As any big Quo fan knows, the band’s early recordings for Pye Records have been milked to death for the reissue market. From cheapo compilations to multi disc sets, it’s felt as if Pye era material has always been an easy licence for anyone hoping to make a quick quid. Most of the compilations are a little lacking, but occasionally a decent one will creep through, and BMG’s 2024 release ‘The Early Years, Volume 1’ did the best job ever, presenting a 5CD box set rounding up pretty much everything from the band’s archives from between 1966 and 1969.

2026’s ‘The Early Years, Volume 2’ – left in the more than capable hands of Cherry Red Records – has the edge on that first set, since it actually gives the hardcore Quo fan something they’d actually want, by way of some unreleased gems and a genuine rarity found within its brilliantly curated five discs. Granted, this also involves repackaging 1970’s ‘Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon’ for what feels like the hundredth time, along with the band’s 1971 release ‘Dog of Two Head’, but those looking for a very comprehensive insight into the lead up to Quo’s eventual signing with Vertigo Records, this anthology leaves (almost) no stone unturned.

So, what of those rare and unreleased bits and pieces? Taking pride of place on disc two is a mono mix of ‘Ma Kelly’, available in the UK for the first time. Released in Argentina as the ‘Everything’ album in 1970, the ten tracks sound rather bright. Unlike the mono/stereo comparisons of The Beatles’ white album or The Zombies’ marvellous ‘Odessey & Oracle’, you won’t find any major differences between this and the widely circulated version, but the slightly more basic sound to the tracks brings a little more rawness, highlighting the power in the young Quo’s sound as they make the transition from psych pop into “three chord” boogie rock. Naturally, their signature sound is heard at its most recognisable on ‘Gotta Go Home’, the second part of the album’s two-pronged closer, which coincidentally also highlights the main difference between ‘Everything’ and ‘Ma Kelly’ in that the silly voice coda is (rather welcomely) absent.

Most welcome within this set are a handful of unreleased alternate recordings. An alternate ‘Mean Girl’ has a much cleaner vocal than the single/album recording, along with a heavier intro. Although the number is played in the way you’d expect, the stronger production values have the effect of making the track seem even pacier, as does an alternate ‘Tune To The Music’ with its frenzied lead guitar work driving a genuinely brilliant intro, while an unheard early take of the catchy ‘Nanana’ will raise a smile with Francis making a hash of the intro, causing Rick to laugh and give him some encouragement – still calling him “Mike”, as per his pre-72 credit. Once this recording finds its feet, it’s also nice to hear the young Quo dropping into some harmony vocals without the aid of too much studio polish.

A second go at ‘Nanana’ is a little tighter, and this time features a prominent piano and different studio chat, but the end mix makes it feel more like a demo. As unreleased tracks go, it’ll be a fan pleaser despite sounding decidedly unready. An unreleased take of ‘Gerdandula’ from 1970 showcases a fatter guitar sound than the previously available “alternate cut” from the same year, pushing the number in a rockier direction. In comparison to versions you might already have, the differences aren’t especially striking, but the recording is still nice to have, in a set pitched at the more obsessive fan. An unreleased ‘Good Thinking’ shows off a few bum notes, but it’s still great to hear Rossi and Parfitt engaged in blues mode, and a previously unavailable backing track of ‘Tune To The Music’ allows for a closer listen to some superb lead guitar work. An alternate ‘Down The Dustpipe’ features a less prominent vocal, but a bigger piano sound for Roy Lynes, offering a slight variation on the single cut, but remaining wholly enjoyable, until stopping prematurely once the band have assumed they’ve played past the fade…

For the most patient fan, there’s a previously hard to find demo recording of ‘Shifting Sand’ awaiting discovery. Sounding as if it has been sourced from an old acetate, Rossi’s vocals are distorted, and beneath the music, the recording is blighted by obvious scratches. Previously only issued on Quo’s promo compilation ‘This & That’ in 2006, this recording will be likely a first listen for many.

Almost all of the bonus tracks from the previously expanded ‘Ma Kelly’ and ‘Dog’ are present and correct – the alternate cuts, the non-album singles, and even the BBC recordings – the highlights from which still thrill. A version of ‘Mean Girl’ labelled as ‘Rough Mix’ is, indeed, rough and ready, sounding far more like a demo, especially with Rick’s rhythm guitar sounding so distant between the verses. It’ll be for fans only, but for those who’ve lived with the track for decades and haven’t picked up the expanded ‘Dog of Two Head’, it’ll be a pleasure to experience it at its most basic. Singles ‘Down The Dustpipe’ and ‘In My Chair’ showcase a band still a couple of years off nailing their signature sound, but have a genuine spirit. With ‘Down The Dustpipe’ capturing energetic rhythm and blues with a radio friendly slant, and ‘In My Chair’ offering a slightly sinister blues, both singles show off the contrasting moods that drove the Quo at the time, while a rather punchy ‘Junior’s Wailing’ recorded at a Dave Lee Travis session in 1970 finds Alan Lancaster in great voice, giving that short BBC set a genuine highlight.

This isn’t by any means a perfect set. A couple of things that claim to be unreleased, actually aren’t: ‘Laughing Machine’ – a recording of a popular child’s toy from the era that plays back sinister fairground laughter – originally appeared on the 2008 double disc ‘Singles Collection’, as did a slightly rougher sounding early take of ‘Is It Really Me’, easily recognisable through a snatch of studio chat captured at the start. Rather more irritatingly, the early version of ‘Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home’ from the expanded ‘Ma Kelly’ is nowhere to be found. This is a strange oversight, considering the efforts that have been gone to in order to make this the strongest compilation of post psych-pre-‘Piledriver’ Quo to date.

Making up for that, there are four tracks recorded live in Manchester, providing a real highlight on disc five. The audio from the brilliant Granada TV show ‘Doing Their Thing’, these four songs have been previously bootlegged, but are given a proper home here. The audio is slightly distorted; not in a poor way, more in a “definitely live” fashion, giving an early performance of future live favourite ‘Roadhouse Blues’ a sense of force lacking from the 1972 studio recording, a take on ‘Down The Dustpipe’ that really showcases the fun driving the Quo at this time with some great harmonica work from de facto member Bob Young, a rough sounding ‘Spinning Wheel Blues’, and a genuinely epic ‘Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home’ with some horrid vocals on the slow first moment and the band giving it six nowt on the latter boogie, prefiguring the likes of ‘Forty Five Hundred Times’.

Joining those are three rare-ish recordings made for Germany’s legendary Beat Club show in ’71. The sound quality is comparable to the Manchester set, save for a slightly more prominent vocal in places. Although ‘Spinning Wheel Blues’ and ‘Is It Really Me/Gotta Go Home’ don’t offer huge differences from the Manchester gig, this is worth hearing for a majestic ‘April Spring Summer & Wednesdays’ with the guitars pushed high in the mix.

With regards to the well circulated original album material that features here, it’s been reissued so often, it’s easy to take it for granted. That said, when ‘Ma Kelly’ and ‘Dog’ hit, they hit hard, with the former’s driving version of ‘Junior’s Wailing’ capturing the early Quo in great shape, and the fantastic ‘April, Spring, Summer and Wednesdays’ hinting at a heavier sound with great effect. As for ‘Dog of Two Head’, there’s a little less of a focus, but the good bits are superb. Of particular note is the heavy-ish ‘Someone’s Learning’, a number that takes a deep, repetitive riff and drives it into listener’s skulls in the manner of one of Hawkwind’s heavier jams crossed with a dirty blues, the psych-y boogie of ‘Gurdundula’ capturing a guitar duel in full flight, and the no-nonsense head nodder ‘Umelitung’ mixing boogie and blues in a less polished manner in relation to the road ahead. Complimenting the studio albums on disc one, disc five’s selection of BBC recordings show how naturally the then new material slips into the Quo live sets, with great versions of ‘Junior’s Wailing’ and ‘Down The Dustpipe’ providing obvious highlights.

With only approximately an album’s worth of hard to find and unavailable tracks here – discounting the mono mix of ‘Ma Kelly’s Greasy Spoon’ – this is a set that’s likely only for the more committed fan. However, for those without copies of the two main albums, it should be considered a worthy purchase. With the price point at approximately £30 for five discs at the time of release, it’s certainly a “pocket friendly” box set for anyone even remotely interested, and it’s definitely a reminder of how, if the band had broken up when drummer John Coghlan quit in 1981, people would likely take the work of Status Quo rather more seriously…

May/June 2026