''Whatever You Want'' is the twelfth studio album by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Status Quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, political, religious or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the current state of social structure and/or values. W ...

. This was the band's third album to be produced by

Pip Williams Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...

. Recording began in December 1978 at

Wisseloord Studios The Wisseloord Studio is a recording studio in Hilversum, Netherlands. It was officially opened on 19 January 1978 by Prince Claus of the Netherlands, Prince Claus. The studios were founded by electronics company Philips, to enable their PolyGram ...

in Hilversum, the Netherlands, with the final mixes being completed in London in March 1979. The album was released on 12 October 1979 and entered the chart on 20 October 1979, reaching as high as no. 4. The first single from the album – " Whatever You Want" – was released on 14 September, with "Hard Ride" as the B-side, and also reached a peak position of no. 4. The second single from the album was "

Living on an Island "Living on an Island" is a single released by the British rock band Status Quo in 1979. It was included on the album '' Whatever You Want'' and featured Rick Parfitt on lead vocals. Lyrically, the song is about band member Rick Parfitt having t ...

", with the B-side "Runaway". This was released on 16 November 1979 and reached no. 16 in the chart. The album was remixed for the US market and this version was released in the US with the title ''Now Hear This'' in 1980. It was finally released on CD as part of the 2016 deluxe remaster. However this omitted two songs, "Shady Lady" and "Your Smiling Face". These are therefore only available on the original vinyl/cassette/8-track releases. The tracks "Whatever You Want" and "Living on an Island" were also swapped in the running order of the US remixed version.

Track listing

# " Whatever You Want" (

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

Andy Bown Andrew Steven Bown (born 27 March 1946) is an English musician, who has specialised in keyboards and bass guitar. He is a member of the rock band Status Quo. Career Bown's first major band was The Herd, along with Peter Frampton. After The H ...

) – 4:04 # "Shady Lady" (

Francis Rossi Francis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, (born 29 May 1949) is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He is the co-founder, lead singer, lead guitarist and the sole continuous member of the rock band Status Quo. Early life Rossi was born o ...

, Bob Young) – 3:00 # "Who Asked You" (

Alan Lancaster Alan Charles Lancaster (7 February 1949 – 26 September 2021) was an English musician, best known as a founding member and bassist of the rock band Status Quo, playing with the band from 1967 to 1985, with brief reunions in 2013 and 2014. As ...

) – 4:00 # "Your Smiling Face" (Parfitt, Bown) – 4:25 # "

" (Parfitt, Young) – 4:48 # "Come Rock with Me" (Rossi, Bernie Frost) – 3:15 # "Rockin' On" (Rossi, Frost) – 3:25 # " Runaway" (Rossi, Frost) – 4:39 # "High Flyer" (Lancaster, Young) – 3:47 # "Breaking Away" (Rossi, Parfitt, Bown) – 6:44

2005 reissue bonus tracks

# "Hard Ride" (Lancaster,

Mick Green Michael Robert Green (22 February 1944 – 11 January 2010) was an English rock and roll guitarist who played with The Pirates (with and without Johnny Kidd), Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas, and Cliff Bennett and the Rebel Rousers. Biograp ...

) # "Bad Company" (

, Peter Hutchins) # "Another Game in Town" (demo) (Rossi, Frost) # "Shady Lady" (demo) (Rossi, Young) # "Rearrange" (demo) (Rossi, Frost) # "Living on an Island" (single version) (Parfitt, Young)

Re-releases

The album was first released in CD format in

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

, on a CD also containing ''

Just Supposin' ''Just Supposin is the thirteenth album by Status Quo. Co-produced by the group and John Eden, it was recorded at Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin. Released on 17 October 1980, it entered the UK albums chart at number 4. Three tracks were issued ...

''. To make the two albums fit the single disc, the track "High Flyer" was omitted, while the song "The Wild Ones" was omitted from ''Just Supposin. The album was digitally remastered and released in CD format in

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

. The first release was on 7 March 2005 by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. In the United States, it is ...

in the UK; the second on 12 July 2005 by Universal Records International in the US and elsewhere.

Personnel

;Status Quo *

– guitar, vocals *

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, vocals * John Coghlan – drums ;Additional personnel *

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

* Bob Young –

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

Track listing

2005 reissue bonus tracks

Re-releases

Personnel

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References