Is it Status Quo without Parfitt?

pintspiller

Mrs Pintspiller is not a Quo fan, but will be attending their show in Belfast with a friend who is and has managed never to see them.

With Parfitt unable to play on the remainder of the tour, should she push to get her friend to get refunded for a Quo gig with just Rossi, or let her friend attend a show that is basically it's own tribute act, just so she can see her fave band for the first time?

mart

Aw come on, you've still got Rossi, and Andy Bown who has been part of them for ages nearly forty years! Thinking about, even Rhino Edwards has now been in the band longer than Alan Lancaster was. It'd be good to have Parfitt, but I'm sure it'll still be a good Quo show. 

vasselmeyer

Quo without Parfitt is like AD/DC without Malcolm.

octatonic

vasselmeyer said:

Quo without Parfitt is like AD/DC without Malcolm.

So essentially fine because they have found people who can play pretty much exactly the same stuff but some fans are strange and weird about it?

EricTheWeary

They had Rick Parfitt Jr on stage with them at Hyde Park. Assuming they have the same in Belfast at least they'll have his DNA up there.

ICBM

No. Having seen them on the Frantic Four reunion tour a couple of years back, it isn't even Quo without Lancaster and Coghlan.

So much better than the modern "Quo" it was astounding - it isn't as obvious what they've lost until you see them doing it right again… it's not Rossi and Parfitt who have changed since they were just as good as they were in the old days really.

Quo without Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan is just Francis Rossi and some other musicians, and I don't mean that with any disrespect to him at all.

hywelg

Much better to go see one of the better tribute acts in a small club. Its closer to what Quo used to be like than Quo are now.

Moe_Zambeek

octatonic said:

vasselmeyer said:

Quo without Parfitt is like AD/DC without Malcolm.

So essentially fine because they have found people who can play pretty much exactly the same stuff but some fans are strange and weird about it?

I'm strange and weird about that  

Actually the the biggest loss to AC/DC was the Ruddster but adding Malcolm to the list was too much. Not the same at all.

octatonic

They still sold out Wembley in 60 mins.

Moe_Zambeek

octatonic said:

They still sold out Wembley in 60 mins.

Indeed. I speak only for myself. 

TTony

ICBM said:

No. Having seen them on the Frantic Four reunion tour a couple of years back, it isn't even Quo without Lancaster and Coghlan

It's not been Quo ever since Roy Lynes left ... though that was a good thing.

I think their prime years were through the Ma Kelly, Dog, Piledriver, Quo through to the original Live albums with Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster & Coghlan.  After that they sort of morphed into something else as the original lineup changed and they seemed to aim at a different audience.

IMHO Rhino is pretty good, and probably better as a Quo bassist than Lancaster was.  I've got his Rhino's Revenge albums and they're better "Quo" albums than most Quo albums since the original Live.

To answer the original question, unless you've got a time machine, go see the show, because it'll still be a Quo show, whoever is playing on stage.

octatonic

Luxury.

StageStruck

I'd say it'll be business as usual without Parfitt. As much as a fan as I am, getting a ringer in for him won't make a massive difference to the sound. It probably takes a huge chunk of authenticity to the band, but no different/worse than AC/DC carrying on without Malcolm Young & Brian Johnson. It's gonig to be different seeing them without RP this time round, but they'll still put on an enjoyable show. Lets face it, half the folk going to the average Quo gig are there to see them play the hits without much concern for what line-up is performing. It's also a fair point about Andrew Bown & Rhino who have both been long serving members of the band (43 years & 30 years).

Placidcasual79

without Parfitt its no longer the status quo

Placidcasual79

without Parfitt its no longer the status quo

axisus

without Parfitt its no longer the status quo

axisus

there's an amazing echo in this thread

pintspiller

Quack

slacker

axisus said:

there's an amazing echo in this thread

pintspiller said:

Quack

Not now. 

ICBM

TTony said:

I think their prime years were through the Ma Kelly, Dog, Piledriver, Quo through to the original Live albums with Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster & Coghlan.  After that they sort of morphed into something else as the original lineup changed and they seemed to aim at a different audience.

There was quite a big change after Blue For You when they stopped producing themselves - Rockin' All Over The World and onwards when they went a bit more commercial pop-rock - but I think they were still essentially the same band until Coghlan left after Never Too Late.

TTony said:

IMHO Rhino is pretty good, and probably better as a Quo bassist than Lancaster was.

I think Rhino is a better bassist, but that's not the point - he just doesn't play *like* Lancaster and that takes away something essential.

I was really - wonderfully - surprised by what they sounded like on the reunion tour. I had been expecting them to sound more like the 'new Quo', but they didn't at all. I thought so at the gig itself, but I also downloaded the official recording and it's really not far off the original '77 Live! album.

So I'm sorry, but I'm one of those strange and weird obsessives who doesn't think Quo without Parfitt is even Quo at all.

martinw

ICBM said:

I think Rhino is a better bassist, but that's not the point - he just doesn't play *like* Lancaster and that takes away something essential.

I was really - wonderfully - surprised by what they sounded like on the reunion tour. I had been expecting them to sound more like the 'new Quo', but they didn't at all. I thought so at the gig itself, but I also downloaded the official recording and it's really not far off the original '77 Live! album.

So I'm sorry, but I'm one of those strange and weird obsessives who doesn't think Quo without Parfitt is even Quo at all.

Big +1

I used to listen to Quo a lot when I was a kid, then just about stopped when Lancaster and Coghlan left. I wasn't sure why, but seeing the original line up back together again reminded me of what they had and it became clear.

More than the sum of the parts, like all the best bands IMO.