Description

If albums were judged on their hit single yield, "Back To Back" would be one of Quo's best. There were four in all and the first two, ahead of the album's release, gave no hint of what was to follow. Alan Lancaster's "Ol' Rag Blues" and the cover of an Elvis hit, "A Mess Of The Blues", were standard Quo without being remarkable. As a whole however "Back To Back" panders more to the plastic pop of the era and suffers from a lightweight production. It's most remembered for the dreaded twee country pop song, "Marguerita Time", a huge hit and three minutes that has nothingmore… in common with what made Quo popular. The final hit, "Going Down Town Tonight" is a fast, keyboard-dominated number that was almost as perplexing to long-time fans.There are some good moments, such as "Stay The Night", but it's difficult to redeem an album that's had the guts ripped from the sound. "Win Or Lose" was a particular disappointment. Though a Francis Rossi song, it had been recorded a few years earlier by the endearingly crude r&b band, Lew Lewis Reformer. Their rollicking version made me wonder why Quo hadn't already recorded it, but the version here is almost casually weak.The original album is, at just over half an hour, their shortest and the bonus material almost doubles the running time of this reissue. Most of these tracks are merely alternative versions however, including Lancaster's lead vocal of "Ol' Rag Blues". He apparently wanted to sing his own song but as the public weren't used to hearing him tackle singles, Francis Rossi's vocal was preferred. There are just three different songs: "I Wonder Why" is as bad as anything on the album; "Cadillac Ranch" is rousing, though not as passionate as Bruce Springsteen's original; and there are two versions of Quo's pointless 1984 hit cover of Dion's "The Wanderer".This would be Lancaster's last album. The change in direction seems to have contributed to his decision to drift away, though moving to Australia without persuading the others to follow may have been more significant. "Back To Back" therefore marks the end of one era and the beginning of another. Though most subsequent albums are better than this, Quo's more pop-oriented era hasn't gone down as well with long-term fans.

Tracks

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Info:

Category:

Music > Albums

Case Type:

CD

Release Type:

Retail

Comments:

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Cover Info:

Title:

Status Quo - Back to Back (2006) Retail CD

Part:

Front

Dimensions:

1417 x 1402 px

Size:

760 KB

Downloads:

151 (1 today)

Uploaded:

Report a Problem Wrong Cover Duplicate Image Bad Quality Wrong Info

10/02/08 by pw1965

Quality Rating:

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