Status Quo / Live! Review – SuperDeluxeEdition Reimagined

“Oh, behave yourself! Who would want to endure it all?  Damn, that’s commitment.”

Status Quo’s Francis Rossi, responding to a journalist’s inquiry about whether he had listened to all eight discs of the newly expanded edition of Quo’s 1977 album Live!. It’s a pertinent question for any expanded edition, whether it includes live performances, unreleased tracks, or new remixes: who would want to listen to the entirety? After all, the original, significantly shorter release represents the band’s or record company’s intentions at that time; adding extra discs can risk overwhelming the listener.

Fortunately, this is not the situation with Live!. Initially a double LP featuring tracks from Quo’s concerts at the Glasgow Apollo on October 27th, 28th, and 29th in 1976—three seemingly identical sets—this new box set encompasses the original album along with the complete recordings of all three concerts. Simply put, it’s not for the faint-hearted: there’s a wealth of music, and it’s undeniably relentless Quo boogie—no acoustic interludes, no ballads—just a raw sound. Very raw: unlike other iconic live albums from that era like Thin Lizzy’s Live And Dangerous, there are no overdubs. It’s no surprise that Francis Rossi initially loathed the live album, deeming it “the worst album we ever made.”

Status Quo – not merely a wall of sound, but a tsunami of sound, crashing onto the listener time and again with relentless force

David Quantick

Yet, these elements contribute to what makes Live! what it is – unapologetically pure Status Quo, more a tsunami of sound than a mere wall, relentlessly hitting the listener without respite. While the setlist remains unchanged each night—no swapping out songs or trying something new—starting each set with ‘Junior’s Wailing’ and concluding with ‘Bye Bye Johnny’ is a trade-off. Rossi’s banter between songs holds little variation from night to night, and, sure enough, there’s a drum solo after ‘Caroline’ every single time, along with frequent renderings of ‘Roadhouse Blues’ (estimates say around 4400 times). But it’s a Status Quo record, and it doesn’t just leave no prisoners; it scoops them up and hurls them into an active volcano.

At this moment, Quo were at their live pinnacle: the Frantic Four lineup of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, and John Coghlan was an unbeatable force, and when they locked in, the boogie was merciless. With a rich back catalogue including masterpieces like Piledriver, Hello!, and On The Level, their performance here is simply astonishing.

This collection proves to be extraordinarily entertaining from start to finish. Part of this stems from the previously mentioned relentless boogie: the characteristic Status Quo “shuffle” that makes all their fast tracks so addictive—a sound so infectious that the ’90s dance act Apollo 440 created a hit simply by sampling the guitar intro for ‘Caroline’. For some inexplicable reason, it’s a sound that you can immerse yourself in for hours; a trance for those who hook their thumbs into their jeans’ belt loops. Eight CDs of it? Yes, please.

Quo were a rock band that grasped the essence of pop

David Quantick

Additionally, it’s a testament to a reality often overlooked about Quo: they were keenly aware of a good hook. From their early days performing at Butlins, as The Spectres and The Status Quo, cranking out covers like ‘We Ain’t Got Nothing Yet’ and ‘Down The Dustpipe’, transitioning through pop psychedelia with tracks like ‘Ice In The Sun’ and ‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’, to their imperial boogie phase (‘Down Down’ might just be the greatest single ever) and returning to pop in the ’80s with ‘In The Army Now’ and ‘Margarita Time’, Quo were a rock band that truly understood pop. Even amidst the rawest waves of guitar, hooks have always been present: during their peak, Status Quo produced thunderous, ceaseless rock that also happened to be exceptional pop songs: ‘Caroline’, ‘Rain’, ‘Paper Plane’, ‘Mystery Song’.

They were also showmen, with a career framed by those Butlins performances, entertaining antics, and the ability to engage a crowd. On Live!, Rossi sounds his most jubilant while rallying the audience into a sing-along: though his spiel slightly varies each night, he embodies both MC and lead vocalist and—contrary to his reputation for being grim—he appears to be thoroughly enjoying himself (as does the audience: there’s a reason this album was recorded in Glasgow).

So who wants to experience it all? Everyone! Perhaps not in one go, but this reviewer played through all eight discs and relished the experience. Each concert offers its unique flavor: the final night kicks off with a hilariously vulgar introduction by Jackie Lynton, the second night has some shaky moments, the drum solo varies nightly, and so on—small differences, perhaps, yet they distinctly mark each performance and give each show its unique character.

Regarding the sound—it’s raw yet brilliant. As rough as a bear’s divorce, but anything less wouldn’t fit. In the 1970s, as previously mentioned, live albums were subjected to the same standard of perfectionism as studio recordings: bum notes were cut out, poor vocal performances were re-recorded, and any trace of rawness was eliminated at the source. While Live! could have benefitted from a different mix back in the day, very few live recordings resonate like this: an earthquake riding on the back of a speeding brontosaurus launched from a space cannon. Now, with this new mix (the audio has been mixed and mastered from newly-discovered 24-track multi-track tapes), even Francis Rossi admits, “It’s so much better than it was.”

This is a live album that encapsulates a band at their zenith, known for their electrifying live performances, as well as the sheer exhilarating essence of being part of a crowd at a fantastic rock concert. Embrace it all, crank it up, and immerse yourself.

Review by David Quantick. The 8CD deluxe set of Live! is now available.