Status Quo – The Last night of the electrics

Last year Status Quo embarked on a tour that was intended to mark the end of an era – the final Status Quo tour with a full electric set.  In the end it became even more of an era ending tour as Rick Parfitt was forced to pull out due to ill health before tragically dying at the end of 2016.
Cynics may say that Quo have retired before, but with the band getting older and the loss of Rick Parfitt, I suspect that really was the end of Quo as we know it although we may see the occasional show or maybe an acoustic tour.

Now the London O2 arena show is being released on CD, DVD, BluRay and vinyl.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this release – would it feel right without Rick Parfitt?  The answer is that yes and no.  Listening to the album it’s unmistakably Quo doing what they do best and it sounds fantastic. Watching the DVD though it does feel slightly strange at first seeing someone else where Rick Parfitt should be, but you soon get used to it and just enjoy watching Quo performing a great set.  Yes his stand-in does a great job and interacts well with the rest of the band, but it just seems strange seeing Quo without Rick Parfitt.
After releasing so many albums over the years Status Quo are never going to be short of songs to play, and with so many hits there are a lot of songs the fans expect them to play, so the setlist is fairly predictable but with a few songs I wasn’t expecting, but the main thing is that people know so many of the songs that it has that great fun feel to it, and it’s a set that will please most fans.

While it’s a real shame Rick Parfitt wasn’t well enough to play on these shows, the fact the tour marks the end of an era is a good reason why it deserves to be immortalised on CD/DVD.  Watching this DVD or listening to the CDs, the results are the same – an enjoyable time, coupled with a bit of sadness that we won’t be seeing Quo doing tours like this again.

A great purchase for all Status Quo fans.

“The Last night of the electrics” will be released on 14th July 2017

Track listing:

CD 1:

1. Caroline
2. The wanderer
3. Something about you I like
4. Rain
5. Softer ride
6. The beginning of the end
7. Hold you back
8. Proposin’ medley
9. Paper plane
10. The oriental
11. Creepin up on you

CD 2:

1. Gerdundula
2. In the army now
3. The caveman
4. Roll over lay down
5. Down down
6. Whatever you want
7. Rocking all over the world
8. Burning bridges
9. Rock and roll music / Bye bye Johnny