Status Quo LIVE ALIVE QUO

Liner Note Author: Dave Ling.
Recording information: Sutton Park, Birmingham, England (08/30/1992).
A decade on from their last in-concert album, Status Quo return to the concert hall for only their third live set, the unequivocally titled, and triumphantly track listed Live Alive Quo. And, from the moment the guitars tear the top of your head away, ushering in the opening "Whatever You Want," it's apparent that no matter how many demons might assail the band's studio output, in concert they remain the same denim'n'dandruff brigade they always were. "Burning Bridges," that most infuriatingly contagious of rock & roll jigs, the driving "Caroline," the inevitable "Rockin' All over the World," and a scintillating return to the mid-'70s standby of "Roadhouse Blues" are all undeniable peaks, while a closing salvo that kicks off with "Don't Drive My Car" finds the band locked into the kind of groove that even their heyday found rare. Of course you cannot, and would not, compare Live Alive Quo to the sound of the band in its prime -- the 1971 Swedish radio recording, the 1973 BBC broadcast, and the 1977 Live album are all vastly superior to this. But the continuity is peerless, and the excitement levels are just as high. Go on, give it a go! [The 2006 reissue of the album includes bonus tracks.] ~ Dave Thompson

• Format: CD
• Genre: Rock