Be My Friend

Status Quo : Forty Five Hundred Times

[Purchase]

For a generation of U.K. fans, the definitive version of "Roadhouse Blues" isn't The Doors version from Morrison Hotel, but the 14-minute version on Status Quo's Live, released in March of 1977. You can hear the special relationship Status Quo had with its fans who chant "Quoooo-wooahh" throughout much of the performance. Lead singer and guitarist Francis Rossi also leads the Frantic Four through a bit of a traditional Irish reel and a snatch or two of "Shakin' All Over". While many consider this to be one of the classic live albums of the 70's, Rossi can only hear the mistakes on the album. He tells TeamRock.com :

“Unlike every other live album from those days, there are absolutely no overdubs on that album, no going back and fixing the bum notes, nothing other than what we actually put out there on stage at the time. We wanted to prove we weren’t like the others, we weren’t cheating. But every time I listen to it now, all I can hear are the mistakes. I sit here cringing, thinking: ‘I wish we’d put fucking overdubs on.’

"Roadhouse Blues" may have more historical significance than the other cuts, but if we're going to offer something you'd want to listen more than once, I'd suggest the 17-minute version of "Forty Five Hundred Times". Play it loud!