Great Rock Albums of 1982: Status Quo- 1+9+8+2

Status Quo are yet another British rock band who never quite cracked America. I first heard of them during the short time I was in the UK when I was in the service and then hardly ever heard their name until my arrival in 1986. However, as many of my new British friends were metalheads, they were quick to shoot the band down stating they were too commercial to be metal. It didn’t help their case when I heard their two best known songs, “Whatever You Want” and “Rocking All Over the World.” To me, those songs gave me the impression of what the Bay City Rollers would have sounded like if they tried to play heavy metal. So, I wasn’t very impressed. However, quite recently a good metal friend stated that if you look beyond their singles and listen to their albums, they are more rock. It is that advice, that I listened to the “1+9+8+2” album and am posting about it now.

Let me declare from the start that in my view, Status Quo are not heavy metal. They are more melodic rock bordering on hard rock. The “1+9+8+2” album does have some moments of good hard rock but some of their songs are also templates of their two biggest hits. A perfect example is the opening track, “She Don’t Fool Me,” which opens with a very promising hard rock intro before venturing back to more traditional Quo ground. The next few tracks sound like templates of those two songs but credit where due, “Jealousy” does have a good guitar solo. The album does seem to go progressively harder after that. “I Love Rock and Roll” (not to be confused with a big hit from another band from this year) is a decent rocker. But the first track to really rock the way I want it to is “I Want the World To Know.” That is their most rocking track but the closer, “Big Man” is also a good rocker to take the album out on.

Track Listing:

1. She Don’t Fool Me

2. Young Pretender

3. Get Out and Walk

4. Jealousy

5. I Love Rock and Roll

6. Resurrection

7. Dear John

8. Doesn’t Matter

9. I Want the World to Know

10. I Should Have Known

11. Big Man

Status Quo

Francis Rossi- vocals, lead guitar

Rick Parfitt- vocals, guitar

Alan Lancaster- bass, vocals

Andy Brown- keyboards, backing vocals

Pete Kircher- drums, backing vocals

The question now is “Are Status Quo the British Nickelback?” I have heard people say that you have to look beyond the songs you here on radio to fully appreciate that Canadian band. The answer is yes but on a lesser scale. The songs on “1+9+8+2” are better than the two hits they’re best known for. However, while the album does have it’s rocking moments, there are also moments where they sound like their commercial hits.

Next post: Steve Miller Band- Abracadabra

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