Now whilst I’ve never been a Status Quo fan, one cannot help admire their longevity and undoubted influence across all genres of rock music including NWOBHM.
So allow me to share this press release with you which I received today announcing the second solo album from long-time Quo bassist ‘Rhino’ Edwards.
It’s due out on 23rd October and (un) imaginatively titled Rhino’s Revenge II.
Anyhoo, happy to give the old boy a bit of a plug and give you the press release to have a read and see what you think. I’ve, er, “borrowed” the graphic to the left from the web site. I hope Rhino doesn’t mind. Rhino – if you do, give me a shout and I’ll remove it.
Before you get in to the press release, have a listen to one of the songs – Famous – via the SoundCloud posting. It’s not half bad.
Now here’s the press blurb.
Released by Molano Music, Rhino’s Revenge II is an energetic and diverse album that celebrates music, and comes 15 years aft the band’s debut album. “By any standards, that’s a long time between albums,” says Rhino, “but if you’re fortunate enough to be in a band like Status Quo, you don’t get too much spare time.”
Having previously been a member of acts including The Climax Blues Band, Space and Dexy’s Midnight Runners, Rhino was invited to join Quo in 1987 and has been permanent in the line-up ever since. Rhino’s Revenge lI was recorded in ’11 days of pure magic’ at The Chapel studios near Louth in Lincolnshire – “We went flat out, so we didn’t have time to get precious about anything,” – with his sons Max on drums and Freddie on guitar, and multi-instrumentalist Matthew Starritt. Rhino’s daughter, Mae, also contributed backing vocals to the album, produced by Mike Paxman Judie Tzuke, Uriah Heep, Asia, Status Quo).
“I play Rhino Rock, Thug Rock, Animal Rock, Heavy Rock, Pop Rock, but with the main focus on the lyrics and the songs. It’s rabble-rousing rock ‘n roll.” Rhino’s Revenge II is an aural treat, with no calculated image or reliance on nostalgia: instead Rhino and the band have created an atmosphere based around strong material and succeed in immersing listeners into the ambiance they have made.
The album is the perfect manifestation of John ‘Rhino’ Edwards’ immutable wit, sadness, quiet anger and charm. The cathartic ‘Tomorrow Is Today’, which opens Rhino’s Revenge II, was written about giving up drugs. A brace of keenly observed songs about the vacuous aspects of modern life follow – ‘Famous’ is a damning indictment “about people who think that that’s all there really is to life”, while ‘New New New’ lambasts our obsession with consumerism. Rhino’s articulate and wickedly humorous lyrics permeate throughout the album on the ironic All The Girls Love A Bastard, along with powerful rockers like ‘Secretary’ and Cougar and the whimsical ode to man’s best friend Stan.
While One Note Blues creates a “new dance craze.” This quintessentially English album closes with the powerful pairing of Black Widows and Take ‘Em Down. The socio-political Black Widows about Chechen suicide bombers contains the prophetic line “what’s over there is coming over here” and the bass driven Take ‘Em Down, is a very serious song with B-movie overtones. There’s something indefinable but very special about Rhino’s Revenge II that makes it irresistible. Rhino Edwards, a confessed musicoholic, has created a truly honest album which ‘kicks like a mule’, a rare commodity in today’s world.
To pre order Rhino’s Revenge II go to http://www.rhinosrevenge.com