Artist: Status Quo
Label: Universal Music Group
Release: 2004
Rating: 5/5
Amid the flood of a million best-ofs, here’s one more that all the die-hard fans would sell their left nut for, if it came to that. We’ll take a slightly more autobiographical angle, so it’s not just a dry analysis of the contents of this historic overview. All the biggest hits collected on two discs from one of the most beloved rock bands of all time. What lifts these legends above the rest and makes them immortal? Okay, the long road travelled and faith in the cause, obviously! They’re masters of the so-called “twelve bar boogie shuffle”, of writing one-of-a-kind songs resting on just two, three, four chords at most, simple but packed with explosives that instantly send adrenaline racing through your veins and fill them with positive jamming rhythm boogie energy, which, if you’re built within the bounds of normal, you simply can’t stand still to. Your limbs and head start bobbing and flying around all on their own. They win over the listener like hardly any other band trying its hand at this genre.
Status Quo don’t sing about their pain through the prism of rock music, they don’t feel sorry for themselves, and they don’t lay bare their troubles and disappointments with the world. They firmly want to set people’s hearts on fire, cheer them up and set them free, so that they merge into one with their hot-blooded boogie drive, full of simple left-right jam riffs that really keep you in a good mood all the time. Like I say, if they can’t get to someone among you, that person needs to find proper therapy, because they must simply be vaccinated against having a good time. Does anyone remember the magic at the Izola stadium in 2004, when Status Quo played before Deep Purple (plenty of people would have given their soul for the headliner roles to be swapped)? The crowd across the entire pitch held hands and jumped to crazy boogie rhythms, fused into one. It’ll be 40 years since Parfitt and Rossi met at Butlin’s holiday camp in Minehead. Back then they were each strumming strings in their own band (Rossi in The Spectres, later renamed Traffic Jam, and Parfitt in The Highlights), but that meeting was fateful.
The success story begins in the toilet at Francis Rossi’s place, where, hugely inspired by the room he found himself in “by force of circumstance”, he writes the song Pictures Of A Machstick Men, which gives the band their first UK top ten hit and the only Status Quo US hit of their career. Written in the Summer of Love (1967), psychedelically tuned out. The second hit from the “flower – power” era, Ice In The Sun, follows the same style. Soon, though, the jackets, ties and neatly cut fringes were swapped for jeans, T-shirts and long manes. The boys were known for never bothering with stage glitz; they always marched onstage dressed as if plucked straight off the street. Well, on the 1970 album “Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon” (with the hit Down The Dustpipe), they already hinted at the direction to come with their Steamhammer cover Junior’s Wailing, which led them toward simpler rock, or what they soon polished down to the last detail. Pure Status Quo boogie! It was followed by a dream success story and over 120 million records sold over the band’s career.
Living legends Rick Parfitt and Francis Rossi on the legendary white and green Telecaster Fender guitars! These two have always been an indispensable part of Status Quo. Wherever they go, Status Quo go. When one of them is gone, so is the band. Well, what I mean is, classic Status Quo will be no more. But don’t worry, they live by the “rock ’till you drop” principle, forever bound to the cause. Solid as a rock, just like the name. You are what you are. Sturdy, resistant, steel immune to any kind of rust, worthy of the name Status Quo (the existing state) that they built together. Alongside them, the lineup includes Andrew Bown (keyboards), who has written a nice chunk of history with the band (he co-wrote the 1979 hit Whatever You Want, for instance). He joined the band in 1976 (though he’d been working with them since 1973). Then there’s bassist John “Rhino” Edwards (he jumped in soon after their legendary Live Aid performance, where Quo opened that magical event with the barnstormer Rockin’ All Over The World, which became the Live Aid anthem). Edwards got the nickname “Rhino” supposedly because wherever he turns up, everything around him gets smashed and knocked down, himself included. The youngest member is Matt Letley (drums), who joined in 1999. This lineup also delivers two brand-new songs on this compilation, You’ll Come Around (also released as a single) and Thinking Of You, which carry all the excellence of Status Quo.
The first disc mostly carries the legacy of the seventies, tastefully mixed together. From Paper Plane onward, of course, when Status Quo became perennial guests on the UK top ten charts. That means evergreens like Down Down, Big Fat Mama, Forty-Five Hundred Times, Break The Rules, Something About You Babe I Like, Roll Over Lay Down, Caroline and of course Rockin’ All Over The World plus Whatever You Want. To round out the retrospective feel of the disc, they also included tracks like Softer Ride, Hold You Back, Little Lady and Don’t Waste My Time.
The second disc is more colorful. It opens with the latest period. The newest banger, then a rundown of the splendid Heavy Traffic (2002) and a jump back to the late sixties, a few gems from the seventies like Down The Dustpipe, Wild Side Of Life, In My Chair, the traditional folk number Gerdundula, then onward through the eighties with Rock’N’ Roll, Marguerita Time, Burning Bridges, What’s Your Proposin’, In The Army Now, The Wanderer, the uncharacteristic ballad Living On An Island… And the nineties, where they really set things on fire, especially with the phenomenal 21th Anniversary Waltz Pt1 medley, back to the present. All in all, “XS All Areas The Greatest Hits” packs in a whopping 40 tracks.
Of course, it’s mostly “mature” folks who get fired up about this compilation, but young enough that they all still chew with their own real teeth. Our dads and moms will be especially happy with it. But once you feel that unique magic of the boogie drive and let it get close, which isn’t hard at all, so that your heart starts playing along, well, that’s simply it. The unbending steel riders are slowly entering their fifth decade (four are already behind them) and there’s no end to the story in sight, even though they earned a memorial record long ago. This retrospective is an excellent recap of everything Status Quo are and have been. It’s also a herald of the remastering of their studio albums from 1971-1983, which started coming out in January 2005. XS All Areas is a compilation for everyone. Having it is enough to walk through a nice chunk of the band’s history. And if you’re a fan on top of that, you can’t go without it anyway. A really warm recommendation for everyone! It’s not meditative, but it’s extremely party-minded and positive!
Track List
CD 1.:
1. Caroline
2. Down Down
3. Paper Plane
4. Big Fat Mama
5. Roll Over Lay Down
6. Softer Ride
7. Don’t Waste My Time
8. Little Lady
9. Mystery Song
10. Rain
11. Break The Rules
12. Something About You Baby I Like
13. Hold You Back
14. Rockin’ All Over The World
15. Whatever You Want
16. Don’t Drive My Car
17. Again And Again
18. 4500 Times
19. All Stand Up
CD 2.
1. You’ll Come ‘Round (new track)
2. Thinking Of You (new track)
3. Jam Side Down
4. Creepin’ Up On You
5. Down The Dustpipe
6. Pictures Of Matchstick Men
7. Ice In The Sun
8. In My Chair
9. Gerdundula
10. Wild Side Of Life
11. Rock ‘N’ Roll
12. What You’re Proposin’
13. The Wanderer
14. Livin’ On An Island
15. Marguerita Time
16. In The Army Now
17. When You Walk In The Room
18. Burning Bridges
19. Fun Fun Fun
20. Old Time Rock and Roll
21. Anniversary Waltz Part 1
Album length: 154:14
