Some readers might find this hard to believe, but once upon a time Status Quo were a highly respected band. After starting their career with the psychedelic "Pictures of Matchstick Men" in 1968, the band developed into one of the country's finest rock bands and were seen as the leading purveyor of heads down, no nonsense boogie.
Between 1973 to 1976, Quo released four albums, three of which went to number one, with the other peaking at number 2. A string of memorable singles reached the Top 10, "Caroline", "Break The Rules", "Down Down" and "Roll Over Lay Down".
"Blue For You" was probably the high-water mark for the band, and spawned two further classic hit singles, namely "Rain" and "Mystery Song". After this, it was mostly downhill and the arrival of punk/new wave contributed to Quo being viewed as three-chord dinosaurs and highly unfashionable.
There was still the occasional great song released, such as their cover versions of "Wild Side Of Life" & "Rockin' All Over The World", plus their own "Whatever You Want". I did go out and buy "Again and Again", thinking they were having a laugh at themselves, only to learn they were being deadly serious ! However, most of their subsequent releases went into the forgettable dross category.
In 1985 Status Quo famously opened the Band Aid Concert at Wembley, fittingly playing "Rockin' All Over The World", and Quo's hard core fans remained faithful in large enough numbers to see the band achieve all sorts of Guinness Book of Records, such as 60 chart hits in the UK, of which 22 made the Top 10, and 57 were Top 40. 22 consecutive albums made the UK charts, and over the course of their career Quo released over 100 singles and 33 albums.
The classic Quo line-up consisted of Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi sharing guitar and vocal duties, with Alan Lancaster on bass and occasional lead vocals, and John Coghlan on drums.
My memory of "Blue For You" was that it was a very good album with not a poor song on it although looking at the track listing now, the only songs I could properly remember were the two hit singles plus "Is There A Better Way". I had a vague recollection of how "Blue For You" and "Rolling Home" went.
The title of the album apparently came from a combination of the photo shoot for the album, with the boys dressed in their traditional all blue denim, possibly sponsored by Levi, plus there also being the song "Blue For You" on the album, which was then deemed appropriate enough to become the title track, even though its blues nature wasn't really representative of the hard rock/12 bar boogie nature of the rest of the album.
The album opens with "Is There A Better Way" with Lancaster providing the vocals. It has an urgent, almost punk riff but a short dreamy interlude in a different time signature in the middle section. "Is there a better way ? Is there a better way ? Is there a better way ahead or just another day ? There's got to be a way to make a better day. I'm gonna find away to make a better day. You're never gonna be the one to hold me down".
"Mad About The Boy"isn't the Noel Coward/Dinah Washington classic, of which a Quo version could be quite interesting, but is instead a standard boogie sung by Rossi, with a formulaic guitar solo and some piano in the mix.
"Ring Of A Chance" is also sung by Rossi and has a duelling guitar duelling intro. The main riff is similar to that in "Mystery Song". "Move into the light, come on into the light. Move into the light. I'll see you in the light, all right".
The pace changes with "Blue For You", a slow, mellow blues number written and sung by Lancaster which has a melodic guitar solo
Side one closes with Parfitt's stomping "Rain" and its peculiar pronunciation of rain. "How can I see what I'm needing for. How can I give what I gave before. How can you tell me that you want me to stay. How can I stay when I'm trying to say, that I can't live without the rain. Yes I can't live without the rain".
"Rolling Home" opens side two and is another standard boogie, sung by Rossi. There is a touch of harmonica but the guitar solo is a bit cliched. "Me and my lady love the way you're rollin' home"
"That's A Fact" is sung by Rossi and has a Hamilton Bohannon or even Chuck Berry riff. "Sitting in a cornfield looking at a cob, thinking of a long line waiting for a job. And I'm alone and that's a fact".
"Ease You Mind" is more 12 bar boogie, written and sung by Lancaster and the second track on the album with some boogie woogie piano. "I'm gonna ease your mind, I'm gonna write a line, and write a letter to you. I'm gonna let you know that I'll be coming home, and make it better with you".
Parfitt's hard rock "Mystery Song" has a gentle guitar intro and soft vocal for over a minute until the main riff blasts in. The seven minutes were edited down to just under four minutes for the single release. "The boys know what you're giving, you give the boys such a lot of fun. And by the way that you make a living you've got the boys all on the run".
Overall it was enjoyable to hear "Blue For You" and whilst I still think there isn't a bad song on the album, it now sounds a little dated. "Is There A Better Way" actually sounded the best track, although the two hit singles still sound good.
Track Listing :
Side One :
1. Is There A Better Way
2. Mad About The Boy
3. Ring Of A Chance
4. Blue For You
5. Rain
1. Rolling Home
2. That's A Fact
3. Ease Your Mind
4. Mystery Song
Released : 1976
UK Chart Position : 1
Singles :
Rain ( No 7 - 1976 )
Mystery Song ( No 11 - 1976 )
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