Album review: STATUS QUO – Aquostic (Stripped Bare)

Status Quo - Aquostic

Rhino/Warners [Release date 20.10.14]

It may have taken 50 years, but Aquostic finally showcases the Quo “unplugged” with rearrangements of many standards and some surprises too.

Maybe this album will ultimately take Rick and Francis back to the small clubs where they started. There is an element of re-tracing steps here but what ‘Aquostic’ does is confirm that you can’t beat a damn good song with a catchy melody.

‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’ sounds more convincing than the original whilst capturing its basic psychedelic sixties charm and it is given special treatment with a fine string arrangement. The same applies to an excellent rendition of ‘Mystery Song’.

It’s the strings that make these songs really shine and along with the more familiar – ‘Down The Dustpipe’, ‘Caroline’, ‘Down Down’, ‘Whatever You Want’ amongst them – the band have also included some less visited material that was thought appropriate for this reinvention.

So ‘And It’s Better Now’ gets a new lease of life (and is the first single) along with songs like ‘All The Reasons’ (Piledriver) and ‘Reason For Living’ (Hello).

Throughout, there is a Stealer’s Wheel or Medicine Head vibe which is frankly a million miles from Quo’s usual three chord thrust, and the release is firmly juxtaposed with the glut of recent live material. In that sense, Quo have been the gift that keeps on giving for fans in recent years.

It’s hard to fathom Quo’s infamous spat with the BBC about airplay in the late-1990s (although relating specifically to Radio 1). But Quo get the last laugh, because ‘Aquostic’ emphasises that good tunes always win out in the end, and that Quo will still be played long after more ephemeral fodder has had its barely-fifteen-minutes of fame. ****

Review by David Randall

David Randall presents ‘Assume The Position’ on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio every Sunday at 22:00 GMT.

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.

Josh Taerk Sunday Sessions 2024

Latest session: Sunday 14 April

Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio

David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 7 April 2024.

UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 2 April 2024.

How to Listen Live?

Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)

Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”

Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.

More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com

Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024

ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)

Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)

To see our Tweets you need to be logged in to a Twitter account

Tweets by Get Ready to ROCK!