Status Quo – On The Level

Like lots of other folks, I've never quite understood how American radio and the buying public didn't get caught up in the mid-1970s wave of British hard rock bands like Status Quo. Zeppelin just swallowed the full bandwidth ? These guy were too British for American tastes ? Beats me, but the fact of the matter is while these guys were massive stars in the UK, they couldn't even get arrested in the States. 

Self-produced, 1975's "On the Level" debuted at the top of the UK charts, capturing the band at the peak of their commercial run. Commercially this was also prime Status Quo - a good thing if you were a fan, probably less impressive if you missed their head banging appeal. And that was at least some of the beauty behind Status Quo, These guys made no pretense of being sophisticated musicians trying to expand musical boundaries and expose fans to new ideas and concepts. Exemplified by the likes of 'Little Lady', 'Nightride', and ''Down Down (their biggest hit), the messages here were pretty much your standard rock and roll lexicon of booze, partying, and women (typically in one combination). Yeah, King Crimson and Yes fans were probably appalled by the band's successes, but you've got to it these guys could recycle a Chuck Berry riff like nobody else and yes - there are times when we all want to just party and relax a bit. This is a great soundtrack to crank up after a hard day and have a couple of cold ones ... And yes, It is an album I still play on a regular basis.  

- ittedly 'Little Lady' was little more than a recycled Chuck Berry tune, but few bands could turn in a track like this with as much energy and enthusiasm. Berry would have approved, even if he would have wanted songwriting royalties. Excellent boogie track and it got the album off to a roaring start. rating: *** stars
- 'Most of the Time' started out as a surprisingly sensitive acoustic ballad (it sounded like Rossi was recorded live), before abruptly morphing into a squalling blues-rock number. I'm not normally a big fan of the genre and this wasn't one of the album highlights for me, but still this one was actually pretty good. rating: *** stars
- Kicked along by a bouncy melody and singsong chorus that climbs in your head and won't leave 'I Saw the Light' was one of the album's more commercial tracks. It was a prime slice of Quo with a fairly uncomplicated structure (I suspect any good garage band could master it in a day or two), but cute lyrics. rating: *** stars
- One of two Alan Lancaster compositions, 'Over and Done' was even more pop-oriented with some wonderful jangle rock guitars and a cool hyperactive lead guitar solo. Hard to believe this one wasn't tapped as a single. rating: **** stars
- Moving back towards bar-band rock, kicked along by Lancaster's pounding bass line, 'Nightride' had a slinky rhythm that was incideously catchy. Simply another classic Quo tune that go lost as a 'B' side. rating: **** stars
- Previously released as the album's lead-in single (in an edited format), 'Down Down' has always been kind of a puzzle to me. Original entitled 'Get Down' it was their biggest UK single,. The song's always struck me as an okay blues-rocker, but as least to my ears, not particularly original, or commercial. I'd label it a good arena rocker and not much more than that. Lancaster's ''Over and Done'' and 'Broken Man' both made a bigger impression on me. YouTube has a clip of the band playing the song on BBC's Top of the Pops: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNPJuJSVmNA rating: ***  
- Lancaster's always struck me as the band's secret weapon. Not only was he an excellent bassist; had a likeable gruff voice, and consistently wrote some of the band's strongest material - witness 'Broken Man' which gets my nod as the best performance on he album. rating: **** stars
- Folks tend to overlook the fact Quo could write highly commercial pop-rock that was easily as good as anything Sweet, or the competition was pushing out there. Anyone doubting that comment only needs to check out the infectious 'What To Do'. Another one that left you wondering why it wasn't tapped as a single. rating: **** stars
- The album's lone disappointment, 'Where I Am' sounded like the band was trying to morph themselves into an acoustic folk group. Dull and forgettable. rating: ** stars
- Chuck Berry covers are usually pretty lame affairs - what's the point of trying to out-do the original ? Mind you their cover of 'Bye Bye Johnny' wasn't about to make you forget the original, but as an also-ran version it wasn't half bad showing they knew where their roots came from. rating: *** stars
- It wasn't shown of the track listing, but the album ended with a short segment featuring a drunk audience singing along with the band (not sure what they were singing to ...). rating: * star

As mentioned above, 'Down Down' was released as a single in advance of the album, providing the band with their first UK # 1 chart entry, though the US release vanished without a trace.

UK release:
- 1974's 'Down Down' b/w 'Nightride' (Vertigo catalog number 6059 114)

US release:
- 1975's 'Down Down' b/w 'Nightride' (Capitol catalog number 4039)

Certainly one of their most consistent and enjoyable allbums, it hit the top of the UK charts, but did nothing in the States. By the way, the cover art showing the band poising in an Ames room was quite intriguing - what's an Ames room you ask ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ames_room

"On the Level" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Little Lady (Richard Parfitt) - 3:05
2.) Most of the Time (s Rossi - Bob Young) - 3:21
3.) I Saw the Light (s Rossi - Bob Young) - 3:55
4.) Over and Done (Alan Lancaster) - 3:55
5.) Nightride (s Rossi - Bob Young) - 3:52

(side 2)
1.) Down Down (s Rossi - Bob Young) - 5:24
2.) Broken Man (Alan Lancaster) - 4:13
3.) What To Do (s Rossi - Bob Young) - 3:15
4.) Where I Am (Richard Parfitt) - 3:10
5.) Bye Bye Johnny (Chuck Berry) - 4:35