My Musical Alphabet : Q

As I keep saying, this stuff isn't mine and may very well be pulled for breach of copyright. You can, of course, go looking on YouTube, or its variants, for other copies. I'm sure you know how.

We are now up to the letter Q and there now follows a nice selection of odds and ends for your pleasure.

Apologies up front for this one - it is rather heavy on the mighty Status Quo. They were a band that I heard in the 60s with their hit, Pictures of Matchstick Men, but didn't get into them until the following decade. That was with their, now distinctive, 12 bar boogie rhythm and the songs Paper Plane and Mean Girl. I used to visit one of my grandparents and would sit with an uncle listening to three albums on repeat - Razamanaz (Nazareth), The Dark Side Of The Moon (Pink Floyd) and Piledriver (Status Quo)

However, there are other items that cycle through my playlist that feature the letter Q so I think I'll continue this blog with those and keep the best stuff for the end.

I was not really a Queen fan. Oh, I did spend a fair amount of time sitting in my best mate's bedroom switching between Queen and Rush but I didn't feel the need to get out and buy their vinyl. They were an OK band to listen to and I have picked up their greatest hits stuff. To cut to the chase the track I do enjoy more than others is 39 . There now follows Brian May playing with a band other than Queen. 

This next one might seem a bit odd if you're new to this blog, otherwise you'll see it fits in perfectly. I know of it from my younger days but in this house, it is a firm favourite of my wife and daughter so I've gotten used to hearing it here, there and everywhere. It's a song from an old Hitchcock movie, "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The singer is Doris Day and the song is Que Sera Sera

Nearly there and we'll get even closer with ?

Eh? What? und so weiter...

? is a Question mark and the link to my Q's is through the German band Nena and their song Fragezeichen from 1984.

The German link continues with Haydn's Kaiserquartett. Yes, OK, that was a sneaky way into the Q's. A little known fact in this household is my liking for national anthems. Indeed, a CD sitting on the shelves has probably only ever been played by me. This piece betters the Swiss, betters the Italian. It is in my view, the best of the bunch. The full title for this snippet is Haydn String Quartet No.62, Op.76 No.3 "Emperor" (2nd mov) by The Veridis Quartet.

Now we have reached the last of the Q's and that is Status Quo, and I am really having difficulty deciding what to put in here. Do I go for their psychedelic stuff, their pop stuff, their C&W stuff, the heavier stuff? Without further ado let's start with Down Down, the band's only number one. This is the one that got my wife hooked. I find it a bit start-stop but when it's going, it hits the mark.

Next up is a country and western offering. Honest. A nice 2 and a half minutes with a sublime solo from Rossi. And some don't rate him as a guitar player. Hard to believe. The link is to a cover version, the video is later. Fine Fine Fine is the song.

Next up is an album recording. I'm afraid that the only live recording has Parfitt sounding rather rough, maybe due to the surgery he was undergoing. Another fine solo from Rossi here. The song is For You.

Now for something from the old days, played a few years back at their reunion gigs. And it's a belter. Solid drums, solid base, manic rhythm and a note perfect lead. IMHO, Quo hit the high with this. The song is called Blue Eyed Lady.

Lastly, I'll finish with Bye Bye Johnny.

No-one, and I mean no-one, can do this Chuck Berry number better than Quo. The only bad thing about this track is that when you hear it, you know the gig is finished. Until the next one.

As usual, feel free to add your thoughts, whether you agree with me or not. It would be helpful to know what you think and if you want this to take any particular direction.