Piledriver (Status Quo album)
Encyclopedia
Piledriver is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Status Quo, released in 1972. It was the first to be produced by the group themselves, and their first on the Vertigo
label after their departure from Pye Records
.
The album's only single, "Paper Plane" (by Francis Rossi and Bob Young), with the b-side "Softer Ride" (written by Rick Parfitt and Alan Lancaster), was to become the first in a sequence of thirty-three Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart
when it peaked at #8 after its release in November 1972. The b-side would later be incorporated into the band's following album, Hello!, released the following year.
The album itself was released in December the same year, and reached the highest position of #5 in the UK charts, spending 37 weeks there.
Vertigo Records
Vertigo Records today is a UK-based record label operated by Universal Music UK.-History:Vertigo Records was the name Philips Records chose in the late 1960s for its record sub-label to counter the progressive labels of its rivals EMI with Harvest Records and Decca Records with Deram...
label after their departure from Pye Records
Pye Records
Pye Records was a British record label. In its first incarnation, perhaps Pye's best known artists were Lonnie Donegan , Petula Clark , The Searchers , The Kinks , Sandie Shaw and Brotherhood of Man...
.
The album's only single, "Paper Plane" (by Francis Rossi and Bob Young), with the b-side "Softer Ride" (written by Rick Parfitt and Alan Lancaster), was to become the first in a sequence of thirty-three Top 40 hits on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
when it peaked at #8 after its release in November 1972. The b-side would later be incorporated into the band's following album, Hello!, released the following year.
The album itself was released in December the same year, and reached the highest position of #5 in the UK charts, spending 37 weeks there.
Track listing
- "Don't Waste My Time" (RossiFrancis RossiFrancis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
/YoungBob Young (artist)Robert Keith Young is an English musician and author, who became famous for being the unofficial fifth member of the rock band Status Quo.- Collaborations with Status Quo :...
) - 4:22 - "Oh Baby" (Rossi/ParfittRick ParfittRichard John Parfitt, OBE is best known for being a singer and the rhythm guitarist in the English rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
) - 4:39 - "A Year" (LancasterAlan LancasterAlan Lancaster is a bassist and a founding ex-member of the English rock band, Status Quo...
/Frost) - 5:51 - "Unspoken Words" (Rossi/Young) - 5:06
- "Big Fat Mama" (Rossi/Parfitt) - 5:53
- "Paper PlanePaper Plane (song)"Paper Plane" is a rock song originally by Status Quo released as a single in 1972 and on their album Piledriver....
" (Rossi/Young) - 2:52 - "All the Reasons" (Parfitt/Lancaster) - 3:42
- "Roadhouse BluesRoadhouse Blues"Roadhouse Blues" is a blues-rock song written and recorded by the American rock band The Doors. The song, which appeared on the B-side of "You Make Me Real", was first released as a single from the album Morrison Hotel in March 1970 and peaked at #50 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100...
(MorrisonJim MorrisonJames Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
/DensmoreJohn DensmoreJohn Paul Densmore is an American musician and songwriter. He is best known as the drummer of the rock group The Doors.-Early life and The Doors:Born in Los Angeles, Densmore attended Santa Monica City College and Cal...
/KriegerRobby KriegerRobert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
/ManzarekRay ManzarekRaymond Daniel Manzarek, Jr., better known as Ray Manzarek , is an American musician, singer, producer, film director, writer, co-founder and keyboardist of The Doors from 1965 to 1973, Nite City from 1977–1978 and Manzarek-Krieger since 2001.Manzarek is listed #4 on Digital Dreamdoor's "100...
) - 7:26
Personnel
- Francis RossiFrancis RossiFrancis Dominic Nicholas Michael Rossi, OBE is a British musician best known for being a co-founder of the English rock band Status Quo, in which he sings lead vocals and plays lead guitar.- Career :...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... - Rick ParfittRick ParfittRichard John Parfitt, OBE is best known for being a singer and the rhythm guitarist in the English rock band Status Quo.-Career:...
- guitar, keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
, vocals - Alan LancasterAlan LancasterAlan Lancaster is a bassist and a founding ex-member of the English rock band, Status Quo...
- bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, vocals - John CoghlanJohn Coghlan (drummer)John Robert Coghlan was an original member of the English rock band, Status Quo.The son of a Glasgow-born father and a London born half-French mother, Coghlan grew up in Dulwich, and was educated at Kingsdale Comprehensive school until leaving school at 15 to begin an apprenticeship as a...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
- Bob YoungBob Young (artist)Robert Keith Young is an English musician and author, who became famous for being the unofficial fifth member of the rock band Status Quo.- Collaborations with Status Quo :...
- HarmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
on 'Roadhouse Blues' - Jimmy Horowitz - PianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
on 'Roadhouse Blues'