Review MICHAEL VOSS ‘Rockers Rollin’ (A Tribute to Rick Parfitt)’

Michael Voss is a real Status Quo fan. It was the sound of the band and especially of their guitarist Rock Parfitt that impressed a young guy from Germany in 1979, when Status Quo played a show at Halle Münsterland as a part of their ‘If You Can’t Stand the Heat’-tour.

Voss was a 14-year-old kid at the time and what he saw and heard left a mark on him. Infected by the hard-hitting guitars and the straightforward approach, Voss started to learn the guitar and also started to sing. His passion for the rock’n’roll trailblazers remained during all the years and decades and it’s the ‘Rockers Rollin’’ album that is a tribute to the guitarist of a band that influenced the musical landscape.

As it was the late 70s/early 80s that inspired Voss a lot, the choice of tracks for this tribute album belongs to the same period in the long career of Status Quo. And since it was the riffpower of the guitarist we get solely offered Parfitt songs on this release.

The fun fact in this review is, that the ‘Just Supposin’’ album was my first rendezvous with the sound of the five-piece and therefor songs like ‘Don’t Drive My Car’ are also some of the first connections to rock music. The good thing with this release is the fact that Voss avoided the big hits of the band. It is more of the less popular and still great material of the band that gets a new shine with ‘Rockers Rollin’’.

Starting with ‘Again and Again’ from the ‘If You Can’t Stand the Heat’-album to the acoustic ‘Living on an Island’ Voss out together a set of great Status Quo that honor the life work of Rock Parfitt and his contribution to the success of Status Quo. Listening to these songs is a bit like walking on the memory lane, a joyful 40-minute journey.