I recently chatted to Status Quo’s Francis Rossi about his upcoming Quo Tour, Tunes & Chat and a whole host of other things. Among those things was the collaboration with Hannah Rickard, a superbly talented Country artist and their album, ‘We Talk Too Much’.
Rossi is, as ever, honest, straight forward, and dare I say, maybe a little vulnerable while talking about the album. Of course, that is understandable considering his legendary (excuse the pun) status of being an iconic rock star with a almost instantly recognisable sound and style. There will be plenty who will not like the changing of the guard, but they really not need worry.
One thing did bother me though, in a recent review of the album, it was stated that Hannah was simply now in the co-driver seat alongside Francis. That really bugged me. Firstly, talking of his partnership with Rick Parfitt in Quo, that was priceless and will never be replaced. I also believe that this project wasn’t undertaken with anything like that in mind. This is a new concept and a refreshingly new direction.
My gripe aside, ‘We Talk Too Much’ is a wonderful album. Yes, you can hear a little of that Quo magic that only comes from Francis Rossi and that is great. While chatting to Francis, I mentioned the Quo style and he said “It’s funny you say that, if you were to say that to the Quo fans they would tell you to wash your mouth out with soap but really, this was just a great opportunity to write and sing good songs, what’s wrong with that?”
You also have that great country vibe from Hannah with her Fiddle and Violin which is brilliant alongside the, forgive me for saying it again, the Quo style. But for me, it’s the vocals that did it. Hannah’s voice is beautiful and compliments Rossi’s, flawlessly. But here’s the thing that annoyed me just a little bit about his voice. How at his age, (Sorry Francis, I’m not saying you’re over the hill) has he retained his original tones so well? By the way, my annoyance is simply borne out of jealousy! Seriously though, vocally the entire album is, again, flawless along with being melodic and emotive.
So in summary, this is so worth a listen and spending money on a physical copy. I’m looking forward to getting the vinyl rather than listening to the digital version on Apple Tunes. Whether you’re a Quo fan, a Country fan, a Rock fan or simply looking for something a little different, this is definitely for you.
As for the critics, shut up and listen to the whole album once or twice like I did before passing judgement. ‘We Talk Too Much’ is simply brilliant.
Review written By Paul George.