Make an 8 track album from .. In Search Of The Forth Chord

[snakelady]

Ok then .. As per has asked so nicely I'll give it another go ..  

So here goes .. For me it's actually difficult to leave out songs and only include 8 this time, as ISOTFC is one of my favourite albums and I usually merely skip two songs.
I'll have to start with my absolute favourites and work it down from there. A change of order won't be needed this time though, as the one thing I've always hated - Tongue Tied following Bad News - won't be a problem any longer with no BN included. 

No cheating with bonus tracks please and no shortening (EP ..) either. If you don't like the album you'll have to choose the least annoying fillers. 

[mortified]

This one's actually really easy for me. I ran off the 8 songs very quickly. My only doubt was whether or not to include I Ain't Wasting My Time. And it was close to be fair. 

Three that I've left out are among my least favourite Quo tracks ever which is why it was easy for me I guess. 

[Isaac Ryan]

BOTE
IDWTHYA
ALRIGHT
IAWMT
TT
MLH
GT
BN

[snakelady]

To decide on the 8th tune was the main problem for me. It was really tight between Saddling Up and Hold Me. I finally went for SU as it's something different whereas HM is nice, but more Quo by numbers. And different can be good.

Isaac Ryan - challenging Loz ? :oo: Good luck with it ..

[frozenhero]

Impossible! I went with:

BOTE
PBT
EA
GT
FOE
HM
SU
BN

But I feel bad for not voting for A, YTOFM or IAWMT too!

[per]

This wasn't easy! So many good songs to choose! Anyway, I thought of the vinyl format (four songs on each side) and came up with this:

Side 1:
1. BOTE
2. Alright
3. Electric Arena
4. Gravy Train

Side 2:
1. Hold Me
2. Figure of Eight
3. You're the One For Me
4. I Aint Waisting My Time

[cammythemortonfan]

Beginning of the End
Alright
PBT
I D W H Y A
Gravy Train
Bad News
Tongue Tied
I Ain’t Wasting My Time

[tramper]

[snakelady]

Looks like I'm the only one who didn't include BOT.
I thought it was OK at first, although it is one of the weaker tracks from a brilliant album, but after it having been in the set for a decade now, I don't mind not having to hear it any longer.

[frozenhero]

Somehow live and studio version of that song are two different animals for me. I always thought it was a bit meh live. They never could reproduce the chorus properly live. The studio version still fills me with great joy though.

[craydarr]

For Me its

BOTE
Pennsylvania
Electric Arena
I Don't Want To Hurt You
Gravy Train
Heartbreaker
Bad News
I Aint Wastin My Time

[mortified]

Dec 21, 2018 6:53:04 GMT snakelady said:

Looks like I'm the only one who didn't include BOT.
I thought it was OK at first, although it is one of the weaker tracks from a brilliant album, but after it having been in the set for a decade now, I don't mind not having to hear it any longer.

I always thought the edited single version was a travesty. The whole dynamic of the song was lost. I recall Pip Williams posting on the old message board that he knew nothing about that and was less than pleased at what the record company had done. 

[flawed]

I love this album, I was utterly shocked when it was released, the album cover was tacky and the talking by Fancis's wife was completely unnecessary, but remove those 2 things and Saddling Up, then in my opinion you have potentially my fave Quo album!

Having Pip back on board also made it a bit over produced, but also having him there gave it freshness and some balls, my top 8 songs are though are:

The Beginning Of The End (but seems a bit flat live though)
Pennsylvania Blues Tonight
You're The One For Me
My Little Heartbreaker
Hold Me
Bad News
Tongue Tied
One By One

[fisherman]

One of their worst albums, apart from the cover. I Don't Wanna Hurt You Any More, Tongue Tied, Ain't Waisting My Time and One By One are (very) good, the rest is not even average. Electric Arena mentioned as almost embarrassing. IMO of course.

[mortified]

On the general theme of Quo albums, I don't personally think they've made a poor one in 20 years apart from the two covers albums. OK, some I prefer more than others and I can pick holes in this track or that one; that's normal. But, hand on heart, I cannot say that I dislike any they've released since after Don't Stop. 

[snakelady]

Jan 7, 2019 6:34:30 GMT mortified said:

On the general theme of Quo albums, I don't personally think they've made a poor one in 20 years apart from the two covers albums. OK, some I prefer more than others and I can pick holes in this track or that one; that's normal. But, hand on heart, I cannot say that I dislike any they've released since after Don't Stop. 

Agree ! IMO the string of records they've released starting with UTI equals the the quality of their 70s releases (where's my tin hat ?).
For me TRAOY is the weakest out of the recent albums, but then, they had IYCSTH back then ..

If only the band would've got behind their newer releases more and it would reflect in the set the way the old stuff does. Some of the older tunes that had been dropped were allowed to return, but never anything new. Why ?? I want Heavy Traffic back ! 

[mortified]

Jan 7, 2019 7:46:42 GMT snakelady said:

Jan 7, 2019 6:34:30 GMT mortified said:

On the general theme of Quo albums, I don't personally think they've made a poor one in 20 years apart from the two covers albums. OK, some I prefer more than others and I can pick holes in this track or that one; that's normal. But, hand on heart, I cannot say that I dislike any they've released since after Don't Stop. 

Agree ! IMO the string of records they've released starting with UTI equals the the quality of their 70s releases (where's my tin hat ?).
For me TRAOY is the weakest out of the recent albums, but then, they had IYCSTH back then ..

If only the band would've got behind their newer releases more and it would reflect in the set the way the old stuff does. Some of the older tunes that had been dropped were allowed to return, but never anything new. Why ?? I want Heavy Traffic back ! 

Me too actually. Always liked that one. I don't want it in the set for 15 years! But it would be good if they swapped the newer ones around now and again like they do with the old ones. 

Heavy Traffic was the first song to go from the set from that album. All Stand Up and Solid Gold hung around for a while. These two were also previewed live in 2001. I've never understood why Jam Side Down was never played. It was a half decent hit and certainly sold a lot more than All Stand Up. It sort of contradicts what we feel about the band concentrating on the hits with the rest as padding. 

I've come to subscribe to the view that the set had a good deal to do with the lead vocals when Rick was in the band. If a Rick song went out, another Rick song came in. And the same with Francis. It'll be different now, although the set hasn't changed hugely. But they still need to give Francis a rest. 

[snakelady]

Jan 7, 2019 8:06:03 GMT mortified said:

Jan 7, 2019 7:46:42 GMT snakelady said:

Agree ! IMO the string of records they've released starting with UTI equals the the quality of their 70s releases (where's my tin hat ?).
For me TRAOY is the weakest out of the recent albums, but then, they had IYCSTH back then ..

If only the band would've got behind their newer releases more and it would reflect in the set the way the old stuff does. Some of the older tunes that had been dropped were allowed to return, but never anything new. Why ?? I want Heavy Traffic back ! 

Me too actually. Always liked that one. I don't want it in the set for 15 years! But it would be good if they swapped the newer ones around now and again like they do with the old ones. 

Heavy Traffic was the first song to go from the set from that album. All Stand Up and Solid Gold hung around for a while. These two were also previewed live in 2001. I've never understood why Jam Side Down was never played. It was a half decent hit and certainly sold a lot more than All Stand Up. It sort of contradicts what we feel about the band concentrating on the hits with the rest as padding. 

I've come to subscribe to the view that the set had a good deal to do with the lead vocals when Rick was in the band. If a Rick song went out, another Rick song came in. And the same with Francis. It'll be different now, although the set hasn't changed hugely. But they still need to give Francis a rest. 

Yes, lead vocals - mainly Rick's (just because he has relatively few suitable songs) - have always been a decisive factor. Same as it had been when Alan was still a band member. Lead vocals do reflect your status and position in the band, so you don't give up a spot (the spotlight) for another band member.
It's funny with Francis it seems to be the other way round. Going by his interviews around OSAAT he obviously prefers to be able to wander around on stage and not having to stand at the microphone. But maybe that's because he has the biggest share of songs and the spot in the middle of the stage anyway and would feel different about it if his wasn't the main position .. ?

It's not enough of an explanation though. Rick may not have many tunes, but they could've swapped Creepin' for Lucinda say. And they did introduce newer tunes, if only for a tour like Bellavista Man or Gravy Train. I suspect there were two factions within the band who had quite contrary views on the albums and material they contained and Heavy Traffic was probably the only album they all loved. These factions would've been Rick + Rhino and Francis + Andy. R+R loved TPAOY, F+A didn't. They thought ISOTFC was the much better album, R+R didn't like that or at least Francis' material on it. A.s.o.a.s.f.
So basically there usually wasn't support from half of the band for new albums and songs from it (I don't think Matt had much say ..).

And then there were sales figures. While the market more or less crashed for as near as everybody, the band was still aware of the absolute numbers they had sold and derived from them that people, fans, didn't much like the albums. These sales figures would mean too, that at gigs 90% of those present wouldn't know the songs (and maybe wouldn't like them either ?). That in turn would've required that the whole band would've had to really get behind the material, play it repeatedly till people knew it and talk positively about it. They weren't prepared to do that.

They did trust the sales figures of A1 and were prepared to shift the whole band in that direction, though health matters played a role too and it might not have been completely voluntarily by all, but they made a mess of it. A2 lacked the magic A1 had possessed (for reasons discussed elsewhere) and someone completely and utterly destroyed the chance of it selling any noticeable quantities with that marketing campaign - or rather the total lack of it.

Makes me actually wonder what would've happened, had Rick returned fit and healthy (relatively) from Turkey and taken part in the LNOTE tour. And then ? What would they have done ? Taken the tour to more countries like they did, yes, but then ? Personally I believe they had manoeuvred themselves into a corner that proved unsustainable pretty quickly and that they wouldn't have been able to get out of again. So the band wouldn't have existed any longer in 2019 IMO.

I'm aware that this is all mere speculation, but I think both Francis and Rick were tired of the band in the then existing form. Francis because he had been sick and tired of it for years and merely continued out of a sense of duty and Rick because he'd much have preferred to do the occasional short FF tour and otherwise live in Spain with no guitar in sight.

Dynamics have shifted in a big way though. It certainly made Rick the outsider within the band not wanting the line-up any longer. They'd all have lost their jobs apart from Francis and it might have caused a rift in Rhino's friendship with him too (which might explain why he ate alone on that fateful night in Turkey). And with Rick gone now the factions simply won't exist any longer. And the fact a completely new situation exists, allowed them a fresh start - to plug in again - without losing their credibility completely. Now it can be excused, just, whereas else it would've been inexcusable. 

[frozenhero]

Jan 13, 2019 9:08:57 GMT snakelady said:

Makes me actually wonder what would've happened, had Rick returned fit and healthy (relatively) from Turkey and taken part in the LNOTE tour. And then ? What would they have done ? Taken the tour to more countries like they did, yes, but then ? Personally I believe they had manoeuvred themselves into a corner that proved unsustainable pretty quickly and that they wouldn't have been able to get out of again. So the band wouldn't have existed any longer in 2019 IMO.

Totally this! I felt that from the first minute onward when they said "We're going to stop touring electrically, we'll morph into an acoustic band now". I couldn't envision it, and I felt the decision was entirely wrong. Instead of saying "We don't have to go at lightning speed all the time, let's play some more laid back tunes in our sets too", they just threw the baby out with the bathwater. And as you say, it was unsustainable for various reasons; the Aquostic tours were expensive with all the extra players (at least the last few gigs did away with the strings) and Rick didn't enjoy it anyway. Not to mention that it would have required them to introduce, and maybe even write, far more new songs to the set than they did in the wake of A2; this was when Rick was already out but still...

Not sure I agree with the credibility point though, it has been damaged in any case...

[mortified]

Jan 13, 2019 11:27:08 GMT frozenhero said:

Jan 13, 2019 9:08:57 GMT snakelady said:

Makes me actually wonder what would've happened, had Rick returned fit and healthy (relatively) from Turkey and taken part in the LNOTE tour. And then ? What would they have done ? Taken the tour to more countries like they did, yes, but then ? Personally I believe they had manoeuvred themselves into a corner that proved unsustainable pretty quickly and that they wouldn't have been able to get out of again. So the band wouldn't have existed any longer in 2019 IMO.

"We don't have to go at lightning speed all the time, let's play some more laid back tunes in our sets too", they just threw the baby out with the bathwater.

That was the ideal solution years ago. I think a lot of us saw it and I'm not sure why they didn't do that - and still don't. 

The same stools they used for the Aquostic gigs; drag them on stage for half an hour and do a little acoustic 'intermission'. Their only concession to that in the past really has been Gerdundula. Which, personally, I think worked really well. They could have chucked in a few more songs, either acoustic numbers like Na Na Na or acoustic versions of classics like In My Chair. 

But then, they'd simply say now that we're doing fine thanks. If it ain't broke don't fix it 

[snakelady]

Jan 13, 2019 11:27:08 GMT frozenhero said:

Jan 13, 2019 9:08:57 GMT snakelady said:

Makes me actually wonder what would've happened, had Rick returned fit and healthy (relatively) from Turkey and taken part in the LNOTE tour. And then ? What would they have done ? Taken the tour to more countries like they did, yes, but then ? Personally I believe they had manoeuvred themselves into a corner that proved unsustainable pretty quickly and that they wouldn't have been able to get out of again. So the band wouldn't have existed any longer in 2019 IMO.

Totally this! I felt that from the first minute onward when they said "We're going to stop touring electrically, we'll morph into an acoustic band now". I couldn't envision it, and I felt the decision was entirely wrong. Instead of saying "We don't have to go at lightning speed all the time, let's play some more laid back tunes in our sets too", they just threw the baby out with the bathwater. And as you say, it was unsustainable for various reasons; the Aquostic tours were expensive with all the extra players (at least the last few gigs did away with the strings) and Rick didn't enjoy it anyway. Not to mention that it would have required them to introduce, and maybe even write, far more new songs to the set than they did in the wake of A2; this was when Rick was already out but still...

Not sure I agree with the credibility point though, it has been damaged in any case...

Yes, it has been damaged, but not beyond repair as they now at least have an explanation why they wanted to go acoustic - Rick's health, to protect him .. 
So whether you choose to believe this or not, there is some credibility in that. Especially since the new guy is a young and fit one. 

I very much agree about a slowed down, even acoustic middle part of the set, which would've been an ideal solution with Rick still in the band. Francis and Andy (and Rhino) aren't getting any younger either so it might still be an option in the foreseeable future - from the fans POV.
Maybe the band will have changed their minds by then too, but last time when it was suggested they considered it too complicated .. 

[snakelady]

Again, someone had obvious problems counting to 8 ..

[snakelady]

I'll move this one to the past cups now and put up the next one.

[iamcomplaining88]

Beginning Of The End
Alright
Pennsylvania Blues Tonight
I Don't Wanna Hurt You Anymore
Electric Arena
Gravy Train
My Little Heartbreaker
Bad News