Status Quo ON The Level

If any single song sums up Status Quo in the hearts and the minds of the millions, it's "Down Down." Other songs may have been bigger, others may have more resonance, and some ("Rocking All Over the World " comes to mind) may be so permanently ingrained that it's hard to remember that Status Quo cut anything else. But, if you want to nail the very essence of Status Quo, only "Down Down" will do. It was their first British number one and their first all-time classic. And it was also their first grinning, winking acknowledgement that not only was there a formula to the records they made, but they were not afraid to list its ingredients. "Down Down" is the perfect Status Quo record, and the fact that it doesn't arrive until six songs into the band's eighth album just proves how much fun it had coming up with it…

After seven years at the top of the British charts, even Status Quo fans were beginning to wonder whether the band wasn't simply rewriting the same riff over and over again, then putting it out with a new catch phrase for a title. From "Down Down" to "Rocking All Over the World," Status Quo had enacted some of the most excitingly primal rock behemoths of the decade. But they'd also composed some of the most enduring clichés as well. However, nothing - repeat nothing - could have prepared the world for Whatever You Want, a record which, almost three decades later, still sounds like the most ruthless piss-take you've ever heard. And, of course, it became one of their biggest hits ever. Mercifully, the remainder of the album titled by this unfortunate monstrosity shows that there was more than one idea rattling around the band's heads at this point: "Living on an Island," with its acoustic wash and mournful melody…

Status Quo are delighted to announce the release of deluxe reissues of the Heavy Traffic [3CD] and Riffs [2CD] albums through UMC on September 30, 2022.

In March, Universal Music reissued a trio of Status Quo albums first released in the late 80s and early 1990s. These new CD editions offer a generous amount of bonus material. Perfect Remedy (1989) and its follow-up Rock ‘Til You Drop (1991) are both expanded to three-CD deluxe editions while Thirsty Work (1994) is a two CD set. The bonus content includes B-sides, 12-inch mixes, edits, outtakes, live performances and more.

In March, Universal Music reissued a trio of Status Quo albums first released in the late 80s and early 1990s. These new CD editions offer a generous amount of bonus material. Perfect Remedy (1989) and its follow-up Rock ‘Til You Drop (1991) are both expanded to three-CD deluxe editions while Thirsty Work (1994) is a two CD set. The bonus content includes B-sides, 12-inch mixes, edits, outtakes, live performances and more.

There are many compilations covering the productions by Status Quo in the 70s and 80s, the period when the big classics by the band were recorded. In the last 20 years, Status Quo continued to release chart albums, and pushed themselves to play in front of bigger and bigger audiences. To do this era justice, Quo’ing In – The Best of the Noughties is released as a 2CD Jewelcase, as well as a Limited Edition 3CD Deluxe Digipak featuring a bonus live-concert.

Never Too Late is best remembered today as drummer John Coghlan's final album with the band he'd served since the early '60s. The bulk of the set, however, was actually cut during the same sessions that produced the previous year's Just Supposin', although it's a struggle to say which of the two came out with the better songs. Neither is what one would describe as a classic Quo disc, but nor are they as disposable as some of the band's later releases. Indeed, any record that includes the bright bonhomie of "Something 'Bout You Baby I Like," the new album's biggest hit, is sure to have a few things to recommend it.

Following the wake of Picturesque Machstickable Messages From the Status Quo, Spare Parts tries to imitate the psychedelic sound that was so fashionable at the time. The disc is known for being one of the less-fortunate made by the British band, and they have even despised it on some occasions. In fact, 1969 was going to be the most dismal year in the story of Status Quo. Urged by Pye's request to reach the charts at any rate, the songs in the record reflect the band's frustrated attempts to please the company. The result is an irregular album that does not reach the imaginative sound of their earlier songs nor the brightness of their subsequent records.

Status Quo are delighted to announce the release of deluxe reissues of the Heavy Traffic [3CD] and Riffs [2CD] albums through UMC on September 30, 2022.

In March, Universal Music reissued a trio of Status Quo albums first released in the late 80s and early 1990s. These new CD editions offer a generous amount of bonus material. Perfect Remedy (1989) and its follow-up Rock ‘Til You Drop (1991) are both expanded to three-CD deluxe editions while Thirsty Work (1994) is a two CD set. The bonus content includes B-sides, 12-inch mixes, edits, outtakes, live performances and more.