Sunday, January 22, 2006

"Wild Side of Life"

'Cos I'm going to be away for a few days, and because I'm a generous soul, I thought I'd throw another log on the fire here and make sure things keep ticking over till I get back. Ahem. Scratch that. What I mean to say is that I've been short of boogie of late and this song came along to pick me out of the slump.
There's not a lot I can say about Status Quo to anyone from the UK that hasn't already been said, laughed at, dismissed out of hand and generally ignored. As of 2006 the Quo are half national institution, half national joke, four guys who wear denim 24/7, play battered old Fender Strats and, incredibly, haven't learned any new chords since 1971. They're a bit like the Queen Mother used to be; someone who you tend to forget about most of the time, but when the call goes out for a particular kind of atmosphere they're there, lending their own particular charm.
Status Quo songs aren't demanding, aren't new and they aren't necessarily clever, but they are good at what they do. Solid, driving rhythms, decent harmonies and some pretty decent guitar. A lot of people make the joke that their songs are repetitive, but they're missing the point. A lot of what Quo did was pretty damn solid. This particular song never appeared on a studio album, but I remember listening to it during the summer of 78 (or thereabouts) and enjoying its unapologetic 12-bar simplicity. This is a great song to drive to, sing along to, potter to, you name it. It fits in so neatly to the pattern of our lives. It doesn't demand the earth, but if you care to pay some attention, you can have a whale of a time with it.


1 comment:

Russell CJ Duffy said...

a friend of mine persuaded me to go see the quo live last year, i was dreading it. old band with old tunes and a worn out feel. boy, was i wrong. excellent. had the whole crowd bopping. mind you most of the audience were coffin dodgers!!!