The Sky Is Crying is the fifth studio album containing performances spanning most of the career of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Released about one year after Vaughan's death in 1990, the album features ten previously unreleased tracks, originally recorded between 1984 and 1989. Only one title, "Empty Arms" (complete reprisal), appeared on any of the group's previous albums. The tracks were compiled by Vaughan's brother, Jimmie Vaughan, in an effort to release the title track.

Quid Pro Quo ends the longest wait for a new Status Quo album since the legendary band's first hit in 1969, following on four years after 2007's In Search Of The Fourth Chord. It marks a return to Quo recording duties for frontman, Francis Rossi, after his solo album One Step At A Time. Prior to the album's release, a charity single, In The Army Now 2010, and a free download, "Rock 'n' Roll 'n' You", were released with the latter generating much interest in the Quo community.