It’s a strange anomaly in rock n’ roll, but some of the best music created is often the victim of circumstance; sometimes the stars align and pure magic occurs. That’s certainly the case with Francis Rossi’s latest album, The Accidental, an album that was, as the title suggests, a result of happenstance. With no concrete plans to record a solo outing, his usual tinkering in the studio become something more substantial and suddenly a fourteen track album appeared as if from the ether. A happy accident it might be, but The Accidental finds Mr. Rossi at the top of his game.
Francis Rossi’s solo albums are often a way for him to explore genres that are outside the remit of Status Quo, be it folk or country, allowing him to scratch a musical itch Quo couldn’t reach. However, The Accidental doesn’t fall too far from the tree, being a guitar-centric affair it inhabits a kind of middle ground and will appeal to fans of both of Quo along with those who have a penchant for his solo work. Introduced by a muscular riff, opening track ‘Much Better’ arrives with a cool swagger and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Awash with keys, pounding drums and Rossi scrawling notes on every surface, it’s a bold statement and one that refuses to be ignored; The Accidental is certainly no shrinking violet and gets up close and personal from the get-go. Proving that you can take the man out of Quo, but you can’t take Quo out the man, the following ‘Go Man Go’ could easily slot into any one of Quo’s post-1990’s albums, yet it feels a natural homage rather than anything contrived; we’re all products of our past, and if you had a musical history as rich as Rossi’s you’d be foolish to deny it.
The thing about Status Quo’s sound is that it’s often deceptively simple, there’s a lot going on beneath the surface, and the same can be said for The Accidental. Both Quo and Rossi have more in their arsenal than the mainstream media give them credit, and if you need proof then look no further than Rossi’s latest long player. None of these fourteen tracks inhabit the same sonic space, which makes The Accidental a rumbustious ride. There’s the pure pop sensibility of ‘Push Comes To Shove’ (and I don’t mean “pop” in a dirty way, rather a focus on melody and song structure), the whimsical ‘November Again’, the exploration of rock n’ roll roots on ‘Be My Love’ before Francis sets his sights on the future with ‘Things Will Get Better’.
As Francis Rossi hurtles towards his eightieth birthday, The Accidental evidences an artist at the top of their game, and that’s surely no accident.
- The Accidental is released via earMUSIC on 30th January 2026 (available here).
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Track List:
- Much Better
- Go Man Go
- Push Comes To Shove
- Back On Our Home Ground
- Dead Of Night
- Going Home
- Be My Love
- Something In The Air (Stormy Weather)
- Picture Perfect
- November Again
- Things Will Get Better
- Oh So Good
- Beautiful World
- Time To Remember
