Whatever You Want

It's been long standing thing on this blog not to be a review of things I have bought simply because you end with just a reviews blog which was never what this blog was about even in the early days at Friends Reunited or the photography blog as that was about the subject and not the equipment.

Nonetheless some actual physical possessions do tie in because they were directly connected to your past and so come back with being in that child-like mindset thanks to age regression.

For me the music of Status Quo, the British Blues Boogie was a constant even if albums may of been borrowed and so over the years I had a collection of those I remember taping even if a couple disappeared when "Angela" in the lower sixth took a couple of tapes out of my schoolbag in some spat connected with the bike shed and why we were both there. Nudge Nudge...

Actually I can still see them in their orange text on white TDK D boxes and the white label on grey tape shells in my sleep complete with Thin Lizzy, Rolling Stones and Monty Python.

The first time the whole Status Quo catalogue came out on cd was in 1991 where while  some albums were just single cds, others were issued as two albums in really little more than a tracklist and front art on a single cd.

This was one of the single cds, 1977's Rockin' All Over The World the title song was a British hit written by John Fogerty, which sounded very thin on cd.

It was reissued a few years ago in Deluxe Format which basically means it comes as four folded card sleeve with two wells for the cds of which one is the original album redone for cd and the second has bonuses which in this instance comprises of non album single 'B' sides and a remix of the main album.

It sounds a lot better in this edition.

I very well remember borrowing 1979's Whatever You Want from my younger brother to which I have a troubled relationship with then and sadly now too that Christmas as it had been a present and recording it being one of their best albums.

It apart from having the top ten title track hit had the slower more reflective Living On A Island and was one the tapes the mentioned girl took.

When in 1991 this was issued on cd which sounds pretty good they decided to make it a two on one which meant they missed one song off, High Flyer, and faded a few others earlier to get it all to fit in.

Thus I was interested in getting the recent Deluxe edition that sounds very good with the entire album on it as I remember it, the b side of Whatever You Want , Hard Ride, and the U..S compiled and remixed edition

This came out in l980 and shares the same history include the snatching of the tape I made of it and was the second album on the Whatever You Want  2 on 1 cd losing Wild Ones and gaining some fades
This was the home to three singles What Your Supposin', Don't Drive My Car/Lies which was a 'double 'A' side and Rock N Roll which was issued in late 1981 rather than second single from that years Never Too Late Album

Having these albums back sounding better approximating the sound of the original lps and being more complete has been not just good from the point of enjoying the sound of these albums but also took me back to those heady days of my mid teens.