Status Quo Bring “Is There A Better Way” Back to the Stage During the Frantic Four Reunion Tour
When Status Quo reunited their original “Frantic Four” lineup for a second run of reunion shows in 2014, fans were treated to a deeper and more nuanced exploration of the band’s classic catalogue. Among the most significant additions to the setlist was “Is There A Better Way,” a song that marked the final studio chapter of the band’s original formation.
Originally released on the 1976 album Blue for You, “Is There A Better Way” occupies a unique place in Status Quo’s history. It was recorded by the classic lineup of Francis Rossi, Rick Parfitt, Alan Lancaster, and John Coghlan, and stands as the last studio album to feature all four members together. The song reflects a band at a crossroads, still rooted in hard-driving boogie rock, yet hinting at a more polished and reflective approach that would soon follow.
Notably, “Is There A Better Way” was absent from the initial Frantic Four Reunion tour in 2013, which focused almost exclusively on the band’s early 1970s material. That first tour was a deliberate return to the raw, uncompromising sound of Piledriver, Hello!, Quo, and On the Level, with setlists designed to recreate the ferocity of Status Quo’s peak live years.
Its inclusion in the 2014 reunion tour therefore carried particular weight. By reintroducing “Is There A Better Way,” the band acknowledged the importance of Blue for You as a closing statement of the original lineup, rather than a transitional footnote. Live, the song retained its muscular rhythm and tightly wound guitar interplay, while gaining an added layer of maturity when performed decades later by the musicians who first recorded it.
Audience-shot footage from these 2014 performances, some later enhanced using modern video processing, has circulated widely among fans. While not professionally filmed, these recordings capture a rare and authentic moment: the Frantic Four revisiting one of their final shared compositions with the authority and chemistry that defined their legacy.
In hindsight, the return of “Is There A Better Way” during the 2014 reunion was more than a setlist adjustment. It was a statement of completeness, bringing the Frantic Four story full circle on stage. For longtime followers of Status Quo, it reaffirmed that the band’s classic era did not end abruptly, but concluded with a body of work that remains powerful, relevant, and deeply rooted in their identity.