mortified
Administrator
This is no' gettin' the bairn a shirt
Posts: 5,559
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Post by mortified on Dec 1, 2017 6:49:06 GMT
....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:.... The fact was, however, that "Whatever You Want" itself so scarred the record that it was hard not to hear the entire thing from beneath that baleful shadow. Boy does he not like the title track! He doesn't even mention how good the intro is!! Scarcely believable. If Quo are genius at anything, it's a hook and a melody. OK, we're all sick of the song now but I know when I first heard it, I was blown away. If he's written that 30 years after the fact, I get it. If he'd written it in 1979 I guarantee his review would have been completely different.
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Post by snakelady on Dec 1, 2017 8:42:05 GMT
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, was one of the most unexpected songs they'd made in years, while the likes of "Shady Lady," "High Flyer," and the wonderful "Who Asked You" all had a bellicose punch that defied anyone to accuse the band of stagnation. The fact was, however, that "Whatever You Want" itself so scarred the record that it was hard not to hear the entire thing from beneath that baleful shadow. And, when the 1980s proved that Quo really had given up trying (at least for a few years) -- well, now you know why a lot of fans gave up around then. Whatever You Want review on Allmusic.com by Dave Thompson. Boy does he not like the title track! He doesn't even mention how good the intro is!! As opposed to mortified I kind of shared DT's sentiments straight away. I didn't like it and could at once see the damage it caused to their reputation. And yep, no intro could save that song, no matter how good. It took them till ITAN to recover at least a bit here. Not by regaining the old fans that left after IYCSTH and WYW, but by acquiring new fans though. Their singles after WYW somehow surprisingly still managed to chart - in contrast to nearly every other 70s act - but from then on they were just one band among many and not one of the biggest and most influential any more.
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col
High Flyer
All my Gods are leaving......
Posts: 302
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Post by col on Dec 3, 2017 19:42:41 GMT
As much as this album was a massive return to form, I voted for the title track.
The intro to WYW is genius, a wonderful, wonderful thing. The song is poor, really poor.
The first half of LOAI is mundane, boring almost, but the last two minutes are sublime. Hence I play the album version and not the single.
I remember an interview in late '80/early '81 with Frame, it really got my alarm bells ringing when he said "Everything on the WYW album was crap, except the title song" and I remember thinking, "You've got it the wrong way round Francis".
I was right, he was wrong, unfortunately he makes the music.
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Isaac Ryan
Special Forces
Loz' Deputy
Posts: 1,036
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Post by Isaac Ryan on Dec 3, 2017 20:40:31 GMT
None
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Post by I Ain't Complaining on Dec 4, 2017 14:12:43 GMT
As much as this album was a massive return to form, I voted for the title track. The intro to WYW is genius, a wonderful, wonderful thing. The song is poor, really poor. The first half of LOAI is mundane, boring almost, but the last two minutes are sublime. Hence I play the album version and not the single. I remember an interview in late '80/early '81 with Frame, it really got my alarm bells ringing when he said "Everything on the WYW album was crap, except the title song" and I remember thinking, "You've got it the wrong way round Francis". I was right, he was wrong, unfortunately he makes the music. No way did he say that! Although a few years later you could see which way they'd gone....it makes sense. I've never had a problem with WYW the song, but I also love the rest of the album.....did I mention that!
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2017 22:32:10 GMT
IMO a great album....nothing has bettered it since for me.
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Post by snakelady on Dec 9, 2017 8:59:46 GMT
Got to admit I'm surprised by the extremely positive attitude towards the album and the number of 'none' votes. Maybe after Heat people were thankful for anything that resembled old Quo ?
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col
High Flyer
All my Gods are leaving......
Posts: 302
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Post by col on Dec 10, 2017 13:18:09 GMT
As much as this album was a massive return to form, I voted for the title track. The intro to WYW is genius, a wonderful, wonderful thing. The song is poor, really poor. The first half of LOAI is mundane, boring almost, but the last two minutes are sublime. Hence I play the album version and not the single. I remember an interview in late '80/early '81 with Frame, it really got my alarm bells ringing when he said "Everything on the WYW album was crap, except the title song" and I remember thinking, "You've got it the wrong way round Francis". I was right, he was wrong, unfortunately he makes the music. No way did he say that! Although a few years later you could see which way they'd gone....it makes sense. I've never had a problem with WYW the song, but I also love the rest of the album.....did I mention that! He did. it was the NME I think, around the time of Never Too late. I gave all my scrap books to a member of this board, he may be able to produce it. I think it's the one with the picture of Frame holding the Irish Times upside down!!
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Post by I Ain't Complaining on Dec 18, 2017 19:00:47 GMT
Got to admit I'm surprised by the extremely positive attitude towards the album and the number of 'none' votes. Maybe after Heat people were thankful for anything that resembled old Quo ? Not in my case. I came to Quo in the late 80s and didn't get the albums in chronological order. Me and my mate just bought what we could find in second hand record shops and recorded them for each other. I think IYCSTH and 1982 were 2 of the last albums we got our hands on! It could be the reason some fans like it though.
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mortified
Administrator
This is no' gettin' the bairn a shirt
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Post by mortified on Dec 19, 2017 7:25:24 GMT
Got to admit I'm surprised by the extremely positive attitude towards the album and the number of 'none' votes. Maybe after Heat people were thankful for anything that resembled old Quo ? There was an element of that I suppose but I also think it was just a good album. Certainly a huge improvement on its predecessor, like you say. Gone was the big production, the brass, the female backing singers. Quo were back
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frozenhero
Administrator
Drop-D beautiful
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Post by frozenhero on Dec 19, 2017 17:35:38 GMT
Got to admit I'm surprised by the extremely positive attitude towards the album and the number of 'none' votes. Maybe after Heat people were thankful for anything that resembled old Quo ? There's nothing wrong with differing views - it's when people start second-guessing why somebody likes something that supposedly isn't all that good that we get into murky waters. In other words... that statement isn't much better as people who go around saying "oh, you like everything that has the name Quo attached to it" - it's putting one's opinion above others. At least that's how I see it. And for me as well, I didn't get the albums in chronological order and even if I did, I'm not sure how much that would colour my opinion... so yeah, I like WYW a lot. I think I would even like it had it been produced like IYCSTH, because I think the songs are good.
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