STATUS QUO – Classic Album Selection – CD review

STATUS QUO
Classic Album Selection
Universal

Status Quos old record label have decided to celebrate the Frantic Four getting back together with a classic album selection featuring 5 albums from their back catalogue, which make no rhyme or reason whatsoever.  Either that, or the office intern has heard the words Status and Qup bandied about a lot recently, and just grabbed the first five records he / she could find.

Whatever happened, the boxing up of 3 classic albums, a best of album and a later period album in the shape of “Hello” [from 1973], “On The Level” [ from 1975], “Blue For You” [from 1976], the compilation “12 Gold Bars” [from 1980] and “In The Army Now” [from 1986], makes little sense.  On the plus side, the label has decided to make them available for review via the medium of five songs, one from each album.  I’m guessing that they think the only people who will review this will already be familiar with the records concerned, because otherwise how do you review five albums on the basis of ‘Caroline’, ‘Down Down’, ‘Rain’, ‘Paper Plane’ and ‘In The Army Now’?

Four of those songs were also big hit singles, so even folks unfamiliar with the Quo will have heard them.  Perish the thought, but it might have been an idea to hand out some album tracks for review.  But then I don’t work for a multinational record corporation, and with them doing so well at the moment, I must be wrong.  So what you are getting for your bucks, according to the label is “5CDs of original albums presented as mini-LP paper sleeves, housed in an attractive slipcase.”

Except they’re not original albums because they’re the reissues from 2005, with bonus tracks.  Which I suppose is a good thing, as some of these classic album selection things have dug out the vanilla CDs.  But it might be a selling point to mention this, in case some people didn’t upgrade.  But then I don’t work for a multinational record corporation, and with them doing so well at the moment, I must be wrong.

So it is all a bit daft, but if you didn’t pick up the 2005 reissues, this is quite a handy way to do it, as it works out cheaper than buying them individually.  Otherwise, it’s for completists only.

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