Status Quo Live CD

An institution in their homeland, this self-titled release culls material from Status Quo's 1986 In the Army Now and 1988's Ain't Complaining sets (both of which managed to chart Top Ten in the U.K.). Ostensibly, yet another attempt to crack the U.S. market which had ignored the band since their late-'60s psychedelic classic "Pictures of Matchstick Men," it contains no less than five songs that were U.K. hits, including the number two "You're in the Army Now." It's all workman-like, blues-based rock & roll comparable to Creedence Clearwater Revival (in fact, there's a cover of Fogerty's "Rocking All Over the World"), but given a typical '80s production gloss that runs counter to the band's roots. There's nothing particularly compelling (or likely to attract those outside Status Quo's fan base); nonetheless, tracks like "Everytime I Think of You" and "Ain't Complaining are enjoyable enough workouts, as well as the Dave Edmunds-produced "Rollin' Home." ~ Tom Demalon

Recorded, with perfect timing, just as Status Quo hit their live peak, 1977's double Live album is, contrarily, a timeless reminder of just how much power and excitement was bound up in the band through the mid-'70s -- and on, in fact, into the early '80s. It would be several years before the group turned into the faintly embarrassing cabaret singalong that scarred the latter years of their career, a fact that Live broadcasts via a picture-perfect snapshot of the last calm before that particular storm. Touring to support 1976's Blue for You (U.S. title Status Quo) album, the band is still reaching back to the dawn of the decade for material. "Junior's Wailing" and "In My Chair" both date back to the tentative days of 1970, as Status Quo prepared to slide from psych to boogie without knowing whether there was even an audience for such a shock. The fact that there was, of course, would be celebrated with some of the most visceral singles of the decade. "Roll Over Lay Down," "Rain," "Don't Waste My Time," and, most impressively, "Caroline" all slough off well-loved 45s, to be transformed into veritable show-stoppers, while the LP epics "Forty-Five Hundred Times" and "Roadhouse Blues" receive marathon workouts that all but defy gravity. The mid-'70s were a golden age for double-live albums, and from Frampton Comes Alive to Thin Lizzy's Live and Dangerous, the era is littered with what now rank as classics. Status Quo's Live effortlessly takes its place alongside those most hallowed of halcyon howlers, and no matter what else the band might have become in later years, this is what they sounded like before that happened. Priceless. ~ Dave Thompson

Digitally remastered reissue approved by the band's official fan club! A UK No. 3 when first issued in 1976, this is a double CD which is now in the original concert running order for the first time. Mercury. 2005.