Gary Steel
THERE’S A GREAT parody of Status Quo called ‘Boring Song’, where the comedians get the ham-fisted boogie of England’s most unlikely band down pat, and whose takeoff features lines like: “Have to sing the same refrain, and the same refrain again”.
If anyone were ever to ask me what Status Quo were like, I would refer them to this apt satire, or perhaps to the film Spinal Tap: Status Quo proudly claim it’s based on them.
The group have been hawking their rather chummy, good-time riffology and frankly moronic songs since the late ‘60s, a kind of very working class English tribute to early rock and roll and blues boogie, but without the dirt and sex of someone like George Thorogood.
The thing is, though, that for all their naffness, Status Quo are so harmless that they’re kind of likable. Which still doesn’t quite explain the need for a reunion gig at the Hammersmith Apollo, and a double album of indifferently-recorded performances, where you can hear the audience singing along but get no real sense of the group dynamic.
Who would buy it? GARY STEEL
RATING:
2.5/5 stars
