Status Quo‘s bass player, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards, will release the album ‘Just Sayin” – again produced by long term collaborator Mike Paxman – through Molano Music on 1 March 2024, preceded on 9 February by two new songs from it.
The pairing of the songs ‘Never Too Old To Rock And Roll’, featuring a guitar solo and backing vocals by Francis Rossi, and ‘Limbo’ – with John’s son, Freddie, on guitar – reveal two highly contrasting musical sides. “There’s only 12 notes”, says John, “It just depends on the order you put them in”.
As well as his contribution to ‘Never Too Old To Rock And Roll’, Rossi also co-wrote ‘Can’t Count Me Out’ and ‘Tried & Tested’. Andrew Bown from Quo co-wrote ‘Never Too Old To Rock And Roll’ and also features on keyboards on several of the album’s tracks. John’s bandmates are not the only guests to feature; Chris Wolstenholme of Muse takes on the bass duties on ‘My Side Of The Road’ and Jim Kirkpatrick of FM plays slide on ‘Wizzie Lizzie LA’.
John says of ‘Never Too Old To Rock And Roll’: “From the very first performance, the audience was singing it back to us. The same thing happens every time. Never too old? It’s a fact”. And as for ‘Limbo’, “Everyone’s in ‘Limbo’ at one time or another,” John says. “There’s always uncertainty in life”.
The album offers some searing musicianship – and a side order of sizzled sacred cows for good measure – as he takes cheerful aim at some of this modern world’s stranger preoccupations. Rhino is never afraid to ruffle feathers and some of the songs on ‘Just Sayin” take on subjects in areas into which others fear to stray. You are free to disagree but he’ll want you to listen to the songs before you do. Despite tracks like ‘The PC World’, the album is by no means a polemic, he’s happy to segue from the topic of people being afraid to speak their mind, to the joys of life in a tin can on ‘Caravan Man’! “It’s a fun ride, from caravans to Evening Primrose, via a few rants, and of course songs about drinking – I am ‘Rhino The Wino’ after all. Plus amazing musicians – what’s not to like?”
Having been a member of acts including The Climax Blues Band, Space and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Rhino was invited to join Quo in 1986 and has been there ever since.
This, his third album, represents a great chance for fans to connect with one of British Rock’s great talents. As a child he trained on the classical violin which, as he jokes, “Came in ‘kin handy when it came to joining Quo!” These days, Rhino is an engaging and enthusiastic performer who is not quite content to let the music do all the talking. He’s got plenty of opinions of his own, y’see – ‘Just Sayin”…
The album is available exclusively at www.rhinosrevenge.com as a digipak CD (numbered limited edition of 1,000) and 140g black vinyl 12″ album (hand-numbered and signed limited edition of 250).
RHINO AT THE DOUBLE
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