On the Level

On the Level
On the Level
Studio album by Status Quo
Released	14 February 1975
Recorded	Late 1974
Studio	IBC Studios, London; Phonogram Studios, London;
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock
Length	37:55
Label	Vertigo; Capitol (USA and Canada)
Producer	Status Quo
Status Quo chronology
Singles from On the Level
	"Down Down"; Released: 29 November 1974;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]

On the Level is the eighth studio album by English rock band Status Quo, released by Vertigo Records on 14 February 1975.^[2] The album's cover art features band members in an Ames room, and on the original vinyl release, the inner gatefold sleeve consisted of informal photos members of the group had taken of each other.

In November 1974, the band released the only single from the album, an edited version of a Rossi/Young song entitled "Down Down". The single gave the band their only number one hit to date. Its b-side was the Parfitt/Young album track "Nightride".

The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number one. All tracks were written or co-written by the group and long-term collaborator Bob Young, apart from "Bye Bye Johnny", which was a Chuck Berry composition.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
1.	"Little Lady"	Rick Parfitt	Parfitt	3:03
2.	"Most of the Time"	Francis Rossi, Bob Young	Rossi	3:22
3.	"I Saw the Light"	Rossi, Young	Rossi	3:40
4.	"Over and Done"	Alan Lancaster	Rossi	3:55
5.	"Nightride"	Parfitt, Young	Parfitt and Rossi	3:54

Side two
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Lead vocals	Length
6.	"Down Down"	Rossi, Young	Rossi	5:25
7.	"Broken Man"	Lancaster	Lancaster	4:14
8.	"What to Do"	Rossi, Young	Rossi	3:07
9.	"Where I Am"	Parfitt	Parfitt	2:45
10.	"Bye Bye Johnny"	Chuck Berry	Lancaster	5:21

2005 remaster bonus tracks

"Down Down" [single version] (Rossi, Young) – 3:50
"Roll Over Lay Down" [live] (Rossi, Parfitt, Lancaster, Coghlan, Young) – 5:41
"Gerdundula" [live] (Manston, James) – 2:35
"Junior's Wailing" [live] (White, Pugh) – 3:57
"Roadhouse Blues" [live] (Jim Morrison, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek) – 12:24

Personnel

Status Quo

Francis Rossi – guitar, vocals
Rick Parfitt – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Alan Lancaster – bass, guitar, vocals
John Coghlan – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1975)	Peak position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[3]	2
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[4]	4
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[5]	1
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)^[6]	3
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[7]	11
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)^[8]	12
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[9]	4
Spanish Albums (AFYVE)^[10]	15
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[11]	3
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[12]	11
UK Albums (OCC)^[13]	1

Chart (2016)	Peak position
UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)^[14]	10

Year-end charts

Chart (1975)	Position
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)^[3]	3
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[15]	12
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[16]	37
UK Albums (OCC)^[17]	28

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)^[3]	3× Platinum	150,000^{^}
France (SNEP)^[18]	Gold	100,000^*
Netherlands (NVPI)^[19]	Gold	25,000^[19]
Sweden (GLF)^[20]	Gold	25,000^[20]
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[21]	Gold	25,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[22]	Gold	100,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

^ "On the Level - Status Quo | Album". AllMusic.
^ "New Quo album". NME. 18 January 1975. p. 2.
^ ^a ^b ^c Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
^ "Austriancharts.at – Status Quo – On the Level" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Status Quo – On the Level" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Status Quo – On the Level" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Charts.nz – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Norwegiancharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
^ "Swedishcharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Swisscharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
^ "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1975". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
^ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
^ "Top Selling Albums For 1975" (PDF). Music Week. 27 December 1975. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.
^ "French album certifications – Status Quo – On The Level" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 4 February 2021. Select STATUS QUO and click OK.
^ ^a ^b "Status Quo: A Dutch "Gold" Sales Award for the Album "On The Level", November 1975". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b "Above the Status Quo" (PDF). Cash Box. 12 December 1975. p. 42.
^ "Status Quo: A Swiss "Gold" Sales Award for "On The Level", 1975". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
^ "British album certifications – Status Quo – On The Level". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

[1] "On the Level - Status Quo | Album". AllMusic.

[2] "New Quo album". NME. 18 January 1975. p. 2.

[AUS-3] Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

[ac_Austria_Status_Quo-4] "Austriancharts.at – Status Quo – On the Level" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_Netherlands_Status_Quo-5] "Dutchcharts.nl – Status Quo – On the Level" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[FINI-6] Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.

[ac_Germany4_Status_Quo-7] "Offiziellecharts.de – Status Quo – On the Level" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_New_Zealand_Status_Quo-8] "Charts.nz – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_Norway_Status_Quo-9] "Norwegiancharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[10] Salaverri, Fernando (2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.

[ac_Sweden_Status_Quo-11] "Swedishcharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_Switzerland_Status_Quo-12] "Swisscharts.com – Status Quo – On the Level". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_UK2_-13] "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[ac_UKRock_-14] "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 8, 2023.

[15] "Jaaroverzichten – Album 1975". Dutch Charts. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

[16] "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 30 November 2021.

[17] "Top Selling Albums For 1975" (PDF). Music Week. 27 December 1975. p. 10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021 – via worldradiohistory.com.

[FranceStatus_QuoOn_The_LevelalbumCertRef-18] "French album certifications – Status Quo – On The Level" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 4 February 2021. Select STATUS QUO and click OK.

[Bonhams-19] "Status Quo: A Dutch "Gold" Sales Award for the Album "On The Level", November 1975". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

[CB-20] "Above the Status Quo" (PDF). Cash Box. 12 December 1975. p. 42.

[21] "Status Quo: A Swiss "Gold" Sales Award for "On The Level", 1975". Bonhams. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

[United_KingdomStatus_QuoOn_The_LevelalbumCertRef-22] "British album certifications – Status Quo – On The Level". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 4 February 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]

[16]

[17]

[18]

[19]

[20]

[21]

[22]

v t e Status Quo
Francis Rossi Andy Bown John 'Rhino' Edwards Leon Cave Richie Malone Alan Lancaster John Coghlan Roy Lynes Rick Parfitt Pete Kircher Jeff Rich Matt Letley
Studio albums	Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo Spare Parts Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon Dog of Two Head Piledriver Hello! Quo On the Level Blue for You Rockin' All Over the World If You Can't Stand the Heat... Whatever You Want Just Supposin' Never Too Late 1+9+8+2 Back to Back In the Army Now Ain't Complaining Perfect Remedy Rock 'til You Drop Thirsty Work Don't Stop Under the Influence Famous in the Last Century Heavy Traffic Riffs The Party Ain't Over Yet In Search of the Fourth Chord Quid Pro Quo Bula Quo! Aquostic Aquostic II Backbone
Live albums	Live! Live at the NEC Live Alive Quo Live at the BBC
Box sets	From the Makers of...
Compilation albums	12 Gold Bars 12 Gold Bars Vol. 2 Rocking All Over the Years Whatever You Want – The Very Best of Status Quo XS All Areas – The Greatest Hits Pictures – 40 Years of Hits
Singles	"Pictures of Matchstick Men" "Ice in the Sun" "Are You Growing Tired of My Love" "The Price of Love" "Down the Dustpipe" "In My Chair" "Paper Plane" "Mean Girl" "Caroline" "Break the Rules" "Down Down" "Roll Over Lay Down" "Rain" "Mystery Song" "The Wild Side of Life" "Rockin' All Over the World" "Rockers Rollin' / Hold You Back" "Again and Again" "Accident Prone" "Whatever You Want" "Living on an Island" "What You're Proposing" "Lies" / "Don't Drive my Car" "Something 'Bout You Baby I Like" "Rock 'n' Roll" "Dear John" "She Don't Fool Me" "Ol' Rag Blues" "A Mess of Blues" "Marguerita Time" "Going Down Town Tonight" "The Wanderer" "Rollin' Home" "Red Sky" "In the Army Now" "Dreamin'" "Ain't Complaining" "Who Gets the Love?" "Running All Over the World" "Burning Bridges" "Not at All" "Little Dreamer" "The Anniversary Waltz (Parts One and Two)" "Can't Give You More" "Rock 'til You Drop" "Roadhouse Medley" "Come On You Reds" "I Didn't Mean It" "Sherri, Don't Fail Me Now!" "Restless" "When You Walk in the Room" "Fun Fun Fun" "Don't Stop" "All Around My Hat" "The Way It Goes" "Little White Lies" "Twenty Wild Horses" "Mony Mony" "Old Time Rock and Roll" "Jam Side Down" "All Stand Up" "You'll Come 'Round" "Thinking of You" "The Party Ain't Over Yet" "All That Counts Is Love" "Beginning of the End" "It's Christmas Time"
Other songs	"Forty Five Hundred Times" "Bye Bye Johnny" "Jump That Rock (Whatever You Want)"
See also	Discography Members Bob Young Bula Quo!