Live! (Status Quo album)

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Live!
Live StatusQuo.jpg
Live album by
Status Quo
Released4 March 1977 [1]
Recorded27–29 October 1976
Venue Apollo Theatre, Glasgow
Genre Hard rock, heavy metal
Length92:14
Label Vertigo (UK)
Capitol (USA)
Producer Status Quo assisted by Damon Lyon-Shaw
Status Quo chronology
Blue for You
(1976)		Live!
(1977)		 Rockin' All Over the World
(1977)

Live! is the first live album by British rock band Status Quo. The double album is an amalgam of performances at Glasgow's Apollo Theatre between 27 and 29 October 1976, recorded using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.

Contents

Despite being ranked at number 6 on Classic Rock's list of the 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever, [2] guitarist and singer Francis Rossi has described Live! as "the worst album we ever made", continuing, "I always thought we were better than that. Rick Parfitt and I were left to mix it, and we went through the recordings of the three nights we played, only to pick the first one." Parfitt disagreed, saying, "There are bits of the live album that still give me goosebumps." [3]

"Unlike every other live album from those days, there are absolutely no overdubs on that album. No going back and fixing the bum notes. Nothing other than what we actually put out there on stage at the time. We wanted to prove we weren't like the others: we weren't cheating. But every time I listen to it now, all I can hear are the mistakes. I sit here cringing, thinking, 'I wish we'd put fucking overdubs on.'" – Francis Rossi [4]

The album includes a typically extended version of "Forty Five Hundred Times". "The first part of the song was the song, but we'd make the extra bits up…" recalled Parfitt. "You'd just know when to get softer and then take it somewhere heavier. It was incredible. You'd be swept away by this rollercoaster of music. The only way to end it was to nod, 'Shall we finish it here?'" [5]

Various issues

The original album included the full gig minus the crowd singing "You'll Never Walk Alone" before the encore, but swapped around to accommodate the running times of a double vinyl album. The USA release featured a different album cover. The 2005 remaster by Tim Turan re-sequenced the concert in gig order. In 2014, a box set was released that included the live album plus two additional bonus discs. For this release (remastered by Andy Pearce), the original packaging was adapted to the CD format, and the tracklisting went back to the original vinyl order. The unreleased disc 4 Australia '74 re-used the artwork of the US Live! release.

On 16h May 2025, a "super deluxe edition" was planned for release, including, for the first time, the entire three gigs that were recorded. The first two CDs feature a newly remastered version of the original release, again in the order the songs were played (as on the 2005 remaster). [6] Analysis of these full recordings shows that while the majority of the original album (including the entire second and third side) was indeed taken from the first night, there are also several songs from the second and two from the third night present. [7]

Track listing

Side one

  1. "Intro/Junior's Wailing" (Kieran White, Martin Pugh), 5:16 recorded October 28
  2. "Backwater/Just Take Me" (Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster), 7:39 recorded October 28
  3. "Is There a Better Way" (Francis Rossi, Lancaster), 4:30 recorded October 27
  4. "In My Chair" (Rossi, Bob Young), 4:00 recorded October 29

Side two

  1. "Little Lady/Most of the Time" (Parfitt/Rossi, Young), 7:00 recorded October 27
  2. "Forty Five Hundred Times" (Rossi, Parfitt), 16:42 recorded October 27

Side three

  1. "Roll Over Lay Down" (Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster, John Coghlan, Young), 5:59 recorded October 27
  2. "Big Fat Mama" (Rossi, Parfitt), 5:10 recorded October 27
  3. "Caroline/Bye Bye Johnny" (with drum solo) (Rossi, Young/ Chuck Berry), 12:50 recorded October 27

Side four

  1. "Rain" (Parfitt), 4:48 recorded October 29
  2. "Don't Waste My Time" (Rossi, Young), 4:08 recorded October 28
  3. "Roadhouse Blues" (Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek), 14:12 recorded October 28

2005 & 2025 remaster track listing

Disc 1

  1. "Junior's Wailing" (White, Pugh) recorded October 28
  2. "Backwater/Just Take Me" (Parfitt, Lancaster) recorded October 28
  3. "Is There a Better Way" (Rossi, Lancaster) recorded October 27
  4. "In My Chair" (Rossi, Young) recorded October 29
  5. "Little Lady/Most of the Time" (Parfitt, Rossi, Young) recorded October 27
  6. "Rain" (Parfitt) recorded October 29
  7. "Forty-Five Hundred Times" (Rossi, Parfitt) recorded October 27

Disc 2

  1. "Roll Over Lay Down" (Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster, Coghlan, Young) recorded October 27
  2. "Big Fat Mama" (Rossi, Parfitt) recorded October 27
  3. "Don't Waste My Time" (Rossi, Young) recorded October 28
  4. "Roadhouse Blues" (Morrison, Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek) recorded October 28
  5. "Caroline" (Rossi, Young) recorded October 27
  6. "Bye Bye Johnny" (Berry) recorded October 27

2014 deluxe edition disc 3: Tokyo Quo

  1. "Is There a Better Way" (Rossi, Lancaster)
  2. "Little Lady" (Parfitt)
  3. "Most of the Time" (Rossi, Young)
  4. "Rain" (Parfitt)
  5. "Caroline" (Rossi, Young)
  6. "Roll Over Lay Down" (Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster, Coghlan, Young)
  7. "Big Fat Mama" (Rossi, Parfitt)
  8. "Don't Waste My Time" (Rossi, Young)
  9. "Bye Bye Johnny" (Berry)

Originally Japan-only live album, recorded at Sunplaza Hall 1976. First international CD release.

2014 deluxe edition disc 4: Australia '74

  1. "Junior's Wailing" (White, Pugh)
  2. "Backwater" (Parfitt, Lancaster)
  3. "Just Take Me" (Parfitt, Lancaster)
  4. "Claudie" (Rossi, Young)
  5. "Railroad" (Rossi, Young)
  6. "Roll Over Lay Down" (Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster, Coghlan, Young)
  7. "Big Fat Mama" (Rossi, Parfitt)
  8. "Don't Waste My Time" (Rossi, Young)
  9. "Roadhouse Blues" Part 1 (Morrison, Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek)
  10. "Roadhouse Blues" Part 2 (Morrison, Densmore, Krieger, Manzarek)
  11. "Caroline" (Rossi, Young)
  12. "Drum Solo" (Coghlan)
  13. "Bye Bye Johnny" (Berry)

Soundboard recording from Quo tour. A part of "Roadhouse Blues" is missing.

Personnel

Additional personnel

Charts

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [8] 2× Platinum100,000^
France (SNEP) [19] Gold100,000*
Germany (BVMI) [20] Gold250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI) [21] Gold25,000 [21]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland) [22] Gold25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI) [23] Gold100,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ "UK Albums 2". Statusquo.org.uk. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
  2. ↑ "The 50 Greatest Live Albums Ever". Loudersound.com. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  3. ↑ Ling, Dave (January 2002). "Again again again…". Classic Rock . No. 36. p. 71.
  4. ↑ "Live albums". Classic Rock supplement: The Live Albums That Changed The World . December 2011. p. 16.
  5. ↑ Ling, Dave (October 2013). "The stories behind the songs – Status Quo, Forty-Five Hundred Times". Classic Rock . No. 189. p. 30.
  6. ↑ "Status Quo / Live!". Superdeluxeedition.com. 27 February 2025. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  7. ↑ Hargreaves, Luke. "Great news - Status Quo live! Super Deluxe edition". Not the Status Quo Message Board.
  8. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 275,276. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Status Quo – Live" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  10. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Status Quo – Live" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Status Quo – Live" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  12. ↑ "Charts.nz – Status Quo – Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Status Quo – Live". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  14. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Status Quo – Live!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  16. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Charts . Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  17. ↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts . Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  18. ↑ "Top Albums 1977" (PDF). Music Week . 24 December 1977. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 1 December 2021– via worldradiohistory.com.
  19. ↑ "French album certifications – Status Quo – Live!" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 4 February 2021.Select STATUS QUO and click OK. 
  20. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Status Quo; 'Live')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie . Retrieved 1 December 2021.
  21. 1 2 "Status Quo: A Dutch "Gold" Sales Award for the Album "Status Quo Live", February 1977". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  22. ↑ "Status Quo: A Swiss "Gold" Sales Award for "If You Can't Stand the Heat..." and "Live", 1978". Directupload.net. Archived from the original on 3 March 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
  23. ↑ "British album certifications – Status Quo – Live". British Phonographic Industry . Retrieved 1 December 2021.
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