The original incarnation of “the” Status Quo is properly anthologized on Castle Records’ 2003 double-CD version of Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo. In direct contrast to the urban legend, the primary personnel of Rick Parfitt (guitar/keyboard/vocals), Francis Rossi (guitar/vocals), Roy Lynes (keyboards/vocals), and Alan Lancaster (bass/vocals) would remain (albeit sporadically) in the blues-boogie reincarnation, rechristening themselves as simply Status Quo. In addition to a monaural and “proper” stereo mix of the 12-song long-player from 1968, this collection traces the band back to its pre-psych roots. Although known primarily for “Pictures of Matchstick Men,” a Top 15 single stateside, the Status Quo’s earliest influences came from the pop music charts on both sides of the Atlantic. The pre-Quo are captured on half a dozen vintage BBC Radio sessions. Chronologically, the Spectres are up first from their September 1966 visit to Brian Matthew’s Saturday Club program. Their set consists of a handful of well-known covers, such as “Neighbour, Neighbour,” which is strikingly similar to the concurrent and respective renderings by Graham Bond and the Spencer Davis Group. The same can be said of their interpretation of “I (Who Have Nothing),” which had been a successful outlet for a variety of pop vocalists ranging from Shirley Bassey and Tom Jones to Ben E. King. However, the highlight is the tough, pre-punkish, and ragged but right reading of “Gloria.” By the following June, they had morphed into the guise of Traffic Jam and begun recording originals such as the sexually suggestive “Almost But Not Quite There” — which was later banned by the BBC — as well as the garage rocker “I Don’t Want You” and a cover of the Bee Gees’ “Spicks and Specks,” which would stay with them once the Traffic Jam ground to a halt. After only a few months, and in an almost Spinal Tap-ian move, the combo changed its name yet again. They re-emerged as the Status Quo and immediately embraced the burgeoning psychedelic scene seething from the London underground. A healthy sampling of the Quo’s pre-1970 BBC Radio sessions are included in this edition. Also among the supplementary sides are three non-LP titles: “To Be Free,” “Make Me Stay a Bit Longer,” and stereo and mono mixes of “Auntie Nellie.” The sound is worth mentioning, as it is thoroughly excellent. The same can be said of the info-laden full-color 12-panel liner notes foldout eye candy. The 2003 version of Picturesque Matchstickable Messages from the Status Quo, Rovi – Lindsay Planer