The most interesting part of this 24-song collection is the first six tracks, the A- and B-sides of Status Quo's first three singles, released as the Spectres in late 1966 and early 1967, and the next two songs, cut and released as Traffic Jam (it was originally Traffic, but Steve Winwood's outfit had first dibs on the name) slightly later in 1967 -- the latter's "Wait Just a Minute" borrows the chorus and beat from the Who's "Happy Jack." The early sides are dominated by the organ and Mellotron of Rod Lynes, who exited the ...
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The most interesting part of this 24-song collection is the first six tracks, the A- and B-sides of Status Quo's first three singles, released as the Spectres in late 1966 and early 1967, and the next two songs, cut and released as Traffic Jam (it was originally Traffic, but Steve Winwood's outfit had first dibs on the name) slightly later in 1967 -- the latter's "Wait Just a Minute" borrows the chorus and beat from the Who's "Happy Jack." The early sides are dominated by the organ and Mellotron of Rod Lynes, who exited the group, which makes for some surprises -- they were always a psychedelic outfit with balls, as the material here suggests -- even "Hurdy Gurdy Man" (no relation to the Donovan song), with its flowery choruses, comes off heavier than most of the British psychedelia of the period, and their debut, "I (Who Have Nothing)," is no joke, a pretty heavy piece of psychedelic proto-metal for 1966. The records by Status Quo don't get heard until nine songs in, with "Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe," the B-side to "Pictures of Matchstick Men," a far more straight-ahead rocker than its A-side hit. Most of the rest is pretty much as expected, heavy rock with an increasing emphasis on guitar as opposed to keyboards -- "Make Me Stay a Little Bit Longer" sounds like an outtake from the "Pictures of Matchstick Men" sessions, with a bracing electric guitar-driven fFlamenco-style figure in its break. From "Down the Dustpipe" on, they take on the more basic, bluesy metal sound that the group has aimed for ever since. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi
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