Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt had already begun to reshape Quo's sound, moving away from the psychedelic pop of their hit single Pictures Of Matchstick Mento embrace a harder rock direction on their third album Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon. But when they heard The Doors' song Roadhouse Blues blasting at high volume in that club, it was a genuine eureka moment.
As Rossi now recalls: "We'd been watching this couple dancing, and when Roadhouse Blues came on they started moving in a totally different way; really sexy. The tempo was like, 'wow!' We were mesmerised by it."
What Rossi and Parfitt heard in Roadhouse Blues was the template for the heavy boogie shuffle that would make Status Quo one of the greatest and biggest selling rock groups of the '70s. The song became fixture in Quo's live set, and was recorded for their definitive 1972 album, Piledriver.
"Fundamentally," Rossi says, "what made it work was Rick playing that rhythm and I played off that. He played very much downstrokes and I had the left swing stroke, and they worked so well together."
For Quo, simplicity was key. As Rossi says with a smile: "Everybody used to say how great Clapton was, but I remember saying to Eric, 'You try playing that one riff for eight f*cking minutes!""
But where Quo stayed faithful to the original Roadhouse Blues, many other artists have taken the opposite approach - by radically reinventing a famous song. And at the top of TG's list of the The 100 Greatest Cover Versions - as voted by our readers - is a perfect example of interpretive genius from a visionary guitarist...
SUPERSTAR SONIC YOUTH
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"You Can Imagine a Song in a Completely Different Genre" - The mysterious Lord Phobos, guitarist for TWRP, has covered everything from disco to Def Leppard in his collaborations with tongue-in-cheek duo Ninja Sex Party.
The mysterious Lord Phobos, guitarist for TWRP, has covered everything from disco to Def Leppard in his collaborations with tongue-in-cheek duo Ninja Sex Party. He explains what makes a great cover version - and reveals the one guitar and the one pedal he couldn't live without...
Some Things You Want to Tweak and Make Your Own- How the Foos' Chris Shiflett reworked two rock classics on his recent solo EP
Foo Fighters guitarist Chris Shiflett is also a solo artist in his own right, and his latest EP Starry Nights & Campfire includes Lights covers of two great old rock tracks - Thin Lizzy's Cowboy Song and the ballad Don't You Ever Leave Me by Hanoi Rocks, the Finnish band that did so much to inspire Guns N' Roses.
"It Gives Me Physical Satisfaction To Play Funk Riffs!" - Into the groove with Giacomo Turra, the Italian guitarist who made his name covering classics by Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and more...
Into the groove with Giacomo Turra, the Italian guitarist who made his name covering classics by Stevie Wonder, Bruno Mars and more... Born in Milan, his funk guitar sensibility can be traced back to the dance studio where his mother taught, and the tunes he heard blasting out of her boombox. "I like to experiment with a lot of genres, but the really interesting thing for me is I really grew up on funk, and a little bit of jazz and fusion music," he says.
- Try out these creative tips and make your cover versions stand out
Try out these creative tips and make your cover versions stand out
BEAUX GRIS GRIS & THE APOCALYPSE
Heavily requested on rock radio stations thanks to their unique twist on bluesy Americana, Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse are the kind of band that thrive in front of large crowds on hot summer days just as much as more intimate performances inside sweaty underground basements.
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The Japanese giant cuts through the noise with its new practice amp
SOLOKING MS-1 CUSTOM 22 HH
A great value guitar looking to clash headstocks with the big boys
IK MULTIMEDIA TONEX ONE
The most powerful amp modeller for its size, bar none
YAMAHA PACIFICA STANDARD PLUS PACS+12M
Yamaha's long-running doublecut finally gets a makeover
NO MORE MR.BRIGHTSIDE!
The 10 songs you should never cover. Or at least think twice before trying...