Piledriver (album)



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.

Reception
In their retrospective review, AllMusic applauded the album as both crowd-pleasing and moderately ambitious, commenting that "Despite the name, most of the music on Piledriver is varied and subtle enough to be interesting." They particularly praised "A Year" and "Big Fat Mama". Robert Christgau asserted that the band had no decent singer or guitarist, and criticized their attempts at ballads and blues as "boring".

Track listing

 * 1) "Don't Waste My Time" (Francis Rossi, Bob Young) - 4:22
 * 2) "Oh Baby" (Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt) - 4:39
 * 3) "A Year" (Alan Lancaster, Bernie Frost) - 5:51
 * 4) "Unspoken Words" (Francis Rossi, Bob Young) - 5:06
 * 5) "Big Fat Mama" (Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt) - 5:53
 * 6) "Paper Plane" (Francis Rossi, Bob Young) - 2:52
 * 7) "All the Reasons" (Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster) - 3:42
 * 8) "Roadhouse Blues (Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek) - 7:26

1990 bonus track

 * 1) "Joanne" (Alan Lancaster) (B-side of "Caroline") - 4:11
 * 2) "Lonely Night" (Alan Lancaster, Bob Young, Francis Rossi, John Coghlan, Rick Parfitt) (B-Side of "Break the Rules") - 3:16

2005 reissue bonus track

 * 1) "Don't Waste My Time" [Live Version] (Francis Rossi, Bob Young)

2014 reissue bonus track CD

 * 1) "Don't Waste My Time" [BBC Sounds Of The Seventies 1972] - 4:24 Live
 * 2) "Oh Baby" [BBC Sounds Of The Seventies 1972] - 4:25 Live
 * 3) "Unspoken Words" [BBC Sounds Of The Seventies 1972] - 5:06 Live
 * 4) "Paper Plane" [BBC Sounds Of The Seventies 1972] - 2:59 Live
 * 5) "Softer Ride" [BBC Sounds Of The Seventies 1972] (Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster) - 4:03 Live
 * 6) "Paper Plane" [John Peel Session 1973] - 2:57 Live
 * 7) "Don't Waste My Time" [John Peel Session 1973] - 4:19 Live
 * 8) "Junior's Wailing" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 3:35 Live
 * 9) "Someone's Learning" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 8:07 Live
 * 10) "In My Chair" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 3:44 Live
 * 11) "Railroad" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 6:14 Live
 * 12) "Don't Waste My Time" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 4:31 Live
 * 13) "Paper Plane" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 3:37 Live
 * 14) "Roadhouse Blues" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973] - 15:47 Live
 * 15) "Bye Bye Johnny" [BBC In Concert, Paris Theatre, London 1973]  (Chuck Berry) - 5:14 Live

Personnel

 * Francis Rossi - guitar, lead vocals on tracks 1, 3, 6, co-lead vocals on track 2
 * Rick Parfitt - guitar, piano, organ, lead vocals on tracks 4, 5, 7, co-lead vocals on track 2
 * Alan Lancaster - bass, 12 string acoustic guitar, lead vocals on track 8
 * John Coghlan - drums, percussion
 * Bob Young - Harmonica on 'Roadhouse Blues'
 * Jimmy Horowitz - Piano on 'Roadhouse Blues'