STATUS QUO – RIFFS deluxe reissue

5/10

Status Quo had vowed not to ever make another cover album. Yet, just in time for Christmas 2003 came “Riffs”. “The label had me by the balls”, lamented singer/guitarist Francis Rossi. Is “Riffs” a disaster? Some of the selections are pretty lame. “Born to be wild”, “Wild one”, “Tobacco Road”, “Don’t bring me down” – they’ve all been done in far more spirited versions. Still, Canned Heat’s “On the road again” is being decently performed, while bassist John “Rhino” Edwards puts a lot of soul into the words of J. Geils Band’s “Centrefold”. “Riffs” is then rounded up with a few of Quo’s own classics. None of which beat the originals.

What makes this album a deluxe package is cd two, including a few outtakes as well as most of a gig from the Montreux Jazz Festival 2004. Classics performed by pro’s, but hardly made to raise your eyebrows.

If you’re about to choose between the new releases of “Riffs” or “Heavy Traffic”, then surely the latter is a far brighter choice.

Artist: Status Quo
Title: Riffs – deluxe reissue
Label: Universal
Rate: 5/10
Date of release 22-09-30
Stand out track: Centrefold

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