Track Listing

1. Roll Over Lay Down
2. Claudie
3. Reason For Living
4. Blue Eyed Lady
5. Caroline
6. Softer Ride
7. And It's Better Now
8. Forty-Five Hundred Times
9. Joanne

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #15623 in Music
• Released on: 2005-01-31
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .23 pounds
• Running time: 43 minutes

Customer Reviews

Quo announce themselves as craftsmen
There is no one undisputed "best" Quo album, but "Hello!" is certainly a contender among long-time fans. Their second classic album for Vertigo, it's more sophisticated than its predecessor, "Piledriver", though of course I mean "sophisticated" in a relative way. Those who complain of Francis Rossi's penchant for lightweight pop in later years might be surprised to discover that he was writing melodic songs for this 1973 release. There were two major differences back then however. One was that Quo presented themselves as a scruffy, hard-driving band. This may be a more clinically-produced effort than "Piledriver" but there is no gloss. Keyboards, when added, are kept firmly in the background. Secondly, Rossi as a vocalist keeps his personality in reserve. These were the days when Quo were young and intense, too into their music to be showbiz stars.

As for the music, both sides of the LP began with songs that have become standards, "Roll Over Lay Down" and "Caroline". These songs have been belted out by many a pub band. "Claudie", "And It's Better Now", "Reason For Living" and "Blue-Eyed Lady" are all distinct, melodic songs worthy of supporting the main attractions. "Softer Ride" is more unusual, with its slow, almost moronic "I ain't gonna work" opening. The moment Quo move to a higher gear on this song is exhilarating. The original album closed with "Forty-Five Hundred Times", at around ten minutes Quo's longest studio track. This song has since taken on a life of its own, having been also worked up into its longer live concert form on the "Rock 'Til You Drop"
album. The quiet opening, led by Rick Parfitt, always creates a sense of expectation and when the rest of the band come in that expectation is totally fulfilled.

Many fans prefer the flawed intensity of "Piledriver", but "Hello!" is probably Quo's most consistent album, a true 1970s classic.

The Five Pillars of Status Quo
In the period between 1972 and 1976 Status Quo released five successive album of unbelievable consistency and quality. Hello is widely regarded as the very finest album Quo have ever released; the best of the best. Caroline, Roll Over Lay Down, Blue Eyed Lady, Softer Ride and 4500 Times are all essentail 12-bar rockers that would probably figure in almost all right-thinking Quo fans' top 20 tracks; in fact seven of the eight tracks (not counting the extra track) figured in a recent poll of the 50 best Quo tracks, a testament to how essential this album is for not only any Quo fan but fans of top notch melodic hard rock. In conclusion, Hello is an essential, highly recommended album and with On The Level is, in my opinion, the absolute peak of Quo's work.

Quo's masterpiece
Believe it or not Quo had a golden period in the mid seventies where they were a welcome change from prog rock. They were often criticized but for not having 101 chords in their songs but surely that was a good thing. No one can deny that they rapidly slipped into self-parody but the run of albums from 'Piledriver' to 'Blue For You' contained a fair share of gems. 'Hello', which followed 'Piledriver', is unarguably their best album containing classics such as 'Caroline', 'Roll Over Lay Down' and 'Forty Five Hundred Times'. It still stands up today. If you're a younger listener you're probably aware of the trademark sound but you might not realize how good they sounded at their seventies peak. This album is imbued with both immense physical energy and melodic (yes, melodic), concise songs. And best of all it still stands up today as a straightahead rock record.