Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo
| Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo | ||||
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| Status Quo studio album | ||||
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Publication |
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| Label (s) | Pye Records | |||
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Format (s) |
LP, CD |
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Title (number) |
15th |
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running time |
34:00 min |
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Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo, the debut album by British rock group Status Quo , was released on September 27, 1968. The album contains a large number of cover versions , including Green Tambourine by The Lemon Pipers . Unlike the band's later albums, which can be assigned to hard rock , Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from The Status Quo has clear borrowings from psychedelic rock and pop.
The hit singles were Pictures of Matchstick Men and Ice in the Sun, both of which reached the top 20 in several countries (→ see Status Quo / Discography ). Even Black Veils of Melancholy, a relatively unimaginative copy of the first single, was in the Netherlands in the Top 20th The album itself missed the charts.
History of origin
Under the name The Specters and Traffic Jam, Francis Rossi , Alan Lancaster , John Coghlan and Roy Lynes had released a total of four singles in 1966 and 1967, which were largely unsuccessful. When Rick Parfitt joined the band as the second guitarist and singer in mid-1967 , the group name was changed to "The Status Quo".
With a new line-up, the band went into the recording studio in late 1967 to record two pieces for the next single. Originally, Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Cafe was supposed to be the A-side. However, since psychedelic rock was in great demand, the sides were quickly swapped, so that Pictures of Matchstick Men became the new A-side.
Manager Pat Barlow bought airtime on Radio Caroline , a pirate station operating from the North Sea . As a result, the single achieved great fame and entered the British charts on January 24, 1968. Because of this success, the band was invited by the BBC to record in their studios. At this point, The Status Quo was on tour as a backing band for Madeline Bell .
The next single was recorded in the spring of 1968 and released on March 29th. Black Veils of Melancholy looked too similar to the first single and was panned by the critics. Regardless of this, the band was still on tour. With Bob Young , a musician was hired as a roadie , who later also supported Status Quo with live performances on stage.
In order to make the next single more successful, support from the songwriter duo Ronnie Scott and Marty Wilde was requested. From the three proposed contributions, producer John Schröder chose Ice in the Sun as the title for the next single. The piece was released in July 1968 and brought Status Quo back into the top 10.
Around the same time, more recordings were made to bring the first album of "The Status Quo" to the market. First of all, the band plays the basic tracks for this. John Schröder later added additional accompanying instruments and overdubs . The album was released on September 27, 1968 under the title Pictures Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo .
In November of the same year, Technicolor Dreams, another single from the album, should have been released. However, the publication was stopped, although the first copies were already pressed. The few pieces that got into circulation are now sought-after collector's items.
Track list
European version
In Europe, the album contained a total of twelve tracks, only four of which were written by the band themselves. The album was originally available in a mono and a stereo version, which differ slightly in the mix. Later releases are usually limited to stereo mixes.
- Black Veils of Melancholy (Francis Rossi) - 3:17
- When My Mind Is not Live (Rossi / Rick Parfitt) - 2:50
- Ice in the Sun (Marty Wilde / Ronnie Scott) - 2:13
- Elizabeth Dreams (Wilde / Scott) - 3:29
- Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Café ( Kenny Young ) - 3:01
- Paradise Flat (Wilde / Scott) - 3:13
- Technicolor Dreams (Anthony King) - 2:54
- Sheila ( Tommy Roe ) - 1:56
- Spicks and Specks ( Barry Gibb ) - 2:46
- Sunny Cellophane Skies (Alan Lancaster) - 2:47
- Green Tambourine ( Paul Leka / Shelley Pinz ) - 2:19
- Pictures of Matchstick Men (Rossi) - 3:13
US version
The US version appeared under the slightly shortened title Messages from The Status Quo on the label Cadet Concept . Compared to the European edition, the Sheila and Green Tambourine pieces were omitted .
- Black Veils of Melancholy
- When My Mind Is Not Live
- Ice in the Sun
- Elizabeth Dreams
- Gentleman Joe's Sidewalk Café
- Paradise Flat
- Technicolor Dreams
- Spicks and Bacons
- Sunny Cellophane Sky
- Pictures of Matchstick Men
Bonus tracks
Picturesque Matchstickable Messages… has been released repeatedly on CD over the years. Many of the re-releases were provided with bonus tracks , especially the various B-sides of the singles extracted from the album .
The most comprehensive re-release contains the album in mono and stereo, the B-sides and various live recordings from the BBC archives on two CDs. Some of these bonus tracks were recorded as The Specters and Traffic Jam, respectively, without Rick Parfitt.
- To Be Free - 2:37 - ( Roy Lynes )
- Make Me Stay a Bit Longer (Alternate Version) - 2:55 - (Rossi / Parfitt)
- Auntie Nellie - 3:22 - (Lancaster)
- Pictures of Matchstick Men (Stereo Alternate Mix) - 3:15 - (Rossi)
- Paradise Flat (Stereo Alternate Mix) - 3:17 - (Wilde / Scott)
- Interview with Brian Mattew (BBC Session) - 1:07
- Pictures of Matchstick Men (BBC Session) - 3:13 - (Rossi)
- Things Get Better (BBC Session) - 2:10 - ( Steve Cropper / Eddie Floyd / Wayne Jackson )
- Spicks and Specks (BBC Session) - 2:47 - (Gibb)
- Judi in Disguise (With Glasses) (BBC Session) - 2:44 - ( Gourrier / Andrew Bernard / John Fred )
- Interview (BBC Session) - 1:18
- Make Me Stay a Bit Longer (BBC Session) - 2:48 - (Parfitt / Rossi)
- Gloria (BBC Session) - 2:46 - ( Van Morrison )
- Interview with Francis Rossi (BBC Session) - 0:49
- I (Who Have Nothing) (BBC Session) - 3:02 - ( Carlo Donida / Jerry Leiber / Mike Stoller / Mogol )
- Neighbor, Neighbor (BBC Session) - 2:38 - (Valier)
- I Don't Want You (Saturday Club 06/26/1967) - 2:33 - (Porter / Dello)
- Almost but Not Quite There (Saturday Club 26.06.1967) - 2:38 - (Barlow / Rossi)
- Spicks and Specks (Saturday Club 06/26/1967) - 2:46 - (Gibb)
- Gloria ( David Symonds Show 04/08/1968) - 2:43 - (Morrison)
- Interview with Alan Lancaster (David Symonds Show 04/08/1968) - 1:00
- Black Veils of Melancholy (David Symonds Show 04/08/1968) - 3:14 - (Rossi)
- Bloodhound (David Symonds Show 04/08/1968) - 2:05 - (Bright)
- 1998 reissue bonus tracks (tracks 4–5)
- 2003 Reissue Expanded Bonustracks (Tracks 1–3)
- 2003 "Mono" bonus tracks (tracks 1–3, 6–12)
- 2003 "Stereo" bonus tracks (tracks 1–3, 6–23)
- The Specters : Tracks 11-14
- Traffic Jam: Tracks 15-17
occupation
- Francis Rossi - vocals & guitar
- Rick Parfitt - vocals & guitar (not on all bonus tracks)
- Alan Lancaster - electric bass
- John Coghlan - drums
- Roy Lynes - vocals and organ
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Singles discography on the official website ( Memento of the original from April 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b David J. Oxley: Rockers Rollin '- The Story of Status Quo. P. 16.
- ↑ David J. Oxley: Rockers Rollin '- The Story of Status Quo. P. 18.
- ↑ Status Quo annual review 1968 on www.quoticker.de ; Retrieved September 17, 2011.
- ↑ US vinyl discography at www.collectadisc.co.uk
- ↑ Entry for the US edition on www.allmusic.com.
