A Status Quo gig is an experience like no other. Part rock show, part social event, there’s a tangible bond between band and crowd that other artists can only hope to replicate. It’s not an easy thing to capture on tape, yet it’s precisely because of the celebratory nature of a Quo gig that it sounds so vibrant on disc. The latest in a series of releases that raids the band’s vault, Official Archive Series Vol. 3 found the band playing a special gig at Westonbirt Arboretum, entertaining an excitable crowd of people (and trees!).
As part of the Forestry Commission’s Live Music series Status Quo were invited to appear at The National Arboretum in Gloucestershire, and with guitarist and vocalist Francis Rossi being a (not so) secret tree-hugger, well, they didn’t need asking twice. It was a setting which added a touch of spice to the band’s performance and an elongated keyboard introduction that wafts through the leaves finds the tension electrifying the air, it means that when that opening riff of ‘Caroline’ kicks in it’s akin to a party popper exploding. It’s the musical equivalent of a vitamin shot or a caffeine buzz and therein lies the Quo magic. Like all of the 21 tracks comprising this set it is uplifting and such is it’s life-affirming quality that it should really be prescribed on the NHS.
The great thing about this series of releases is that the archives haven’t been plundered willy-nilly, rather choice concerts have been selected, and this gig on midsummer 2008 (22nd June) is a Quo fan’s dream. The cut of Rossi’s jib is particularly inspired and his stage raps are guaranteed to raise a smile, while there’s an emotive edge to Rick Parfitt’s vocals rarely heard on record (check out his rendition of ‘Rain’). Yet, it would be unfair to single out any one member because the whole band lock in tightly and sound like they’re comfortable in their own company and this means that tracks such as ‘Don’t Drive My Car’ roll smoothly.
Crowd participation is always an important component at a Quo gig and there’s plenty of opportunity for the audience to give it some, especially on ‘Paper Plane’ and ‘In The Army Now’, and you can almost see the follicles flying on the spirited mash-up that is ‘The Proposing Medley’. Quo always give the fans what they want, thus many of the songs found on this set appear on the previous two Archive issues, but when the songs are this good that’s no real hardship. Official Archive Series Vol. 3 plays like a “greatest hits” type set, only with the added oomph of being played live.
This is a quality recording and the mix places the band right in your living room, and these discs will have you breaking out the air guitar and throwing all the classic Quo shapes. An enchanted evening that was (thankfully) captured on tape, this is the band at their best delivering a set you’ll want to hear again and again (and again).
- Official Archive Series Vol. 3 is released on 12th July 2024 and is available here.
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Track List:
CD 1:
1. Intro
2. Caroline
3. The Wanderer
4. Rain
5. Beginning Of The End
6. Don’t Waste My Time
7. Don’t Drive My Car
8. Hold You Back
9. The Oriental
10. Creeping Up On You
11. Paper Plane
12. The Proposing Medley (What You’re Proposing / Down The Dustpipe / Little Lady / Red Sky / Dear John / Big Fat Mama)
CD 2:
13. Living On An Island
14. In The Army Now
15. Drum Solo
16. Roll Over Lay Down
17. Down Down
18. Whatever You Want
19. Burning Bridges
21. Rockin’ All Over The World
21. Rock And Roll Music / Bye Bye Johnny
Vinyl Side Splits:
Side A: Tracks 1-5; Side B: Tracks 6-9
Side C: Tracks 10-12; Side D: Tracks 13-16
Side E: Tracks 17-18; Side F: Tracks 19-21
