Status Quo - Back To Back (1983) [FLAC] {2006 reissue, bonus tracks}

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Track list:

01. A Mess Of Blues (3:23)
02. Ol' Rag Blues (2:51)
03. Can't Be Done (3:11)
04. Too Close To The Ground (3:43)
05. No Contract (3:58)
06. Win Or Lose (2:35)
07. Marguerita Time (3:30)
08. Your Kind Of Love (3:28)
09. Stay The Night (3:01)
10. Going Down Town Tonight (3:39)
11. The Wanderer [bonus track] (3:28)
12. Going Down Town Tonight (single version) [bonus track] (3:38)
13. I Wonder Why [bonus track] (3:58)
14. Ol' Rag Blues (extended version) [bonus track] (4:54)
15. A Mess Of Blues (extended version) [bonus track] (4:47)
16. Cadillac Ranch (LP out-take) [bonus track] (4:14)
17. Ol' Rag Blues (Alan Lancaster version) [bonus track] (2:48)
18. The Wanderer (Sharon the Nag mix) [bonus track] (3:33)

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Review by Dave Ling, "Classic Rock Magazine" (28th November 2005):

[quote]Throughout their 20th anniversary year of 1982, Status Quo had managed to banish a period of uncertainty that followed the sudden departure of much-loved drummer John Coghlan. In fact, guitarist/vocalist Francis Rossi went so far as to theorize that the influx of fresh blood provided by newly arrived percussionist Pete Kircher awarded the group an entire new lease of life. The cleverly titled '1+9+8+2' had registered Status Quo's first UK chart-topping release since 1976, and the record's sold-out tour saw them play seven dates at London's Hammersmith Odeon, make national headlines by performing before heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles at the NEC Arena in Birmingham, and headline the Castle Donington festival. In February 1983, Quo packed their shorts, flip-flops and sun tan lotion before flying to AIR Studios on the beautiful Caribbean island of Montserrat. A facility owned by and constructed on behalf of Beatles producer George Martin, AIR would house sessions by Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, The Police, the Rolling Stones, Elton John and Eric Clapton among others before Hurricane Hugo hit Montserrat in 1989 and the studio had to be moved to London. The group remained on the island for eight weeks, where once again they opted to oversee the production process. Perhaps inevitably, the picturesque setting sometimes proved a little too relaxing and they didn't finish the job as planned.

"It was a nice environment to record in - very hot and agreeable," guitarist/vocalist Rick Parfitt told an interviewer. "I felt a great sense of freedom because we weren't locked into [some boring] studio where we couldn't see out [of the window]."

Upon returning to London, Quo were disappointed by the music contained on the tapes. According to bassist/vocalist Lancaster, they even considered wiping them and starting again from scratch. However, such a course of action would have been way too costly. They'd already spent more on the project than any of its predecessors; so various parts were simply re-done. The band would spend so much time confined to the studio that they failed to play a single concert in 1983.

Quo returned to chart action with a new single called "Ol' Rag Blues" in September. Although sung by Rossi, the sprightly commercial rock anthem was written by Lancaster and a musical associate from Australia called Keith Lamb, reaching a credible No. 9 in the British chart. Clearly on a roll, the band delivered a typically thumping cover of "A Mess Of Blues" - a song recorded by Elvis Presley back in 1960 - as a speedy follow-up, its six-week chart stay notching a peak of No. 15.

Their unlucky 13th album, "Back To Back" was hailed as the band's most diverse album until that point when released on 25th November, 1983. For some diehard supporters, the inclusion of an emotional ballad like "Too Close To The Ground" (written by Parfitt and keyboard player Andrew Bown) and the pop-flavoured "Win Or Lose" (courtesy of Rossi and Bernie Frost) saw them guilty of venturing too far from the group's original blueprint. Regardless, "Back To Back" smashed its way into the British chart at Number Nine.

Yet behind the scenes, Quo were in a state of turmoil. The relationship between the group's co-founders, Rossi and bassist/vocalist Alan Lancaster, was worsening. For Lancaster, who felt he was being edged out of the band having relocated to Australia some years earlier, the crux of the matter was what he perceived as a lightening of the band's sound. One track in particular stuck in his craw, namely Rossi and Bernie Frost's throwaway paean to a popular alcoholic cocktail of the day.

"Nobody but Francis [Rossi] wanted to record 'Marguerita Time', all it did was advertise that we were becoming a bunch of nerds," Alan told me years later about the song in question. Lancaster felt so strongly about "Marguerita Time" that he remained in Oz with his pregnant wife instead of coming to Britain to promote the single on Top Of The Pops. So the group invited Slade bassist Jim Lea to stand in for a highly entertaining spot on the popular weekly chart show, which also saw Rick Parfitt toppling into Kircher's drum kit. The co-founding four-stringer's absence couldn't prevent "Marguerita Time" from becoming a huge seasonal Top Three hit during the Christmas 1983 holidays. And the friction between Lancaster and his band-mates only grew when he injuncted them in a bid to prevent them from making further TV appearances without him.

Previously known as the album's final song, "Going Down Town Tonight" had been penned by a songwriter/pianist of Rossi's acquaintance called Guy Johnson. Quo later re-recorded and slightly extended his composition for release as a fourth and final single, a Top 20 hit when issued on 11th May, 1984. But it didn't require Sherlock Holmes to deduce that Rossi and Lancaster couldn't work together for too much longer. And so it finally proved. "Back To Back" turned out to be the last studio album to feature Alan Lancaster. Although the group wouldn't rule out returning to the studio again, for a while it looked like being the final Quo album, too. 

To the utter dismay of their fans, the group announced that their 1984 tour dates - a list of some 60-odd concerts which included another seven-night run at Hammersmith - would be their last. When the tickets went on sale in February, few took the risk of missing out on their chance to say goodbye. Queues for the box offices began to snake their way around the respective venues. The London shows sold out in just four hours, closely followed by the rest of the regional gigs. 

The "End Of The Road" was finally approaching... or was it?!