Francis Rossi – The Way We Were Vol. 2
Francis Rossi opens his archive once more with 17 previously unreleased demo recordings
Francis Rossi – The Way We Were Vol. 2
Format: Black gatefold 2LP / CD digipak / Digital
Label: earMUSIC
Release date: September 25, 2026
Francis Rossi will release ‘The Way We Were Vol. 2’ on September 25, 2026, through earMUSIC. The collection follows ‘The Way We Were Vol. 1’ and will be available as a black gatefold 2LP, CD digipak and digitally.
The album contains 17 demos created during Rossi’s songwriting partnership with longtime collaborator Bob Young. Five recordings have never previously been heard outside the studio, while others developed into songs later released by Status Quo, Rossi as a solo artist, or Rossi/Rickard.
Among them is My Little Heartbreaker, the original demo of the song that appeared on Status Quo’s 2007 album ‘In Search Of The Fourth Chord’. Other tracks are connected to albums including ‘Heavy Traffic’, ‘The Party Ain’t Over Yet’, ‘Quid Pro Quo’, ‘One Step At A Time’ and ‘We Talk Too Much’.
Rather than rough fragments, these recordings preserve Rossi’s early arrangements, lyrics and melodies before the songs evolved into their finished versions. The collection therefore documents the initial stages of a songwriting process spanning several periods of his career.
Website: https://www.francisrossi.com/
Tracks:
01. My Little Heartbreaker
02. I Cried*
03. I Ain’t Ready
04. Never Say Never
05. The Winner
06. I’m Watching Over You
07. Walk In The Sun*
08. Crazy For You
09. Heavy Traffic
10. Diggin’ Burt Bacharach
11. You Let Me Down
12. If You Believe (alternate demo)
13. Sinking In Blue
14. Syncopated (Instrumental)*
15. Little By Little*
16. Tallulah’s Waiting (alternate demo)
17. Everybody Wants To Get High (Instrumental)*
*Previously unheard outside the studio.
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