SO BIG in Britain, Europe and the rest of the world. Released in early 1977, it mostly features tracks from their two best albums, "Hello" and "Quo" from 1973 and 1974 respectively, although they do dip back to earlier albums like "Piledriver", and even 1970's "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon". Highlights? The entire 2-disc set is one complete highlight! Much harder rocking than on the original albums, especially from Roll Over Lay Down through Backwater to Just Take Me on to 4500 Times! The finale of Roadhouse Blues followed by the encores of Caroline and Bye Bye Johnny are stunning.For those only familiar with the late 60's psychedelic sound of Pictures of Matchstick Men, be prepared to have your socks rocked off!! Play it LOUD!!

This was a Christmas gift for my brother who has been a Status Quo fan since the 70's. He was pleased with this one because it all the songs he liked from the 70's till now, If you are a Status Quo fan you are sure to like this one.

Here is a great collection of songs from a excellent hard rocking band.
This is a collection of their hits and alot more.
Starts off with Pictures of Matchstick men right up to the more modern version of Status Quo.
Those earlier tunes here were excellent,and they realy had a style and sound of their own.
You can hear the changes musicly they went through with this compillation of songs.

The radio stations in the US only play "Pictures of Matchstick Men." That song had me curious enough years ago to read the article in my Harmony Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock about Status Quo. There I saw that "Down Down" was a number 1 tune in England, and I had never, ever heard it! Couldn't convince the dj to play it, either. So, after years of wondering, I took a chance and bought this anthology with everything on it.

For those others who are curious, but have no clue, just like me before cracking this baby open: The album reminds me of Thorogood's greatest hits, and the J. Geils Anthology: Song after song of boogie and blues, all in the exact same style. Sound-wise, the album graduates from "classic rock" sounding to somewhat electronic and progressive. Add a mix of "poshness" and over-production to the later tunes, and you're there. Honestly, the common driving beat became a little incessant after 2/3 of the first CD. (There are a LOT of tunes here, 41 in all, keep in mind.) Non-stop. Love it. Hate it. But you can take a long trip, and play this collection as traveling music, and not get bored anywhere along the line. While at home, you'll be selective and play the top rated tunes. Aside from so much great traveling music, I feel like I've bought a giant slice of England's landscape. I hear all these top rated tunes that have escaped America's radio. I had to do it to "figure it out." Glad I did.

Two cd's and 41 tracks cover the career of enduring rock legends Status Quo.I't's interesting to hear their sound develop from the bubble-gum 1968 hit "Pictures of Matchstick Men".Presented in chronological order,classics like "Down Down","Caroline","Rocking All Over The World","Paper Plane",and "Whatever You Want" still sound great.Francis Rossi & Rick Parfitt and co. have sold over 120 million records and notched up 55 British hit singles to date,a record in UK chart history.Also included are their most recent hits thru 1996.A MUST for committed Quo fans,and a great choice for the casual fan as well.

rossi at his best...all their best song

This is another fine CD by Status Quo, don't hesitate, just buy it. It really doesn't get any better than this group for Rockin.

I can remember living in England when Status quo had just released "Caroline"...from then on it was all up hill for the lads who like to party,and so they should...no other band has the longevity including the "Rolling Stones"...no other band stuck to there 12 bar/boogie influences like QUO.
For all of you "Quo Army" fans out there, do yourself a huge favour,buy this cd.this is the epitome of blues/boogie/rock with a wonderful "Led Zeppelin" type song entitled "Lonely Man"..the lads open up with the legendary "Backwater" which is alone worth the purchase of this classic cd."Break the Rules".."Don't Think It Matters".."Slow Train" belong to the category of "Songs that are no longer writtten like this".
Sound quality is a little thin,but boy is it good!

CRANK THIS ONE UP LOUD,FROM START TO FINNISH STATUS QUO ALBUM QUO ROCKS STAND OUT TRACKS: BACKWATER AND SLOW TRAIN ARE REAL HIGHLIGHTS. THIS IS A MUST HAVE CD FOR ANY STATUS QUO FAN. HELLO,PILEDRIVER AND ON THE LEVEL ARE ONLY SLIGHTLY BETTER IN MY OPINION.

Never has Quo rocked as hard or as good as on Quo...to me this is the ultimate Status Quo ablum...it even features a killer acoustic build up number called "Lonely Man" which I think is one of their best and most melodic sounding songs they've ever written...it's nothing like their usual boogie style...wish they did more tunes of this calibre...that tune added to the classic one two punch of Backwater & Just Take Me that get's the album of to a high octain start and the hard rockin' Drifting Away and the heavy boogie that is Don't Think It Matters make this a classic album IMO...if I were to recommend any Quo album to a friend I'd tell them to start with this one.

5 Stars, Quo is the best, Great Cd hard to find in Australia.

I saw Status quo on TV a year ago for the first time at the Concert for Princess Diana and I loved their performance. I had never even heard of them before! I checked them out on Youtube and found a ton of their songs that I really liked. And was surprised to know that they never had any North American success but are actually one of the most successful UK acts of all time! I tried looking for their CDs at the local record store but I couldn't find anything. This got me to look on Amazon where I bought their albums "12 Gold Bars", this Piledriver album, On the Level, and the outstanding live album, "Live!" All were really solid and full of great songs. This album has 4 great songs and a few ok songs. The really great songs are:

Don't Waste My Time: a brilliant song with lots of sprit and a great guitar melody,
Big Fat Mamma: AWSOME guitar solo; and Rick's vocals are great on this. A fantastic hard rock song.
Paper Plane: this was their first top 5 single. It's a really fast cool song.
Roadhouse Blues:The classic Doors song covered brilliantly, and more raw than ever. Great guitar solos,great vocals from bassist Alan lancaster, and I just love that harmonica in there. The version of this on the "Live!" album is incredible.

So make no mistake, Piledriver was one of Quo's best studio albums get this and all of the albums they did in the late 60's and 70's, and you will have the true best of Quo. The album cover features the band infront of the drumkit onstage just hamerring away on the guitars and headbanging away; and that's what this album is all about.

I grew up with Status Quo being my number 1 band. Their music encouraged me to learn to play guitar. They were just one heck of an energetic melodic rock and roll band.

I had all the records and as time rolled on and i got older i moved on to other things musically.

Recently i saw this remaster and thought id buy it for old times sake and to remember my younger years and what a great move that was. This remaster rocks and they sound absolutely as exciting and fresh today as they did then.

I challenge anyone to find a better boogie R&R album than this and the ones Status Quo released in this part of their career.

Its just an awesome sounding CD.

PILEDRIVER was Status Quo's first great album. Freed from a creatively stifling recording contract with Pye, the Quo gave up pop for a hard-driving blues-boogie sound that really rocked as few others could. This album proved that the band could have hit singles without really trying to, as "Paper Plane" went Top 5 in the UK. The band members' belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since last spring on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

This review is meant for the casual fan looking for a good hard rocking Status Quo album- and not necessarily for the die-hard fan who already knows their entire catalog.

That said:
I've always loved 'Roll Over Lay Down', the beginning track on this album. It starts with a thumping bass line and excellent blues guitar licks dancing all over on top it. The chorus: very infectious, hitting a hard boogie groove. What follows are some mesmerizing guitar solos that add a lot of texture to the song before it goes back to the beginning hook. This song is a Quo staple!

Unfortunately, after this song, the album catapults itself into lethargy. The songs aren't as catchy or interesting. While there's still a boogie element to the playing, the hard edginess is gone in place of hippy-flavored fluff that just seems to drag.

'Forty Five Hundred Times', the album's closer, does come close to the greatness of 'Roll Over Lay Down' but it takes a while before it builds momentum.

For those looking for good heavy Quo albums, I recommend 'Dog of Two Head' and 'Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon' - these are definitely more raw and energetic servings of the band's signature hard 'boogie' rock style. After that, you might also want to give the album 'Quo' a try - which is probably their heaviest but not their best in terms of songwriting.

I bought this Album when it was released, I couldn't believe the music being played by this group. I continued to buy their albums & just recently bought the new CD-In Search of The Fourth Chord, & the new concert DVD. The DVD is not available for the USA region. It's two bad this group never made it real big in the states they could easily have been the greatest Rock group in the whole world. They are the greatest Rock group in the world but most of the USA still doesn't know it. Buy this cd, turn it up and Rock & Roll.

I am a huge Status Quo fan, I barely remember purchasing the "LP" back in the 70's. The remastering of this album is great & I love this cd! If you are a Quo fan or just enjoy wall good rock-n-roll, this is a must buy - Claudie, Caroline, Reason for Living, Forty-Five Hundred Times never sounded so good. Enjoy.

With HELLO, Status Quo delivers another great album of hard-driving blues-boogie that's equally good for dancing to or exercising to. Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt are great on guitars and vocals, singing rather than screaming, and while Rossi can't match Paul Rodgers, Derek St. Holmes, early Sammy Hagar, or Dave Peverett for soul, at least he's more pleasant to listen to than a guy like say, Kevin Dubrow, and has a wonderful sense of how to properly phrase a lyric. The band continues on the strong path begun with PILEDRIVER, proving that it's doubly unfair that the Quo never made it big over here. The band members' belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since last spring on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

Can not fault the music, definite 5 stars. But, the overall sound of this "remaster"? The sound is very "treble heavy" & "harsh" sounding. I actually had to turn the treble EQ on my car stereo into the "negative" range. However, it may be the master tapes who are at fault here, so I'm not really laying blame. The remainder of the remastering is flawless. The guitars & vocals ring true with Lancaster's bass thumping away clearer than ever. If you are reading this, you are no doubt a Status Quo fan debating on whether to drop some extra cash on this "remaster". My advice? You gotta have it, so get it; there is a big here improvement over the original import cd release. If you can wait awhile, I'm sure zShops will even see some at a much lower cost in a few months.
New update...turns out the master tapes left much to be desired on the high end. Still a huge improvement and upgrade over the older releases. (I would actually upgrade my review to 4 stars, but the system won't allow it.) Plus you can find this on zShops now for a real good price. So what are you waiting for!

These guys deserve more praise than I can ever give. This album rocks from beginning to end and barely lets you catch your breath. If you're looking for sappy ballads or navel gazing songs, go somewhere else.

If you don't know who these guys are, buy this album and prepare to be surprised.

Status Quo continue to rock the world with another really great CD. I know the music has the same sound & beat but it is one to die for, as they said in one of their songs. We're ROCKERS ROLLIN.

With ON THE LEVEL, Status Quo's fourth great CD in a row, it becomes even more shocking that these guys couldn't crack the U.S. market. It's hard to see why, especially since songs such as "Down, Down" and "Nightride" have a sound that would have been huge in this country if there hadn't been a glut of such bands here. The band members' belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since last spring on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

Why these guys never made it big in the U.S., I'll never know...This album is proof positive that the Quo can rock as hard as anybody you care to name. Down Down, Little Lady, and their blistering cover of Chuck Berry's Bye Bye Johnny will melt your speakers!! Nice sonic upgrade from what I am sure were not the greatest tapes to begin with...This is the last of the "raw power" Quo discs; after a muddy live album they brought in outside producers and tried to smooth off the edges in a bid to be accepted into (U.S.?) more mainstream markets...I highly recommend this CD as well as Blue For You, Hello, Quo, and Piledriver if you want more of this...For a more detailed account of this group, see my blog at ulice.blogspot.com.....

G2 the G

Before they became a heads down boogie band in the 1970s, Status Quo was a psychedelic group that made a significant contribution to the genre. This is in fact magnificent pop music, melodic and evocative. The dramatic and tuneful songs are carried by powerful vocals and characterized by impressive guitar effects.

Tracks like Pictures Of Matchstick Men, Ice In The Sun, Are You Growing Tired Of My Love and Green Tambourine are on a par with the best purveyors of the era's psychedelic pop like Tommy James And the Shondells (Crimson & Clover), Donovan (Catch the Wind) and even Arthur Lee's legendary band Love.

In my opinion the aforementioned tracks are on a par with many tracks on Love's classic Forever Changes album. This album will surprise fans of the later Status Quo but those who like 1960s rock and the artists mentioned will treasure it.

I honestly believe that Status Quo is the best rock group ever, except for the Beatles. These guys don't mess around, they just rock & roll the way it should be. I now have most of their music on cd, and cant keep from playin one of them on a regular basis. I just wish that the old USA rock and rollers would get on the rock bandwagon. I can't believe how NOT well known they are here in the states. I would love to see them gear up and do a USA tour. If U are readin this U are Quo music lover, so buy it & buy one of their DVD's and watch these guys live.

With BLUE FOR YOU, Status Quo continue playing straight-ahead blues-boogie as only they and a few other bands can. The songs are, with a few exceptions, great, and the bonus tracks, especially the B-side "All Through The Night", show that a lot of great Quo material that didn't made the original albums should have. "Is There A Better Way", the CD's opening cut, explains why I've given up food-related functions at my old school in favor of looking good for a number of TV and movie hotties. Some reviewers claim that this was the band's last great album, but they continued making top-drawer albums until the early 80s. The band members' belief that the young Australian tourist jailed in Indonesia since last spring on drug-smuggling charges was unjustly convicted makes this CD an essential purchase for both your ears AND your conscience.

If you've made it this far, no doubt you're one of the few, the proud, a member of the "Quo Army"....debating on whether to purchase this remaster. I've purchased all of the Quo remasters and "Blue For You" comes away as the clear cut winner as "best of the lot". Clearest sound, best enhancements with minimal distortion in the higher, "treble" frequencies compared to the other releases. The bonus tracks leave much to be desired, but not enough to drop this great album below 5 stars. "Mystery Song" is worth the price of this purchase alone!! I purchased the dreadful import 2 on 1 cd containing "Quo" & "Blue For You" awhile back, this remaster (as well as the "Quo" remaster) blows the "2 for 1" release away. The upgrade here is phenomenal. If you have this on vinyl or any other previously released cd version, add this to cart now. I guarantee you will not be disappointed.

Reading reviews of other Quo albums, everyone loves telling everyone else whoe long they've been Quo fans for. Most are 30+. I'm not even 30 years old but am quite proud to say I've been a proper Quo fan for over 15 years. I was 13 when dad first exposed me to their greatest hits and I've loved them ever since.
I will also admit to liking their newer material more than their 60's and 70's stuff.
I will admit that my favorite song of theirs isn't one of their rockin' classics, it's Living On An Island.

Thirsty Work is my favorite Quo album. It's the first Quo studio album I got - other than best ofs - so it also holds some sentimental value with me. I must admit, I don't have this extended edition and haven't heard the bonus tracks but if they are half as good as the rest of the songs here, they will be worthy additions indeed.
This album, more so than any of their others is varied in style, fun, instantly likeable and solid through-out.

The opener Goin' Nowhere, Soft In The Head, Tango, Sheri Don't Fail Me Now and Rude Awakening Time provide a good solid rock feel. The first single I Didn't Mean It, Sail Away, Back On My Feet, Ciao Ciao and the rampant Queenie provide the fast paced ride we're all used to from the boys, while Point Of No Return and (one of Quo's all time best) Lover Of The Human Race slow things up but keep the melodies going.
Things slow down too much on Restless and Sorry and these two songs are the albums only low points.

This album has everything a Rock/Pop album should.