On The Level (VINYL) [VINYL]

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Customer reviews

review by: Grumsta date: 2007-10-19 rating:
Very good, but not a classic
There are certainly classic tracks here, but for me this album is a bit of a disappointment after the awesome "Piledriver", "Hello" and "Quo" albums.

The standout tracks are Little Lady / Most of the Time, Down Down and Bye Bye Johnny. The remastered sound gives them even more oomph than my old trusty vinyl copy.

I find the other tracks a bit too samey and lacking in energy. Personal taste I know. They peaked again nicely for the "Blue for You" album, and then lost me again until "Just Supposin'".

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review by: shopkins2112 date: 2006-04-30 rating:
The standard by which all Quo is judged.
For me this is the essential Quo album! From start to finish this is Quo at thier peak, combining savage 12-bar bedlam with melodies catchier than the common cold. This remastrered version also includes some great extra live tracks, in particular an electric version of Gurdundula, a celtic sounding reel from Dog of Two Head (a song I'm trying to get the folk band I play in to cover)and vicious versions of Roll Over Lay Down and Roadhouse Blues. Although Quo have long been criticised for being 'samey' I think what I really like about On the Level is the subtle diversity. There is plenty of red-hot hard rockers (Little Lady, I Saw the Light, Nightride, Down Down and a blistering version of Bye Bye Johnny), and poppier, melodic, feelgood tracks (What To Do, Broken Man, Over and Done). To me On The Level (and Piledriver) is the standard by which all Quo releases are judged. An essential album for all fans of classic rock.

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review by: date: 2006-03-28 rating:
Quo at their peak
The first time I heard Down Down in 1975 on a small transistor radio on an am station, I was blown away. Never had I heard a mix of guitar, bass and drums create a crunching, ripping, exhilarating sound like that. 31 years later on a remastered CD, it sounds even better. The mastery of the seemingly simple (but bloody difficult)12 bar riff played by Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster and Coghlan is absolutely first class. Quo aren't a fashionable band, they don't rate in 1000 Albums to hear before you die, nor on any of the wanker "expert" reviews of the greatest bands of the 70's. But for anyone who was there, who laid awake hoping to hear it on the radio or to the end of Countdown (AUS)to see the lads on video or who got to see them have Slade booed off stage, Quo are THE 70's rock band. On the Level sees them at the top of their craft instrumentally. Buy this and Quo's "Live" and you have the guts of British rock of the decade. Now, "is there anyone out there wants to rock?"

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review by: date: 2006-02-22 rating:
Another Quo classic!
With On The Level, Status Quo continued to set the standard - and leave the rest trailing in their wake - with yet another top quality album.

Considering the number of classy tracks on show here, it seems strange to me that only one single was ever released from the album ('Down Down', to date their only ever No 1 hit.) Songs like 'Little Lady', 'I Saw The Light', 'Over And Done', 'Broken Man', and even their cover of 'Bye Bye Johnny' would, in my opinion, all have made potential singles.

That there were so many good songs and good choices for single releases sums up to me just how high a standard Quo were setting throughout the 70's and early part of the 80's with their music.

A masterpiece of heads down rock music!!


review by: davethorn13 date: 2005-12-10 rating:
Rock on a different level
This was the first album in my record collection, the result of hearing "Down Down" on the radio when it became a number one. It was the first single of the 1970s that I found exciting. The likes of T. Rex had not impressed me. The Beatles had set a standard that no one could follow. But Quo sidestepped the problem by generating pure adrenalin. "Down Down"'s high-octane rock was irresistible. The extended album version is even better, highlighting just how good an understanding the band members had.

The album title reflected a balance between the band members as writers in contrast to the extreme approaches of their two previous albums: "Hello!" had been dominated by Francis Rossi, "Quo" by Alan Lancaster and Rick Parfitt in tandem. There's some great, crunching rock among the lesser-known items here, notably "I Saw The Light", "What To Do" and "Over And Done". "Nightride" and "Broken Man" are more striking as they don't conform to the shuffles that Quo are known for, but they're just as good.

"Little Lady" and "Most Of The Time" are well-known to fans, having been live favourites for years. The first is Parfitt's high-tempo rocker which segues into Rossi's slower, more anthemic number. "Where I Am" is the one incongruous track, being a gentle, melodic number by Parfitt which has a lullaby feel. "Bye Bye Johnny", which closes the original album, is Quo's best Chuck Berry cover and features some blistering guitar work. Has anyone ever come up with a more barnstorming finish to an album? It wouldn't sound out of place on "Piledriver" alongside "Paper Plane". The bonuses on the latest reissue don't add any new material, being mostly live versions of familiar songs, but as Quo are a superb live band they don't let the side down either.

"On The Level" represents Quo on the crest of their 1970s wave, their fourth successive classic. It reaped the benefits of their earlier success but built on it too. In my case it turned out to be a great place to start. I can't give a better recommendation than that.

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