Status Quo: Whatever You Want - 1979

It's 1979 - want to forget about disco, punk and new wave for a few minutes? well, you could do that right here. 

Good old Quo just did it - again and again, regardless.

Whatever You Want is arguably the last truly great, copper-bottomed Quo single (maybe the next one, What You're Proposin' runs it close). Out of sync with contemporary musical trends or not, this track is simply bloody marvellous, rocking from beginning to end and in possession of one hell of a deep, rumbling bassline. Great stuff indeed. I have read reviews accusing it of blighting the album due to its sameiness. Bollocks. It makes the album. As if it were a Quo revival show, the rocking vibe is continued on the searing boogie of Shady Lady. I love this one too. Wanna carry on? Sure you do. Who Asked You gives us more of the same. As indeed does the equally pounding Your Smiling Face. 

Just when you thought the boogie was never going to end, Quo came up with one of the most incongruous songs they ever released as a single in Living On An Island. This acoustic, summery ballad that rocks by the end was a big hit too. I guess it proved that they could diversify. It's a nice song, you can't escape from that. It's also very nostalgic for me hearing it now as I remember my girlfriend at the time and the joys of youth.

The second side returned to Quo rock with the hunky, muscular Come Rock With Me. It morphs, musically and lyrically, into the excellent Quo Heaven of Rockin' On. Nobody did this sort of thing better, did they? So it was out of time, culturally, so what? Runaway has one of those typical Quo build-up intros and, once more, it rocks like buggery, reminding me a lot of 1972's Paper Plane. Punk was supposed to blow away "boring old farts" like Quo, but stuff like this was just as energetic and rousing as any punk offering. It lacked the social comment and visceral anger, I guess, but it was just as barnstorming.

The final two numbers, High Flyer and Breaking Away carry on the rocking, with the latter being a six minute plus Midnight Rambler-style bluesy workout that displays considerable musical and compositional dexterity in parts. 

This was a good album, and, like the lead-off single, probably their final really good one. The two non-album 'b' sides, Hard Rock and Bad Company are both fine tracks too, the first more punkily frantic, the second a serving of mid-pace but strong rock. Finally, why does the penguin on the rear cover sport a suspender belt? Weird.

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