Aquostic

[rockinronnie]

A strange "marmite" album which seems to have really split the quo fraternity. Many hate it. I love it. There are some weaker parts, yes. But on the whole, the more I listen to it the more I appreciate it.

For me, I love Quo not because of their "heaviness" - most of it isn't. Not because of the boogie / shuffle (many songs are not). No the Quo are great because of their melodies. And they shine through on this album.

Listen with fresh ears, not rocking Quo ears, and enjoy!

[quomanuk]

Good luck with new part of the site.

I agrea "A strange "marmite" album which seems to have really split the quo fraternity"

I think fans of any band will be the worst critics of there music.

When i was i buy all the qou stuff, now i listing and have gone right of a lot of it.

They way is see it is that if brings in new fans that might go on to discover quo back catalog then job done.

Like 1988 was my introduction to quo. Then is see the pre 86 this and that. Well it got me into the early works and for me 1970 to 1981 was there best stuff.
Times change and music fashions will dominate.

The blues was great example form the Basic blues , then the new sounds came along ( like Echo and reverbs and so on). Acoutic to Electric. Then for me Delta was the best, the rest is just fake, and proves that times move on. Quo is no different in that respect.

[johnnymain]

Metal Talk have reviewed the 'Aquostic' album here: www.metaltalk.net/columns/201023210.php

[rockinronnie]

Jan 12, 2015 8:49:32 GMT johnnymain said:

Metal Talk have reviewed the 'Aquostic' album here: www.metaltalk.net/columns/201023210.php

A good article. For my part I love the songs Rick sings. Seem to have a bit more feeling to them

[hardcorequo]

I admire the vision to try something different. That said, this does not work for me and i think they should stick to what they do best.

[dennis]

I think it's a decent idea, poorly executed.

[rockinronnie]

Jan 25, 2015 1:03:29 GMT dennis said:

I think it's a decent idea, poorly executed.

Perhaps the main problem is the quantity of songs. Seems to be a trend to pile more and more on. Perhaps if it were 8 songs (like the old LP's) then the filler would have made way for the quality

[hardcorequo]

Lots of the important parts of songs are left out or modified. Doubt i will ever get overly excited about this one but it is selling ok. Rossi will be pleased.

[mikmik]

I have a mental aversion to hating Quo stuff. I have invested too much of my life as a consequence of their music. Practically all of the 12000 plus tracks I currently own (or borrow, should we say) have a love of Quo in 1972 as their basis. The country, the blues, the rock, then the stax soul, the cajun, the bluegrass, all stems from Piledriver as Ground Zero. If my music collection was an epidemic virus, Quo would be the index case.

So, amongst friends, I will say that Aquostic really pissed me off. It was lazy and half-hearted. The song choices were fine (agreed: too many) but the whole thing came out as a rushed job. They picked a violin section, an accordian player (I love Geraint Watkins's playing always - he gets a walk) and backing singers like the whole thing was a one month rush project.

No orchestras, no folk fiddle, no banjo, no brass section, no dobro or slide, no guest players. They just hired a dozen or so musicians then rearranged the music to suite what they had bought. Meanwhile the band strummed along like five sixthformers at a party trying to impress the girls.

Each track was treated basically the same. So they were surprised when Don't Drive My Car sounded good. A 20 piece orchestra with just a Parfitt vocal would have been better. Why didn't they try A Year (at all, but) with a Works Brass Band? Or Break the Rules with just a barroom upright and a Dobro player. Or Fine, Fine, Fine with Albert Lee guesting a solo. Get Hayseed Dixie to back Paper Plane.

The songs are so good that they deserved so much more imagination and care.

Like I said, I pissed me off.

Keep smiling

Mike

(back to Jimmy Thackeray's version of The Stumble, available on Youtube (live but only screen shots) a man who outplays Peter Green and Gary Moore on this Freddie King song)

[dennis]

Jun 15, 2015 18:25:32 GMT mikmik said:

I have a mental aversion to hating Quo stuff. I have invested too much of my life as a consequence of their music. Practically all of the 12000 plus tracks I currently own (or borrow, should we say) have a love of Quo in 1972 as their basis. The country, the blues, the rock, then the stax soul, the cajun, the bluegrass, all stems from Piledriver as Ground Zero. If my music collection was an epidemic virus, Quo would be the index case.

So, amongst friends, I will say that Aquostic really pissed me off. It was lazy and half-hearted. The song choices were fine (agreed: too many) but the whole thing came out as a rushed job. They picked a violin section, an accordian player (I love Geraint Watkins's playing always - he gets a walk) and backing singers like the whole thing was a one month rush project.

No orchestras, no folk fiddle, no banjo, no brass section, no dobro or slide, no guest players. They just hired a dozen or so musicians then rearranged the music to suite what they had bought. Meanwhile the band strummed along like five sixthformers at a party trying to impress the girls.

Each track was treated basically the same. So they were surprised when Don't Drive My Car sounded good. A 20 piece orchestra with just a Parfitt vocal would have been better. Why didn't they try A Year (at all, but) with a Works Brass Band? Or Break the Rules with just a barroom upright and a Dobro player. Or Fine, Fine, Fine with Albert Lee guesting a solo. Get Hayseed Dixie to back Paper Plane.

The songs are so good that they deserved so much more imagination and care.

Like I said, I pissed me off.

Keep smiling

Mike

(back to Jimmy Thackeray's version of The Stumble, available on Youtube (live but only screen shots) a man who outplays Peter Green and Gary Moore on this Freddie King song)

Absotively correct! Even if they'd really stripped them down to just simple acoustic versions - but then they'd really have to play rather than just, as you said, strumming along.

[jonesquo]

I just thought that doing so many of the main hits was wrong when quo have got so many great acoustic songs anyway, didn't enjoy don't drive my car etc should have picked out more lesser known tracks for me.