When I was a kid watching Status Quo on Swap Shop or Going Live! or whatever show Tiny Beard was doing, you knew Francis Rossi and the lads would be good for a few gifts for the callers. There’s a bit of that about him even now. He’s gone back into his archives and come out with 17 demos for The Way We Were Vol. 2, five of them songs nobody has heard before.
“I Cried” has that unmistakable guitar sound, and phrasing that could only come from Rossi and his long-time writing partner Bob Young. “Walk In The Sun” suggests he has a built-in ability to write a classic boogie song. Then there’s “Syncopated”: an instrumental, but when Rossi plays guitar, it sounds like only he can. “Little By Little” is a 12-bar bluesy shuffle, while the closing “Everybody Wants To Get High” is a summery, almost reggae-tinged instrumental. That’s a pretty decent haul from five songs left in the cupboard.
The rest give you a look at songs that went on to live elsewhere. “My Little Heartbreaker” is lovely in its original form; the beauty is in its simplicity. “I Ain’t Ready” is boogie-woogie and good fun, while “Never Say Never” has both the chug and the gallop. “The Winner” is plainly a guide recording, but you can’t ignore the skill behind it. “I’m Watching Over You” proves Rossi can slow things down and still make them damn catchy.
Then “Crazy For You” sweeps you along on sheer joy. “Heavy Traffic”, one of the better known perhaps, is a reminder of the quality of the songs themselves, even before they reached their finished versions. “Diggin’ Burt Bacharach” has its tongue in its cheek and a touch of the blues; “You Let Me Down” turns into a ballad with some weird shit going on.
“If You Believe” appears in a slower alternate demo, “Sinking In Blue” feels a little more fleshed out than much of the collection, and “Tallulah’s Waiting” has that familiar Rossi nudge and wink.
You can argue about whether you need another set of archive demos, particularly when some of these songs are already familiar. But Rossi is a national treasure, and a chance to hear him sing, play and work through these ideas is one I’ll take. They’re very obviously demos. They’re also very obviously fun.
Rating: 7/10
