Post by jptheprofessor on Oct 6, 2005 15:07:43 GMT -5
QUEEN & PAUL RODGERS – RETURN OF THE CHAMPIONS (Hollywood Records) On paper, it looked like an intriguing tour idea; with Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor hooking up with fellow British 70’s rock contemporary Paul Rodgers, plus several other hired guns. (Queen bassist John Deacon sat out the reunion.) The ensuing tour started out on European stages this past spring, and arrived on American and Japanese stages this fall. The Queen and Paul Rodgers double-CD set, Return Of The Champions, captured the May 9, 2005 concert at Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, England. As expected, the set features an abundance of Queen classics, with a few of Paul Rodgers’ best-known Bad Company and Free hits sprinkled in along the way. In the best Queen tradition, the production is big, full and majestic; and the atmosphere sounds charged, as a jubilant and appreciative audience warmly embraces this union of legendary rockers. May, Taylor and Rodgers all sound glad to be there; the performances largely sound inspired; and the excitement and enthusiasm of this particular evening clearly shines through. The problem is, though, that while this concert may have been a pleasure to watch and experience firsthand, as an audio document, it exposes the obvious mismatch of Paul Rodgers’ soulful and gritty blues-rock style with Queen’s theatric brand of rock. Freddie Mercury is sorely missing here, and Paul Rodgers sounds like a fish out of water. The most obvious example of this mismatch can be heard on “Bohemian Rhapsody,” where the Freddie Mercury-fronted operatic midsection from the original record leads to Rodgers singing the hard-rocking homestretch, and sounding obviously out of place. Brian May and Roger Taylor sound much more comfortable playing Paul Rodgers’ Bad Company and Free hits than Rodgers sounds trying to sing Queen’s classics. While Return Of The Champions is listenable and documents a special night, as a listening experience, a good portion of it sounds awkward, and exposes a clash of performing styles. As a tour, the pairing of Queen and Paul Rodgers was a nice idea, but as an album set, it simply sounds like a mismatch.