Digitally remastered reissue approved by the band's official fan club! A UK No. 3 when first issued in 1976, this is a double CD which is now in the original concert running order for the first time. Mercury. 2005.
Digitally remastered reissue approved by the band's official fan club! A UK No. 3 when first issued in 1976, this is a double CD which is now in the original concert running order for the first time. Mercury. 2005.
CD Reviews
WOW!!! STUNNING!!!
Trevor J. Hutchinson | Ottawa, Ontario Canada | 07/06/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"One of the truly great live albums, by a fantastic live group at its peak. It's most unfortunate that most of North America never really tuned in to Status Quo, to see why they are SO BIG in Britain, Europe and the rest of the world. Released in early 1977, it mostly features tracks from their two best albums, "Hello" and "Quo" from 1973 and 1974 respectively, although they do dip back to earlier albums like "Piledriver", and even 1970's "Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon". Highlights? The entire 2-disc set is one complete highlight! Much harder rocking than on the original albums, especially from Roll Over Lay Down through Backwater to Just Take Me on to 4500 Times! The finale of Roadhouse Blues followed by the encores of Caroline and Bye Bye Johnny are stunning.For those only familiar with the late 60's psychedelic sound of Pictures of Matchstick Men, be prepared to have your socks rocked off!! Play it LOUD!!"
An overlooked but tremendous live release!
The Lyricologist | 07/07/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you have fond memories of being up front at concerts by the likes of Humble Pie, Black Oak Arkansas, Rory Gallagher, Foghat, the Faces, BTO, Thin Lizzy, Skynyrd, etc...then you'll love this one from the Quo. It's been remastered, the sound quality is outstanding, the tracks are in the right running order, and the bottom line is that it's good enough to make you wish you were there at the Apollo in Glasgow the night they recorded it!
I first bought this on vinyl when it originally came out and I still think that one of the best things about Quo was that they did a decidedly better job than most bands of that era at knowing when to take a full on rocker of a song and throttle it back just long enough to make you sit up and listen closer...just in time for them to slam right back into the rocking!
For me, the first disc of this set is worth the price of admission alone - I love every last glorious second of "Forty-Five Hundred Times"!. The second disc tends to get a mite repetitive before it's all over, but that's a very small quibble.
Heretical or not, this tends to find its way into my changer more often than even Skynyrd's "One More From The Road".
Buy it, turn it up, it'll make you smile!"
PLAY THIS LOUD AS POSSIBLE
R. Lee | Rochester, NY | 10/09/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I've been into hard rock and bluesy rock for 38 yrs. I'm 53 now and have survived over 200 live concerts. This live concert is the kinda music that people like me live for. Beg, borrow or steal for the money to buy this double CD, you will be glad you did. It is the kinda CD that will make you go out and buy a new stereo."
Awsome!!!!!
Guitar Guy 5,000,000,000 | Ont,Canada | 07/24/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This album rocks! One of the best live albums I've ever heard! I'd been wanting to get this for so long, and one day I decided on getting it. It has a great song selection, practically all the best ones. 1976 was the perfect year for recording a live album because Quo were at the peak of their success, and they still had the original lineup of Francis, Rick, Alan, and John.
The sound quality is great. It's just like being there when you turn your stereo up maximum. The audience is crazy. The band said that their wildest fans were in Glasgow, so the Glasgow Apollo couldn't have been a better place to record this.
I find it unusual that they played "Caroline" for the encore instead of for the opening song, but it was really cool that way; it added a new twist to their typical live show. They do end with Bye Bye Johnny though. All songs are played perfectly and it's super raw and super heavy.
'Not much more to say other than, if you like live rock and you're a Quo fan. this album is an absolute must for you're collection."
Quo at the top of their game. Their finest hour, plain and s
Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 04/08/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Taped over three nights at Scotland's leading live venue, the Glasgow Apollo, these classic 1976 recordings finds Status Quo at the top of their game.
The band had tentatively moved from psychedelia to hard rock and boogie rock a few years earlier, and they were touring in support of their latest LP, "Blue for You", so a standart concert would probably have included more than two songs from that particular album. But when you make a live album you want it to reflect more than just the sound of your latest album being played on stage, right? At least that's what the Quo did, and they succeeded, too. There have been several live albums since this one, and good ones, too, but none of them capture the power of early Quo quite as well as this one.
"Live" is 83½ minutes of tough, fiery, exciting hard rock from just before Quo went soft in the 80s and became a pop-rock band rather than a hard rock band. (Yeah, sorry, but that's what happened, and you know it!)
The 70s was the decade of the double live album, and this one is one of the more succesful ones for sure. I'm not a huge Quo fan, I'm too young to remember them in their 70s prime, but to me, this is a good as they ever got, and they're very, very good indeed!
The drums bite, the bass rumbles potently, and the guitars churn out one heavy blooze-n-boogie-riff after another. And it's all impressively tight, never once does the band sound like they're about to go off the rails or trail off into meaningless improvisations. Even on the 14-minute "Roadhouse Blues" and the 16-minute "Forty-Five Hundred Times" they stick together like glue.
On this 2005 CD reissue that I'm listening to, the playing order has been corrected to reflect the original set list, so disc two opens with "Roll Over Lay Down" and closes with "Bye Bye Johnny", and the original show closer, "Forty-Five Hundred Times", is now the last track on disc one.
And what a "Roll Over Lay Down" it is! The lyrics are trite, yes, and the band's singers weren't that great either, but you won't care. Not when the music is this exhilarating.
And there are plenty of other highlights, of course. "In My Chair" is one of the finest blues-rock numbers the Quo ever did, a dense, powerful grind, and it is followed by (or juxtaposed by) "Little Lady", a joyous up-tempo romp which then bleeds into the swaggering riff-rocker "Most of the Time" with its scorching guitar solo.
"Is There a Better Way" is here as well, as is the driving "Don't Waste My Time" and the pure blues "Junior's Wailing", and you can just imagine the crowd going wild to this thundering rendition of "Caroline".
Nowhere else is the power of the original Status Quo so well captured. There may not be as many radio-friendly pop songs as on their 80s albums...no "You're in the Army Now" or anything like that. But seriously - this is so much better!
This album rocks like very few others, and whatever else they might have become later on, "Live" showcases the mighty Quo in all their swaggering, hard-rocking glory."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1