Status Quo - Quo (1974) [FLAC] 
{2005 reissue, Mercury Records, 982 540-0}

1. Backwater (4:18)
2. Just Take Me (3:38)
3. Break The Rules (3:41)
4. Drifting Away (5:06)
5. Don't Think It Matters (4:53)
6. Fine Fine Fine (2:31)
7. Lonely Man (5:08)
8. Slow Train (7:54)
9. Lonely Night [bonus track] (3:26)

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Presentation by Garry Fielding (from CD sleeve):

After the success of the band's "Piledriver" and "Hello!" albums in 1973, Status Quo recorded the material for their "Quo" album, originally titled "Quo Now", in the spring of 1974. Francis Rossi told Melody Maker in March: "It's definitely the best album that we've recorded to date as far as the production is concerned and the way things are played. There's a certain magic there".

The album track "Break The Rules" was selected by their record company to be issued as a single. The song was not the band's first choice to be a single - as bass player Alan Lancaster explained in an interview with Record Mirror magazine: "We all felt that 'Backwater' might have been a better choice for a single. But it is the record company that spends money on promoting singles and you have to trust their judgement". "Break The Rules" was released as a single on the 26th April - with the non-album "Lonely Night" as the B-side. The record company were proved right when the single climbed to No. 8 and spent eight weeks in the UK charts. "Break The Rules" was also released as a single throughout Western Europe - with the exception of Spain where Vertigo opted to release "Just Take Me" instead, with "Break The Rules" as the B-side.
The "Quo" album was released a week later on the 3rd May 1974. The album went straight into the UK LP charts at the Number Two position and in total spent 16 weeks in the chart and became the 44th best selling album of the year. Original copies of the album came with a lyric sheet/poster.

The band set off on a two week tour the same week to promote the album's release and included the two new songs, "Backwater" and "Just Take Me" in their concert list. One of the shows at Wembley Arena in London was videoed and the footage was edited into a 25 minute film "Status Quo At Wembley" (with the songs "Big Fat Mama", "Backwater", "Just Take Me", "Roll Over Lay Down" and "Don't Waste My Time"). The film was given a general cinema release (through New Realm Entertainments) in June 1975 and was shown as the support film, in a number of cinemas around the UK, to the "Rory Gallagher Irish Tour" film.

After the UK dates Status Quo went to tour America, Canada, Germany and Australia before releasing their next single "Down Down" and next album "On The Level" - both of which reached No.1 in the UK.