Simon Rushworth
Beautiful Curse is the brilliant new RUSHONROCK RATED: 9/10 studio album from British rock n roll royalty The Quireboys…
…and we’ve got the inside track on one of 2013’s records of the year from guitar heroes Guy Griffin and Paul Guerin.
Read their exclusive track-by-track lowdown on Beautiful Curse right here and don’t forget to catch the boys on tour across the UK in October.
Too Much Of A Good Thing (Guy Griffin)
A song which may be familiar to some because we’ve been playing it for a while! When we went into the studio we felt we needed to rethink it – strip it back to a different groove. Now the intro is more JJ Cale/Creedance/Free. It’s a song that’s all about the spirit and the myth of the Quireboys…whatever that is! And the consequences.
Chain Smoking (Paul Guerin)
This is about itting outside a pub in Putney, slurping and smoking, avoiding going home to the ex-girlfriend who generally had a face like a slapped behind… The chorus wrote itself and the rest just fell into place – ‘Don’t you preach to me I’m chain smoking’.
Talk Of The Town (GG)
This was a cool little riff that sounded great on the acoustic guitar. We couldn’t come up with a title but then we remembered we had’ Talk Of The Town’ named after a club in Whitley Bay (there was also one in London). But it could be about anywhere. It’s about trying to put yourself in your teenage years, out on the town and her parents don’t approve as usual. Nothing changes – history always repeats itself.
Mother Mary (GG)
This is another live staple now but I really wanted to hear it breathe with an acoustic added. We keep the electric guitars back so you can hear Keith’s Hammond. I’d had it knocking around for a long time. I realised the title is named after my Irish grandmother and subconsciously I guess it’s from the standpoint of my father. Both of them have passed away. Spike came up with a great lyric for the verses with his own spiritual slant coming from his own personal angle…
King Of Fools (GG)
This was the first song recorded. I love this and sometimes the key is having a great title. It’s a f***ked up love song and it’s got such a great groove. It has that swing but also still has an edge. Plus it has an unexpected middle eight which is pure pop.
Homewreckers And Heartbreakers (GG)
This song seemed to come so naturally. We wanted a kinda Stevie Winwood feel in the intro and Keith, Paul and I did this first take. I had the first verse and chorus and the title, for me, was going to be about men who don’t take care of their kids and the heartbreak it causes. Spike changed it into a voodoo type thing that still fitted the title about someone who has done many wrongs and has many regrets. There’s some great imagery in his lyrics.
Diamonds And Dirty Stones (GG)
A great dirty, funky rock n roll groove different from any other Quireboys song. I’ve always wanted to do a Clash/ INXS/Stonesy thing like this. Simon Hanson nailed it on drums! It’s about the political corruption, poverty and criminal cover-ups in Africa around the Diamond trade. And other libelous things…
Beautiful Curse (PG)
The chorus is written like a marriage vow. Being a musician isn’t a nine to five job – it’s 24/7, it’s the love of your life but it can be a curse too, especially when your head hits the pillow and the ideas start flowing. They won’t be there in the morning if you don’t get up and work on them – ‘I’ve been blessed I’ve been cursed, it’s you that I loved first, for better for worse I’ve been blessed with this beautiful curse’.
Don’t Fight It (GG)
This song is written from both sides of a broken relationship. The verses are from the person who is maybe in denial that it’s over and the chorus from the one who is ready to move on.
For Crying Out Loud (GG)
This may be my favourite ever Quireboys rocker. Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Jerry Lee, the Stones etc. even to Dr Feelgood – this is where we come from musically and I think we do it as good or better than anyone nowadays. I love Spike’s lyrics on this too – ‘I gave her a kiss on the 76/Chevy down in New Orleans’ etc. It’s classic rock n roll and this will be played live.
Twenty Seven Years (PG)
Twenty-seven is a well documented age at which many musicians have died due to their lifestyle. This song is about being told you’re never gonna make anything of yourself and you’re just gonna burn out like the rest but it’s all about proving them wrong – ‘Yea I made it, made it though the years, twenty seven years, you know I can take it, twenty seven years, twenty seven years’ .
I Died Laughing (GG)
I wrote a version of this with Spike in ‘93 just after the band originally split. Somehow it came back to memory. We all love soul music and this is our version of a soul song without trying to imitate. The chorus is about the male bravado and not appearing to care about your girl leaving. The verses are about what you really think!