Rain by Status Quo from the album Blue for You. It was written by Rick Parfitt.
“Rain” was intended for Blue for You’s predecessor On the Level – but, at the time of the recording sessions, Parfitt had not completed the song and so it was held over. It followed guitarist Francis Rossi’s introduction to speed; “That’s why songs like ‘Rain’ were so edgy and fast,” he explained.
The song was reprised, in 2014, for the band’s thirty-first studio album Aquostic (Stripped Bare). It was featured in the ninety-minute launch performance for the album at London’s Roundhouse on 22 October, broadcast live by BBC Radio 2 as part of their In Concert series.
Blue for You is the ninth studio album by English rock band Status Quo. It was released in March 1976, and is the last album until 1980’s Just Supposin’ that they produced themselves, which resulted in subsequent albums having a noticeably lighter, more pop oriented sound.
Rick Parfitt’s “Rain”, the first single from the album, reached No. 7 in the UK charts after its release in February 1976. Its B-side was the non-album track “You Lost the Love”, written by Francis Rossi and Bob Young.
The album was released the following month. It entered the British album chart at No. 1 and stayed there for three weeks, making it one of their most successful long players.
An edited version of Parfitt and Young’s “Mystery Song“, released in July that year, was the second single from the album, and peaked at No. 11 a few months later. Parfitt and Alan Lancaster’s “Drifting Away”, from their 1974 album Quo, served as the single’s B-side.
Tablatue and a backing track is available on my Guitar Mates website.
