Back to Back (Status Quo album)
Back to Back | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | 25 November 1983 | |||
Recorded | 1983 | |||
Studio | AIR Studios, Montserrat | |||
Genre | Hard rock, pop rock | |||
Length | 32:55 | |||
Label | Vertigo | |||
Producer | Status Quo | |||
Status Quo chronology | ||||
| ||||
Singles from Back to Back | ||||
|
Back to Back is the sixteenth studio album by English rock band Status Quo and released in November 1983. For the first time in the group's history, it featured four singles, "Ol' Rag Blues" (highest position No. 9), "A Mess of Blues", originally a hit for Elvis Presley (No. 15), "Marguerita Time" (No. 3), and "Going Down Town Tonight" (which reached No. 20 in a different, re-recorded version to the album version.) The album entered the UK chart at its highest position of No. 9.
It was the last recorded before the group temporarily disbanded in 1985 and therefore the last to feature original bass guitarist Alan Lancaster and drummer Pete Kircher. Lancaster co-wrote the first single, "Ol' Rag Blues", with Keith Lamb, lead singer of British bands The Kase, Sleepy Talk and Mr. Toad, and founder and lead singer of Australia's successful glam rock band Hush. Lancaster was angered when the production company declined to release the version featuring his lead vocal (which has since been made available as a bonus track on the 2006 remastered reissue), in preference to that featuring the voice of Francis Rossi. He also made no secret of his dislike of "Marguerita Time", which he thought was too pop-orientated for the group. When they appeared on BBC's Top of the Pops to mime to the single, his place was taken by Jim Lea of Slade, who were also on the programme that week. The Top of the Pops performance was also notable for Rick Parfitt falling into Pete Kircher's drum set near the end of the song while the song kept playing. On the DVD Hello Quo, Parfitt claims that he had planned this action, although many people thought he was drunk. On the same DVD, Alan Lancaster also said that he wasn't so concerned with "Marguerita Time" as he was with "Going Down Town Tonight", which – according to him – was not a Status Quo recording and featured no Status Quo musicians apart from Francis Rossi.
Track listing
- "A Mess of Blues" (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman) – 3:23
- "Ol' Rag Blues" (Alan Lancaster, Keith Lamb) – 2:51
- "Can't Be Done" (Francis Rossi, Bernie Frost) – 3:07
- "Too Close to the Ground" (Rick Parfitt, Andrew Bown) – 3:43
- "No Contract" (Parfitt, Bown) – 3:40
- "Win or Lose" (Rossi, Frost) – 2:35
- "Marguerita Time" (Rossi, Frost) – 3:27
- "Your Kind of Love" (Lancaster, Ferguson Skinner) – 3:24
- "Stay the Night" (Rossi, Frost, Andrew Miller) – 3:02
- "Going Down Town Tonight" (Guy Johnson) – 3:33
2006 reissue bonus tracks
- "The Wanderer" (Ernie Maresca) – 3:27
- "Going Down Town Tonight" [Single Version] (Johnson) – 3:38
- "I Wonder Why" (Rossi, Frost) – 3:59
- "Ol' Rag Blues" [Extended Version] (Lancaster, Lamb) – 4:54
- "A Mess of Blues" [Extended Version] (Pomus, Shuman) – 4:48
- "Cadillac Ranch" [LP out-take] (Bruce Springsteen) – 4:15
- "Ol' Rag Blues" [Alan Lancaster Version] (Lancaster, Lamb) – 2:49
- "The Wanderer" [Sharon the Nag Mix] (Ernie Maresca) – 3:34
September 2018 Deluxe Edition (CD2) bonus material
- The Wanderer - Single
- Going Down Town Tonight - Single
- I Wonder Why - Single
- Ol' Rag Blues - Extended Version
- A Mess of Blues - Extended Version
- Cadillac Ranch - LP Out-Take*
- Ol' Rag Blues - Alan Lancaster Version
- Modern Romance - Extended
- I Wonder Why – Extended
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - The House
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - What Do You Want to Hear Today?
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - Modern Romance
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - I Wonder Why?
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - Jealousy
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - Where Are You Now?
- FRANCIS ROSSI / BERNARD FROST - That's All Right
Personnel
- Status Quo
- Rick Parfitt – guitar, vocals
- Francis Rossi – guitar, vocals
- Alan Lancaster – bass, vocals
- Andrew Bown – keyboards, backing vocals
- Pete Kircher – drums, backing vocals
- Additional personnel
- Bernie Frost – backing vocals
- Tim Summerhayes – engineering
- Steve Churchyard – engineering
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Chart (1983) Peak
positionDutch Albums (Album Top 100)[1] 26 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[2] 60 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[3] 38 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[4] 20 UK Albums (OCC)[5] 9
Certifications
Region Certification Certified units/sales United Kingdom (BPI)[6] Gold 100,000^ ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
References
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Status Quo – Back to Back" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
- ^ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Status Quo – Back to Back". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Status Quo – Back to Back". Hung Medien.
- ^ "Status Quo | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- ^ "British album certifications – Status Quo – Back to Back". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Back to Back in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.