The Way We Were Vol. 1 Francis Rossi

• 1 Gotta Get up and Go 03:08
• 2 Pennsylvania Blues Tonight 04:01
• 3 Scary Mary 03:19
• 4 You'll Come 'Round 03:42
• 5 Tongue Tied 04:21
• 6 Electric Arena 05:06
• 7 I Don't Wanna Hurt You Anymore 03:53
• 8 If You Believe 04:03
• 9 Tallulah's Waiting 03:51
• 10 Money Don't Matter 04:09
• 11 Faded Memory 04:47
• 12 Another Day 03:41
• 13 Why I'm Walking 03:43
• 14 Load on My Mind 03:20
• 15 Strike Like Lightning 03:48
• 16 Can't Change the World 03:35
• 17 Life Has Changed 03:51
• Total Runtime 01:06:18

Info for The Way We Were Vol. 1

Francis Rossi of Status Quo releases ‘The Way We Were Vol.1’.

‘The Way We Were Vol.1’ is an illuminating collection of 17 previously unreleased demo recordings, all taken from his own personal archive, and written by the powerhouse songwriting team of Francis Rossi and Bob Young. Five songs are previously unreleased, and have never before been heard outside the studio, whilst others went on to appear on a Status Quo or Francis Rossi album. These early versions capture the purity of the initial ideas and provide a fascinating window onto the creative process that they then underwent, as they evolved into a final version.

Francis Rossi says, “People say you just can’t recreate a demo; it’s a real moment in time often with a relaxed feel that comes across in the song. A chord sequence or an idea can really shine. Collected on this album are demo recordings that I really like, or even that I now think are better than the recorded versions that people know already, and some alternate takes that really work in this format. Every so often, I would hear these versions and just really feel that they deserved to be heard, and I hope that the fans like them as much as I do.”

There are songs featured that went on to appear on a series of Status Quo albums: 2002’s ‘Heavy Traffic’, 2005’s ‘The Party Ain’t Over Yet’, 2004’s ‘XS All Areas’, ‘In Search Of The Fourth Chord’ (2007), and Francis’ well-received second solo album of 2010 ‘One Step At A Time’.

A variety of styles, and indeed intentions, is on display here. What the songs all have in common is that they are presented in the manner in which they first emerged. There’s a purity and a simplicity to these recordings, and whilst some went on to become rowdy rabble rousers, having received the full classic Quo treatment on some well-loved albums, here they are in the first blush of youth.

Whilst all of these songs are indeed demo versions, they have been carefully and comprehensively laid down – these are much more than sketches. ‘The Way We Were Vol. 1’ lifts the lid on the creative process that has seen Francis Rossi, over an extraordinary career, create some of the greatest Rock music ever.

Francis Rossi

Francis Rossi
Having fronted Status Quo as lead singer and lead guitarist for over fifty years, Francis Rossi might be forgiven for sticking to what he knows and keeping life simple. By stepping into a brand new side of performance with his ‘one man’ shows however, he has demonstrated a couple of unarguable truths: he is not afraid of change, and he does have a lot to talk about!

There was change aplenty in the early days of Francis’ musical career. He was born in 1949 into a large house full of Italians, music and noise. His family ran the Rossi’s Ice Cream business and it wouldn’t be long before Francis had to choose between driving the van on rounds or sticking with music. Francis was an obsessive Pop fan and his love of the Everly Brothers, and then The Beatles, soon led him to start making music of his own. His first instrument was the harmonica, then an accordion, and he next took up the trumpet in the school orchestra. He soon put that aside and picked up his first guitar, forming a band, who took the name The Scorpions for a very brief time, with fellow pupil bassist Alan Lancaster in South East London. They soon became The Spectres, having found drummer John Coghlan. The Spectres then became Traffic and subsequently Traffic Jam, who finally morphed into Status Quo in 1967, with singer and guitarist Rick Parfitt joining the line-up. The band had a string of singles that failed to set the world alight but then enjoyed a big hit in 1968 with Francis’ psychedelic- leaning song ‘Pictures Of Matchstick Men’.

In that same year, Francis bought the Fender Telecaster that became his trademark. It started life as a 1959 Sunburst but Francis sanded it down, drilled a hole through it and painted it green. It was his instrument of choice right up until around 2014, by which point the wood had suffered so much that it wouldn’t stay in tune anymore; the guitar was eventually sold by Bonham’s auction house for over £100K.

From that point on, the sound of the band evolved quickly, as they rejected notions of ‘playing the game’ or embracing the latest looks. Francis is convinced that the band never fell out of fashion as they never were fashionable. Over the course of four albums that are now rightly considered classics, the paisley shirts went and the denim and flailing hair appeared. Quo crashed into the charts with the “no nonsense boogie” of the ‘Piledriver’ album in 1972, the first of an incredible run of success on the legendary Vertigo label. Neither Francis nor Quo ever really went away – though these days the denim [and the hair] have gone to be replaced by waistcoats and a rather snappier look overall.

Over these five decades of success, Francis has become a genuine household name, known in certain circles as the ‘GOMOR’ [the grand old man of rockl]. Francis is an ebullient character, known for his willingness to chat. Never one to stick to a brief, a conversation with Francis will rarely finish where it started and, as many journalists and

presenters have discovered, it’s not all suitable for a family audience. Some of the stories, from the darker days of rock n roll excess that he and Quo were once known for, are true cautionary tales, though for Francis it has always been about the music and the songs.

Many of the mainstays of any Status Quo live set originated with Francis: from ‘Caroline’ to ‘Down Down’ to ‘Paper Plane’. Even the track that arguably split the band up for a while – 1983’s ‘Marguerita Time’ - was one of his! Almost everyone knows at least a couple of his songs: the band’s total world-wide record sales exceed 118 million units. Quo have also played over 6000 live shows to a total audience in excess of 25 million people at legendary venues like the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House, Wembley, Wacken and Glastonbury.

In his career he has been awarded an OBE, gained entries in the Guinness Book of Records, won a Brit Award for ‘Outstanding Contribution To The British Music Industry’, appeared on the ‘Band Aid’ single, opened Live Aid, been immortalised by both Tussauds and Royal Doulton, the list goes on.

Outside of Quo, Francis is a committed family man, he’s never moved away from South London where he lives with wife Eileen and several of his children. He has also recorded two solo records and also a collaborative album with vocalist Hannah Rickard, titled ‘We Talk Too Much’ – a reference to his 2019 Sunday Times bestsellingautobiography [with Mick Wall] ‘I Talk Too Much’.

In that same year, Francis undertook his first ever one-man shows. Rather than testing the waters, he dived right in by booking a full forty date tour! The shows were a great success, he loved the experience and in 2021 he did another, longer, run. 2023 will see the Tunes & Chat Tour (more tunes, less chat), – these will be based around acoustic performances of some of his classic songs, plus some rarely performed numbers and, of course, anecdotes from what has been a remarkable life.

With Status Quo live dates both in the UK and Europe closing out 2022, and the 2023 ‘Tunes & Chat’ Francis has found a certain balance. Whilst always candid about his days of self-destruction and excess, he has replaced that with a lifestyle geared around keeping himself fit in body and mind: a finely tuned diet, daily exercise regimes and a lot of crosswords. There is more to come from this versatile musician, performer, raconteur, film star [we see you ‘Bula Quo!’] and, whatever it is, you can guarantee it will be entertaining and won’t stick to the script!

This album contains no booklet.