Pawed by Mott the Dog
Re-mastered by Ella Crew
55 Stars *****
There
must of been somebody at the Pye Record Label in 1973 kicking himself in
the seat of the pants; Status Quo, let go by the Pye roster less than two
years earlier, was the #1 album, single, and touring band in the U.K. by
that time.
The magnificent “Dog of Two Heads” album was
released as Status Quo’s swansong album for Pye on Christmas 1971 with
little fanfare and no publicity boost. With this in mind it is little
wonder that the album sunk without trace. Status Quo then moved to the
newly formed Vertigo label and before Christmas 1973 had had three top ten
albums (‘Piledriver’ - #5 in February 1973; ‘Hello’ - #1 in
September of the same year; ‘Quo’ - #2 in May 1974) and five Top Ten
hits in the same period. The worst part for Pye was that perhaps “Dog of
Two Heads” released on their label was the pick of the bunch (the title
of this album deriving from a feeling within the band that they clung on
like a dog with two sets of jaws).
The original album had six slabs of Quo boogie rock
split up by one acoustic song, the autobiographical “Nanana”, which
was about the difficulties of songwriting and getting them accepted by
your peers. At first you only get thirty seconds, half the song you get
later, but the entire song is sung to finally complete the album. A very
unique and fun way to break up the album.
The album comes roaring out of your speakers with
opener “Umleitung” (a strange title, no comment as I have never had a
clue what it means, any suggestions?) a classic example of Status Quo
boogie, very limited on the vocals over its 80-minute length. However,
once Parfitt and Rossi started to work their magic on guitar, their new
found confidence in themselves seeps out of every note. Francis Rossi lets
rip one of his fine guitar solos that would have many a teenager grabbing
for a tennis racquet and blasting out the licks in his mind whilst acting
out his adolescent fantasies in front of the mirror.
Next up (after the first bit of “Nanana”) is
another Quo classic “Something’s going on in my Head”. Not
surprising, if anything, the boogie is even heavier as this song was one
of bass player Alan Lancaster’s first contribution to the Quo songbook.
Then we get “Mean Girl”, which was not at the time released as a
single, but a year later when Quo broke into the singles chart with their
first single for Vertigo “Paper Plane” (#5) - it still made it to #20.
“Mean Girl” was often used by the band as an encore number and is a
simple fast rocker, three cords, with a terrific guitar solo and a chorus
that leaves you gasping for air. After a touch more “Nanana” there
comes - for Quo - a quaint little ditty called “Gerundula”, almost a
fast paced jig with lots of handclapping and tambourines behind Rossi’s
guitar. A good way to lead into the album’s two high points.
First we get the Magnificent “Railroad”, arguably
one of the finest songs ever to come out of the Quo catalogue. It was
written by Francis Rossi and long time band roadie Bob Young, who guests
with a totally over the top Harmonica solo (sort of like Quigley, but can
actually play) in the song’s mid section. This fits in well with the
Pathos that Alan Lancaster manages to put into the vocals about losing in
love, before Francis Rossi himself comes in to lay his guitar licks all
over the climax. In progressive/rock this would be called a 7-minute epic;
in the land of Status Quo it’s the one where you get down the front and
bang your head for 7 minutes.
The last slab of Quo boogie we get is the second
Lancaster song “Someone’s Learning”. Live it would often bring the
set to an orgasmic Rock ‘n’ Roll climax, which it does here on the
album with all the guitars and drums in the band driving the rhythms into
your head with sledgehammer force.
Finally the band drifts away with the closing version
of “Nanana”, giving you a chance to tuck your tennis racquet away
before your Mum catches you.
Status Quo are still going today, playing concerts all over Britain and
releasing a new album each year to their still loyal fans. Although they
have never meant a light in America, the Quo can still pack them in - in
Butlins, Skegness, where the teenagers in the mirror are now Mums and Dads
themselves, still tucking their thumbs into their belts and boogieing
along.
Musicians
This
week is one of those books set to polarize another group of readers. Dude,
Where’s my country? (ISBN 0-446-69262-X) from Warner Books and just hot
off the press, is designed to fire the ire or add weight to the argument,
depending upon which side of the George W. Bush line you stand on.
Mott’s CD review: Status Quo - Dog of Two Heads