Band : Status Quo
Album title : Quid Pro Quo
Label : Edel
Distributor : V2
Release date : 09/05/2011
Release : CD

Darn, is there anything that v-can be said about this band which has not already been said? I mean, Back in the mid '70s when I was a “Hard Rocker”, it was considered to be un-cool to like Status Quo. When at the end of the '70s I also became part of the whole NWoBHM scene, it was considered un-cool to like this band. When in the early '80s Thrash Metal, Death Metal and subsequently also Hardcore became “fashionable” among my different groups of friends, it was still un-cool to like this band. Did I ever care what anyone else thought/ felt about Status Quo? Nah! None of the separate friend groups would've dared to look across at me for liking the band either, because on the one side they had too much respect for me (something which did nót come forth from any physical thing but rather from the fact that I was always genuinely interested in whatever kind of music was preferred within the group. Funny thing: eventually each group (individuals making the exception to the rule) started liking other musical styles as well, so eventually we were a very eclectic bunch into good music, period!

Back to Status Quo though. Hugely popular from the late '60s (when they were first known as The Spectres, and the Status Quo from '67 to 1970) to the mid '80s (several chart hits in those days) the band, like so many others waned somewhat during the Grunge '90s... even if their live appearances occasionally still attracted huge crowds. The band's albums under Universal (2000's Famous in The Last Century, 2002's Heavy Traffic, and 2003's Riffs) did a bit less saleswize (the latter was a clean mistake, with no chart notations except in the UK, and not too high there either), but since 2005's The Party Ain't Over Yet the albums again got into the Top 20 of the charts. So, if you ask me, does Status Quo still have a reason for existing...then I'll answer it always has and always will, because there will always be enough people into their great blend of Boogie and Boogie Woogie blended Blues Rock, which has already earned the band over 60 chart hits during their career (22 of those even made the Top 10 in the UK). Status Quo shows are still a guarantee for an exciting Rock party...so why would Status Quo nót have the right to still exist, even after more than 40 years of existence?

The new album? Well, whadda ya wanna know? It's a collection of 14 new songs, to which last year's reworked version of their hit song “You're in the Army Now” was added. In Holland, which is still one of the band's bigger album buyers outside the UK, the album charted highest (so far) at 32, which far exceeds the ratings for their previous two albums. Wanna hear some music off the album? Check the samples on the album's page of one of your trusted online sales websites (the band's MySpace will only provide you with older songs). I always enjoy stumbling across a new album by this band, but regrettably also am troubled with having to shift towards another album that's needing my attention for review. Pity, because SQ albums are really something to listen to several times in a row, with repeat sessions a couple of days apart. I mean, the music may seem quite simple overall, but the different songs often get a slightly different twist which one only gets to be aware of after multiple sessions!

85/100

Tony.