You have to love a rock band a half century into their career, and they’re still trying new things. Britain’s Status Quo has jumped out of their rockin’ comfort zone to present a stripped-down fully acoustic read to 22 songs from their catalog, called Aquostic (Stripped Down).
On the group’s “Pictures Of Matchstick Men,” we get strings and harmony vocals with Amy Smith lending her pipes to make the entire jaunty concoction move along steadily. “Na Na Na” is quite poignant here – just acoustic guitar and vocal, the lyrics about songwriting coming to the fore in this dressed-down version. John Rhino Edwards’ soft bass is especially subtle, and with Geraint Watkins’ light accordion in the background, we are certainly into much more than just the band just trying to be kitschy.
“All the Reasons” is an upbeat love song for a love not present with Andy Brown’s mandolin and some fiddle work making the whole thing work. “Reason For Living” sees Watkins’ accordion paired with some suave piano playing to make this the first of ruckus rockers. “Caroline,” a Top 10 single from 1973’s Hello!, is a straight-ahead 50s-like rocker featuring piano and some brilliant drummer from Leon Cave.
We get a country vibe on “Break The Rules,” a song with a solid lead and great bass playing from Edwards. Given the instruments being employed, Status Quo could have easily opted to ‘go country’ on a lot of these tunes. Things are low down and rollin’ with Andy Bowns’ harmonica and drums upfront on the reworked mid 70s hit “Rain,” with Amy Smith again lifting the whole thing to another level.
“Rockin’ All Over The world” is another rocker with strings coming in as accents and catchy “nah nah nah’s,” while strings inform a version of “Whatever You Want” to end the set. Status Quo really do present these songs with all their muster and might, breathing a good and solid life into stripped-down versions of their most beloved songs. Aquostic (Stripped Bare) is a winner from a band that could certainly take a rest and present pretty much anything they want at this point.
~ Ralp Greco, Jr.
