Search - Status Quo :: Live at the NEC

4 1/2 stars. Roll over, lay down...

Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 03/26/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Live at the N.E.C." doesn't rock with quite the same fiery abandon as Quo's classic 1977 double live album, perhaps, but it is a very solid, very enjoyable recording in its own right.



The fidelity is excellent, as is the production. The drums bite without being overwhelmingly loud, and the singers' voices blend perfectly...Quo has never had any really exceptional singers in their lineup, but the triple lead vocals of Rossi, Parfitt, and Lancaster somehow fit the band's simple, melodic, blues-based hard rock perfectly. You have to be a grumpy sod not to want to rock a little to this well-crafted good-time rock n' roll!



"Live at the N.E.C." was recorded on May 14, 1982 for Prince Charles' Prince's Trust charity, and it features scorching renditions of some of the band's best songs, including "Whatever You Want", the underexposed "Backwater", and a piledriving "Little Lady". And whatever you may think of Status Quo in the 21st century, this is one hell of a rock n' roll record, and it's a real shame that only half the concert was released. This is one live album that would have benefitted from being spread out across two discs."