Status Quo Studio Albums Ranked
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- Опубліковано 24 лип 2024
- Iain Ranking all 33 Status Quo Studio Albums
Discography
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo (1968)
Spare Parts (1969)
Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (1970)
Dog of Two Head (1971)
Piledriver (1972)
Hello! (1973)
Quo (1974)
On the Level (1975)
Blue for You (1976)
Rockin' All Over the World (1977)
If You Can't Stand the Heat... (1978)
Whatever You Want (1979)
Just Supposin' (1980)
Never Too Late (1981)
1+9+8+2 (1982)
Back to Back (1983)
In the Army Now (1986)
Ain't Complaining (1988)
Perfect Remedy (1989)
Rock 'til You Drop (1991)
Thirsty Work (1994)
Don't Stop (1996)
Under The Influence (1999)
Famous in the Last Century (2000)
Heavy Traffic (2002)
Riffs (2003)
The Party Ain't Over Yet (2005)
In Search of the Fourth Chord (2007)
Quid Pro Quo (2011)
Bula Quo! (2013)
Aquostic: Stripped Bare (2014)
Aquostic II: That's a Fact (2016)
Backbone (2019)
Whatever album you prefer: there's no life without Quo!
Part of my life for over 45 years now and will be till i die. I don't wanna miss any tune.
Keep on Rockin'!
Interesting I will have to go and listen to Quo, On the level and Blue for you. I have tended to concentrate on Piledriver, Hello and Dog of Two Head. Thanks for posting.
This was my very first video I ever posted its great to see it is still watched
Ian, as a longtime Quo fan you've got all my respect! You truly put a lot of work and thoughts into building this ranking list. As you well said, we all have our favorites for different reasons. I discovered Quo in the 70's by listening to Caroline coming full blast out of a Juke box in a bar, in France. I was blown away! So Hello is forever engraved in my heart! I have always loved Francis solos, but I often wonder why two of the most popular Quo's songs, Down Down and Caroline ,don't have a solo part? Keep Quo's music flowing in your head again and again! ;-) All the best from Dallas Texas! Michel
The greatest sadness in the history of Rock is the demise of the THE FRANTIC FOUR, the greatest Rock Band in history.
No matter what your bias or ignorance is, STATUS QUO are the most sincere and genuine and authentic Rock Band to plug in or hit a snare or cymbal.
As the great John Lydon said in a BBC interview in 1977, the reason that THE SEX PISTOLS liked and respected STATUS QUO was because " they don't care what you think "
Therefore, QUO's attitude defines what PUNK Rock is.
There are some very intelligent musicologists who've drawn comparisons between The Ramones and STATUS QUO.
This is due to the two bands creating their own brand and style that appears to be simple, yet is complex and unique.
The demise of the Frantic Four has parallels to SPINAL TAP's. absurdity.
When they reformed in 2013 and played sold out shows at Wembley Stadium, and other major venues, Francis ' Frame ' Rossi said that when they looked into the crowd they saw the toughest and hardest men and women openly and uncontrollably weeping as the greatest Rock Band of all time came on stage .
For the first time since 1970, Rossi didn't say " ow are ya then, alright? " Which is his trademark intro.
This was a very special and auspicious occasion in the history of the Universe and all the Gods were watching and listening.
As the two greatest Guitarists and Bass player vocalists of all time conferred with the best swing/shuffle Drummer of all time, they launched into " Junior's Wailing " which knocked the first 50 rows back a metre.
The Bass player and Vocalist that performed the vocals on the first 4 songs had multiple sclerosis, yet he gave the best performance of all 4 members.
Within just a few seconds they launched into " Backwater/Just Take Me " a LANCASTER/PARFITT classic from their 1974 album called QUO.
The crowd were exploding in rapture as the greatest Rock Band in history played the best riffs and rhythms ever heard.
When Francis Rossi said " What can I say " Alan Lancaster and John Coghlan, the crowd went berserk, absolutely wild.
He was talking about the Bass player and Drummer he had personally driven out of the Band in the mid-80's.
Alan ' Nuff ' Lancaster on Bass / Vocals, John 'Spud ' Coghlan on Drums, Rick ' Reg ' Parfitt the best Rhythm Guitarist of all time / Vocals and Francis ' Frame ' Rossi the best Lead Guitarist of all time /Vocals otherwise known as The Frantic Four.
Unbeknownst to all STATUS QUO supporters, we had no idea that when we heard " Pictures of Matchstickmen " in 1968, or " Down the Dustpipe " in 1970, that we were hearing the birth and fledgling sounds of the future No.1 Rock Band in history.
if you ever want to meet the most ardent Rock Music supporters and you've got a few hours to listen, then have a chat with someone from the STATUS QUO army.
Whether they are a Factory worker or a Lawyer, they'll give you the same reasons why STATUS QUO stand alone as The Greatest Rock Band of all time.
RIP Alan Lancaster & Rick Parfitt
I mean, nice writing, but no, Alan was nowhere near giving the best performance of the guys there. May he rest in peace. But he was barely able to hold the bass pick - they had to tape it to his hands so it wouldn't fall off because he couldn't even grip it, and he played simplified versions of alot of his classic basslines. His voice was great tho.
Francis also remarked after the 2013 reunion that John Coghlan had a hard time keeping up with the band, which was later reported to have been much better for their 2nd round of reunion gigs.
It was easily Rick and Francis who gave the best performances - and of those two, Francis had been in much better physical shape for 20 years. Rick was already dealing with rapidly deteriorating health.
Ultimately it was probably the best two reunion tours any band has ever given, but the cracks were definiely showing.
I agree with your top 5 guy!
I like Status Quo since I was a teenager. Nowadays I'm 63 and still listening all faboulous álbuns of them. I have 14 LP's and 12 CD's.
Greetings from Brasil!
1.Quo
2.Blue for you
3.Ma Kelly´s greasy spoon
4.Hello
5.Piledriver
6.On the level
7.Rockin all over the world
8.Whatever you want
9.Dog of two head
10.If you can´t stand the heat
Hi! Thank you for this ranking! it's always nice to hear someone else's perspective and thoughts of this wonderful bands wonderful discography. It's a lot that I don't agree with but it doesn't matter. Cheers! 😀
Our pleasure!
Hi Ian, just discovered your channel and was delighted to see this ranking. A bit of a mammoth task to rank all their albums but you did it extremely well. I ranked their Vertigo singles about a year ago but this is the first ranking of their albums I've ever seen. Well done! Subscribed. All the best - Richard
That was my first ever show too . Many thanks for your kind words
Brave review , so many Quo albums which I have a dozen of , all 70s to early 80s I might add, the classic line up and true line up !
All line ups of Status Quo are true Status Quo line ups. Every line up gives something wonderful to the table 😀
On The Level nearer the top and Backbone nearer the bottom.
Mystery song makes Blue for you my favourite. Best song they ever did
You ain't the only QUO fan who doesn't like the RAOTW song, at a guess most of us fans from the 70s think its a pure naff cheesy song, disagree where you placed OTL though as its as good as QUO if not better and also on a good day Piledriver can knock spot off them all, but then again on another day MA and DOG are my favourites ! . All the classic QUO albums have that hint of pure genius that only old QUO fans can appreciate .
Anything from 69 to 76, classic
im a new quo fan and i really like the quo sound from the albums rocking all over the world (1977) to ain't complaining (1988)
the songs are good ON RAOTW the production is rubbish Listen to the John Eden Remixes and personally Aint Complaing is just a poor album
@@Iainrankingtheobscure Ain't Complaining would be much better if it had a not so horrible 80s production. Same with Thirsty work and Perfect Remedy. But those were the times I guess...
Whilst most die hard quo fans write off anything made after john coglin left i honestly think theres been some hidden gems done by the latter day quo such as rock till u drop, heavy traffic and quid pro quo which could have easily been made in the 70s
Well done Ian. I'm a Quo fan since the 70's and while I understand your dislike of RAOTW, I really think you had to be there in the 70's when it came out to hear it live. I heard it at the Glasgow Apollo, 1978 and the crowd reaction blew me to pieces.
A good list, I broadly agree with the order though I put Piledriver at No.1 and bottom of my list is Don't Stop which I find almost unlistenable. I would have Under The Influence much higher up the list, for me it was the return of a recognisably Quo sound after a number of below par albums.
I agree with you Pete except for the number 1 position which I can't make up my mind about. Maybe "Blue for you"... Anyway, Under the influence comes really high for me. Great album with great songs. I only think that the Tom Petty cover was unnecessary. I would rather have had "Sea Cruise" on the album
i agree with your no1 always been my top pick, but for me ma kellys at 2 and piledriver at 3, nice review
Brave ranking Quo albums,hat off for that.Nobody needs to agree with you, although I’m sure some will. Fans will always debate, all I can say really is keep on rockin.
Agree with top two. Also agree with RAOTW single. Can't abide it.
Wow 2 of us who abide RAOTW
@@Iainrankingtheobscure Fogerty did it better.
Not a bad list at all, mate, although I'd rate 'On The Level' at least above 'Just Supposin' AND 'Whatever You Want' - I think you rated 'If You Can't Stand the Heat' too high - that album really disappointed me. Absolutely agree with your comments about RAOTW - and like you, my favourite track from that album is 'Hold You Back' and from 'Never Too Late', 'Riverside' is also my favourite. Also, I think you should have included the Live album in there somewhere (near the very top). But overall, REALLY well done, as it's hard to rank so many albums. I found myself nodding my head to many of your comments. I reckon you could throw a blanket over On The Level, Piledriver, Hello, Quo, Blue for You and the Live Album and make them all equal first!
The top 5 were the hardest to rank but in the end it came down to what tracks I really liked more was very tough
My favourite albums are Piledriver, Quo and On the Level
I agree with the quo album been the best snd slow train is criminally under rated! Im not too keen on rockin all over the world song i enjoy the album for the most part
my top 3 Piledriver Dog of Two Head Hello
Good work buddy. I would have placed 'On the Level' much higher and displaced any of the later albums to include 'Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon.' ....April spring !!..... really me/ gotta go home... daughter... juniors wailing.... spinning wheel. 😎
I agree that chosing between Quo and Hello is hard but I would actually put the latter as #1. And I would reverse the ranking between Just Supposin and Never to Late and possible move 1982/Back to Back down in the rankings but other than that - great summary and list.
Just started watching this the greatest period is from ma Kelly's to bfy looking forward to your opinions
1. Live (Quo essential!)
2. Piledriver
3. Blue for you
4. Ma Kelly‘s greasy spoon
5. Hello!
6. Quo
7. Quid pro Quo
8. Whatever you want
9. Rockin‘ all over the world (prefer the remix too!)
10. Heavy traffic
Honorable mentions:
Rock til you drop
In search of the fourth chord
Riffs
Dislike:
Don‘t stop
Perfect remedy
In the army now
The Live album is ranked on the Quo Live Albums Video check that one
Thanks Mate! Got them all! :) - Worst 5 to me: All cover Albums ("Riff's" the worst of'em, total crap..), "Backbone"(too limp, lacks Rick) and (yes, stone me if you will :) "Whatever you want" (only Wyw & Living.. have good power or melody, rest can't compare) - The 5 best: "On the Level", "Hello", "Piledriver", "If you can't stand the Heat" and (yes, stone me again:) "Ain't complaining"(was in the Love of my life the time it came out, maybe that made it ,) - All others i love or at least i can arrange with, sometimes more, sometimes less .) - Heads down 'n boogie ! Love Quo
1. Blue For You (I mean, it has "That's A Fact", "Mystery Song", and "Ring of a Change"... 3 of the very best Quo songs)
2. Quo ("Slow Train" and "Backwater/Just Take Me")
3. Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon (Highly experimental album, with proto metal standouts "Daughter" and "Need Your Love")
4. Heavy Traffic (Brought SQ back and up to modern production standards. Still holds up today - this album doesn't sound out of place next to other rock bands. Also far more creative than their 80s and 90s stuff, including the last few albums from before Alan Lancaster's departure)
5. Picturesque Matchstickable Messages From The Status Quo (actually a really good Psychedelic Rock album in it's own right. often overlooked, since people don't tend to take this era of Quo seriously. "When My Mind is Not Live" and "Technicolour Dreams" are great, as are "Paradise Flat" and "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Café". And I also enjoy the title track, and "Black Veils of Melancholy".
Honourable mentions to:
- Piledriver ("Oh Baby", "A Year", "Paper Plane")
- Dog of Two Head (Highly experimental concept album. "Umleitung", "Nanana", "Someone's Learning", "Gerdundula")
- In Search of the Fourth Chord (This should've come after "Heavy Traffic" instead of the boring and uninspired "The Party Ain't Over Yet")
- Quid Pro Quo (Easily their heaviest album from after the 70s. "Dust to Gold" and "Frozen Hero")
- Status Quo Live! (1977)
- Backbone (boring production - playing it too safe, and should've included more Guitar solos in the songwriting. Also more vocalists. "Get out of my head" and "Falling off the world" are brilliant)
Blue For you is my number one too
I had both those albums on tape you played in hospital, played them to death.
Nice one agree with your choices raotw and iycsth are probably the poorest of the frantic four albums
Quo would be my choice as well, often referred to as the Lancaster album
After re listening to their full discography again I have to say I think you dropped the ball with Under The Influence, that album is way better than number 27 imo. I also believe the debut is way better than Spare Parts I’d almost have that last
As I keep saying we all hear things differently and I am not a huge fan of Under The Influence; for me Spare Parts is an album that is neither one nor the other although there are a couple of tracks I like, its an album of transition
@@Iainrankingtheobscure Agree on Quid Pro Quo it’s ridiculously good
Top 8 pretty similar could have can’t stand the heat at 8
Mad about the boy classic
'Pretty, pretty not not the sort of thing I want to listen to'..... scathing! 😂
Jeff's last album was 'Famous In The Last Century' great list though.
true bit that album was just shocking
Your right but that album was a joke I dont like speaking bad of the dead Dave Walker did more damage to Quo than good at times Famous In The C being a bad idea
Unless the top seven are the seven consecutive albums starting with Dog Of Two Head through to the Double Live (at the Glasgow Apollo) album, this is a waste of time. Quo started going downhill from the awful Rocking all Over the World album.
There's 2 type of fans who like this stuff. Die hard fans who know what QUO did best, then the others who literally like anything with Rossi involved.
Thank you for your input but we all have our own opinions and if we didn't live would be boring did you like Ricks Solo Album
@@Iainrankingtheobscure Hi yeah I have to admit I typed that out before I watched the video, it’s sort of the standard reply from most Quo fans from back in the 70’s. I think your 1 and 2 were spot on, the Quo album is just phenomenal and still my favourite album cover of all time. Personally I find it hard to break up the 7 albums that I mentioned with anything that came after, though I agree with your choices of Never to Late, Just Supposing and Whatever You Want as the best of the rest.
I was the first person in Birmingham to get the Rocking All Over the World album, I was in Virgin records when the first box came in, I was so disappointed when I got it home.
I really like Ricks album, miss him so much, he was the heartbeat of Quo, Rossi is a miserable bugger.
Oh and I think Claudie is a cracking song.
@@4stevio this will upset some people but i think Over and Out is a tad better than Backbone
@@McCaff62 Why does it have to be either or? It's possible to enjoy ALL of Status Quo and not get stuck in preconcieved ideas about the music, production and band members. In my opinion the so called "die hard fans" are just nostalgics who can't go beyond the FF split and refuse to accept FF for what it was and refuse to accept all the line ups post-FF for what they've been and are.
For me, personally, I like the music and I care less about who's in the band. I like nice songs and I can hear nice songs even if they were recorded in late 80s and so on.
Riverside classic
Obviously not easy to say sober either, its 'picturesque matchstickable messages' 😏
Totally agree about aaRAOTW and IYCSTH...worst production out of any of the quo albums, Pip Williams fault?...he was just doing what the band wanted. It was their fault entirely. I'd like to see John Eden re-mix IYCSTH too, as their a few decent tracks on there...and then there was accident prone! 😫
For me,status quo are either great or like their later stuff ...a bit cringe
Never understood why people prefer Lancaster singing old rag blues
Rossi sounds more like quo
Does not sound so poppy
@@Iainrankingtheobscure but Rossi sung most of all the hits
@@koekelmetperen if did a top 10 Quo songs if you found 2 single's that would all
I'm guessing people like the Lancaster version more because he wrote and they think he should have sung it. For me, it doesn't matter even though I prefer the Rossi version. Maybe because I'm more used to it?
@@Iainrankingtheobscure which also means that it would have less commercial appeal. If I was the record company, I would also choose the Rossi version of this song as a single.
Wrong top 2 other way round
there is no right or wrong, there is just how you hear music and how I hear music, which makes it a personal choice
Definitively for me "Ain't complaining" is the worst Quo album.
Perfect Remedy is worse
@James Knight Far from it
To me backbone is below average yet its very popular on the quo message board opinions I guess
@@bm3738 what is it about it that you don't like?
with a less anoying 80s production it would be al right I think. Got some decent songs on it (buried in the chessy production techniques of the day)