''Aquostic – Stripped Bare'' is the thirty-first studio album by English rock band

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

, first released on 17 October 2014. Produced by Mike Paxman, this is the band's first completely acoustic album and the first recorded with drummer Leon Cave. Its cover features a photograph by Canadian singer

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

. The album earned a Gold certification in January 2015.

Background

"We did an album of our old songs," Francis Rossi observed, "posed nude on the cover, got Bryan Adams to shoot it… Why do you do it? Because it made everyone talk about it… All those songs were written acoustically. It would be great to have new stuff out. But if you and I were the record company, and the manager comes to us and says, 'They want to write a whole new album of acoustic stuff,' they'd say, 'Fuck off, give us the hits.'" "I went from not wanting to be involved to really liking it," Rossi revealed. "The new version of 'All the Reasons' is as good as the original, or better. The same with '

Rain Rain is a form of precipitation where water drop (liquid), droplets that have condensation, condensed from Water vapor#In Earth's atmosphere, atmospheric water vapor fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is res ...

', which is a song I really didn't think would work in such a format." "The arrangements of most of these songs are vastly different," noted

Rick Parfitt Richard John Parfitt, (12 October 1948 24 December 2016) was an English musician, best known as a rhythm guitarist, singer and songwriter with rock band Status Quo (band), Status Quo. Parfitt began his career in the early 1960s, playing in p ...

, "especially what we've done to ' Don't Drive My Car', which sounds like a cross between Stéphane Grappelli and

Django Reinhardt Jean Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953), known by his Romani people, Romani nickname Django ( or ), was a Belgium, Belgian-born Romani jazz guitarist and composer in France. He was one of the first major jazz talents to emerge in Europe ...

. People will be taken aback."

Performance

To launch the album, the band gave a ninety-minute performance of the songs at

The Roundhouse The Roundhouse is a performing arts and concert venue at the Grade II* listed former railway engine shed in Chalk Farm, London, England. The building was erected in 1846–1847 by the London & North Western Railway as a roundhouse, a circ ...

in London on 22 October 2014. The concert was recorded and broadcast live by

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the List of most-listened-to radio programs, most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 14 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the sta ...

as part of their ''In Concert'' series. The band were augmented on stage by guitarist Freddie Edwards, son of bassist John Edwards. The concert was introduced by

's Jo Whiley. Its setlist differed from the order of the eventual album track listing.

Track listing

Tracks 13, 14 and 23 are bonus tracks and are not on the Spotify version, vinyl LP or on most CD pressings. The medley of "Mystery Song" and "Little Lady" was released on the British CD edition, the German MediaMarkt/Saturn edition, as well as the German box set. The latter, however, included only the standard 22-track CD; the medley was instead included on an extra 7" single that also has the exclusive "Strings Mix" of "Claudie". "Rollin' Home" was part of the download edition. All three bonus tracks were performed live at the Roundhouse. The single "Pictures of Matchstick Men" also included a "London Mix" of the song.

Personnel

Status Quo

* Francis Rossi − guitars, vocals *

− guitars, ukulele, vocals * Andy Bown − guitar, mandolin, harmonica, piano, vocals * John "Rhino" Edwards − guitar, bass, vocals * Leon Cave − guitar, drums, vocals

Additional musicians

* Geraint Watkins − accordion * Martin Ditcham − percussion * Amy Smith − background vocals * Richard Benbow − string arrangements * Lucy Wilkins − (leader) violin * Howard Gott − violin * Natalia Bonner − violin * Alison Dods − violin * Sophie Sirota − viola * Sarah Wilson − cello

Production

* Mike Paxman − production * Gregg Jackman − recording, mixing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

Status Quo (band) albums 2014 albums Warner Records albums Albums produced by Mike Paxman {{DEFAULTSORT:Aquostic - Stripped Bare