Post by mortified on Aug 23, 2015 17:55:50 GMT
I stuck this on the black board as well. It's the official 'lamebrain' review. Not pleasant reading I have to say but it is fascinating because this was the band largely acknowledged as being at the peak of their powers. We're still here. I very much doubt the offending writer is. One Chris Salewicz of the NME in 1974.
"Quite a lot of people I know seem to reckon that Status Quo are some kind of English Grand Funk, which I don't really see. No, Status Quo are far, far crasser.
Why, at Wembley even their fans seemed to have sussed out that this place was just a little too big for a band like Quo to take on and, accordingly, started staging some Rolling Stones sized battles with the commissionaires about twenty minutes before the band were even due - almost to relieve them of some of the pressure as it were.
Now another common fallacy about Quo is that they are some kind of killer heavy metal group which they most certainly are not and never have been. But when they came on stage it was immediately apparent that someone had whispered something to this effect in their ears. Francis Rossi and Richard Parfitt started off with some worn-out hamfisted guitar solo trading for the first couple of numbers although they soon seemed to realise that this was not only not assisting their music but actually making it worse.
So for the rest of the set Status Quo reverted to their standard chunky rock 'n' roll boogie, hunched over and jousting with their guitars and now and then linking hair around John Coghlan's drum kit to increase the spread of dandruff.
However, having managed to achieve some vague semblance of musical unity there was still the problem of the vocals. Rossi, when he leaves his guitar playing alone and takes over at the mike (he would appear to have difficulty combining the two together), is capable of producing a nasal whine resembling a not unattractive young Lonnie Donegan. Bassist Alan Lancaster, on the other hand, sounds as if his vocal chords have been dipped in creosote for a couple of weeks.
And so, of course, it was Lancaster who seemed to be given the lion's share of the vocals and who, even accepting that the PA mix was utterly diabolical, delivered such strange sounds from his throat that assisted Status Quo to become the only band I've heard capable of goofing up "Johnny B Goode".
Lancaster also took the lead vocals on a curious, convoluted version of "Roadhouse Blues" during which Rossi presided over some weird Quo ritual which involved them playing a jig.
Bizarre indeed.
Status Quo are even such a load of lamebrains that they'd gone and done something which no other bill-topping act likes to even contemplate - they'd found a support act who could wipe the floor with them."
Nice, eh? Reviews such as this were not uncommon but it's fascinating finding them again. I remember them getting a hammering on and off right through the 70's but its even worse than I thought! I might see if I can find the "Frantic Four" review and we can put that one to bed once and for all.
And people wonder why Francis in particular doesn't give a flying V what anyone says. Well, now you know having put up with this for 40 odd years.
"Quite a lot of people I know seem to reckon that Status Quo are some kind of English Grand Funk, which I don't really see. No, Status Quo are far, far crasser.
Why, at Wembley even their fans seemed to have sussed out that this place was just a little too big for a band like Quo to take on and, accordingly, started staging some Rolling Stones sized battles with the commissionaires about twenty minutes before the band were even due - almost to relieve them of some of the pressure as it were.
Now another common fallacy about Quo is that they are some kind of killer heavy metal group which they most certainly are not and never have been. But when they came on stage it was immediately apparent that someone had whispered something to this effect in their ears. Francis Rossi and Richard Parfitt started off with some worn-out hamfisted guitar solo trading for the first couple of numbers although they soon seemed to realise that this was not only not assisting their music but actually making it worse.
So for the rest of the set Status Quo reverted to their standard chunky rock 'n' roll boogie, hunched over and jousting with their guitars and now and then linking hair around John Coghlan's drum kit to increase the spread of dandruff.
However, having managed to achieve some vague semblance of musical unity there was still the problem of the vocals. Rossi, when he leaves his guitar playing alone and takes over at the mike (he would appear to have difficulty combining the two together), is capable of producing a nasal whine resembling a not unattractive young Lonnie Donegan. Bassist Alan Lancaster, on the other hand, sounds as if his vocal chords have been dipped in creosote for a couple of weeks.
And so, of course, it was Lancaster who seemed to be given the lion's share of the vocals and who, even accepting that the PA mix was utterly diabolical, delivered such strange sounds from his throat that assisted Status Quo to become the only band I've heard capable of goofing up "Johnny B Goode".
Lancaster also took the lead vocals on a curious, convoluted version of "Roadhouse Blues" during which Rossi presided over some weird Quo ritual which involved them playing a jig.
Bizarre indeed.
Status Quo are even such a load of lamebrains that they'd gone and done something which no other bill-topping act likes to even contemplate - they'd found a support act who could wipe the floor with them."
Nice, eh? Reviews such as this were not uncommon but it's fascinating finding them again. I remember them getting a hammering on and off right through the 70's but its even worse than I thought! I might see if I can find the "Frantic Four" review and we can put that one to bed once and for all.
And people wonder why Francis in particular doesn't give a flying V what anyone says. Well, now you know having put up with this for 40 odd years.