Disco de Status Quo: “On the Level”

Status Quo's 2009 performance at Glastonbury served as a powerful reminder of just what a great hard rocking band this used to be, and indeed, when the right material is chosen, still can be. Their set, heavily sprinkled with early material inspired me to buy On The Level to update the vinyl version I enjoyed years ago.

From Rick's opening power riff of Little Lady, through Francis' gut wrenching Most of the Time the album starts strongly. It features their first number one British single and one of the best examples of what became the definitive Quo sound in Down Down. On the Level, like its predecessor Quo, features several powerful contributions from the sometimes underrated original bass player Alan Lancaster; perhaps the best example being Broken Man. The album features mainly original material but Chuck Berry's Bye Bye Johnny fits in seamlessly as does their live cover of the Doors' Roadhouse Blues which features as a bonus track on the new cd version.

Status Quo are legends in their native Great Britain where they continue to tour and record regularly. They also are popular throughout much of Europe and Australia. While their recent material (Post 1984) has sometimes disappointed; any fan of hard rocking Chuck Berry/Creedence Clearwater Revival influenced rock would surely eenjoy On The Level or any other 1970s Status Quo album.

John Niven

Other than their '60s hit " Pictures of Matchstick Men" , I had no music by this long-time British group in my personal catalog ... the only 'live' exposure I had was viewing their performance when they opened up the London portion of 1985's "Live Aid" ... and they were quite good, and got the show rolling !

This CD "On the Level" was highly remommended to me by a former co-worker ... so I took the plunge and bought it.

I was indeed very pleased with it ... only one 'weak' cut, and the bonus songs are great, especially " Bye Bye Johnny" ...

For any fan of basic guitar rock ... add this CD to your collection ... drop it in , crank it up ... and it'll make you feel good !!

This is a fantastic album.Got so many good songs on it.One of my favorite Status Quo songs of all here is on it called Broken Man,love that tune.

Little Lady,Most Of The Time,I Saw The Light,Nightride,Down Down,and What To Do are also great songs.I think its amongst their best.They were on a roll at the time producing great albums,ive been a fan of theirs since the 70's.

Status Quo continue to rock the world with another really great CD. I know the music has the same sound & beat but it is one to die for, as they said in one of their songs. We're ROCKERS ROLLIN.