scapp70's Full Review: Queen & Paul Rodgers - Return of the Champions
I heard rumors of Queen getting together with Paul Rodgers and I scoffed at the idea. Then I downloaded a video of Queen Paul sing We Are The Champions and We Will Rock You from an awards show in England, and I thought it sounded really good.
Then Queen announced a limited tour of Europe, the USA, and Japan. I scoffed again, even though I have liked the performance at the awards show in the UK. I thought that the songs that they'll pick to perform probably won't be anything special.
I even had read the set lists on the Queen fan sites and I wasn't impressed. Obviously, it is a show that must be seen. I didn't even order the CD version of this show. This is the first official Queen release that I did not own on CD.
I did decide to buy the DVD though, and I watched it almost immediately. Happily, I was very impressed.
The DVD starts off with a song that is appropriate for this show. Reaching Out was a song that guitarist Brian May and Paul Rodgers had released on a charity CD called Rock Therapy back in 1996. This song wasn't written by any Queen member or Paul, but by two people named Andy Hill and Don Black. It recalls a previous collaboration between these two musical forces from the recent past that no one knew about really since it failed to chart or make any news. The song is cut down to just about a minute as Paul sings just the verse and chorus. We hear Paul's bluesy and powerful voice soaring through the darkness and then when the chorus comes around a spotlight finds Paul standing alone on the stage commanding and earning the respect from me and of the rest of the audience. The song quickly segues into the 1976 Queen classic Tie Your Mother Down and we see Brian finding his way to the center stage from behind the curtain on the side of the stage, and then much more dramatically Roger Taylor is revealed when the huge black curtain is dropped from the front of his drum kit.
I Want To Break Free is another Queen classic from 1984, written by bassist John Deacon. I like the fact that John Deacon is not here performing with his band mates, I think it would have made it seem more like Brian and Roger feel that Freddie is replaceable. Here we have a new band, with high energy performing many classic songs from both respective careers. Paul says he enjoys performing the Queen songs he does, even this one. It makes me believe that Paul had a lot to say about what Queen songs he'll perform and what he will not.
Right before Queen break into Fat Bottomed Girls, Brian performs some masturbatory guitar work and even gives the audience some excitement as he playfully plays the riffs from Ogre Battle from the Queen II album and White Man from A Day At The Races. It's a nice touch for the Queen fans that will get those guitar references even if they are just for a second or two each.
The band delves for the first time into Paul Rodgers' musical catalog with the Free song Wishing Well. My guess is that this DVD is going to attract mostly Queen fans. The songs that deviate from the vast available Queen song list happen to be real crowd pleasers as well. Wishing Well seems to work real well, as Brian's guitar seems to take a slight second to new band member Jamie Moses' rhythm guitar work. Brian is heard mostly with his leads throughout the song, and his slightly backseat rhythm work.
Another One Bites The Dust sounds fresh with a twist of flashback. The inclusion of the synthesizer sounds are refreshing where sometimes they may have been missed during past Queen performances. Brian May seems in all his glory, and he should be, this new band is a force.
One of the Queen songs that I never really enjoyed when performed live is Crazy Little Thing Called Love. The performances with Freddie seemed to stretch the song way too long for the sake of a very boring jam. Here, the jam is present, but not as long. Plus the jangly piano takes a backseat relatively and the sentiment that now goes along with shouting Ready Freddie!! makes the song much more special.
Drummer Roger Taylor walks out from behind the drums and walks down center stage and sings his song Say It's Not True. The song is dedicated to Nelson Mandela, and it's Ok when watching the first time you view the DVD, but probably the Skip button will come into play very soon after. Roger with his retro long hair here, sings this political ballad to an acoustic guitar situation with Jamie Moses and the other new member Danny Miranda.
Then it's Brian's turn to walk down center stage and performs his classic song from A Night At The Opera called '39. This is the first time I heard Brian sing this live, it's always been Freddie when performed live. Brian may have sung this on one of his solo tours, but I haven't seen those. Brian really creates a nice quaint and close atmosphere with his gentle chit chat to the audience. Queen had always done this song with the four members at the front of the stage, but here with just Brian and guitar it is amazing. He continues that 'amongst family' atmosphere with more chit chat and then he dedicates the next song to Freddie Mercury's mom who is in the audience. Brian sings one of Freddie's songs, also from A Night At The Opera called Love Of My Life. On record this is a beautiful piano song, but when Queen used to play this live it was just Brian on guitar with Freddie on vocals. Here, it's just Brian but the same rules apply as the audience takes over most of the vocal duty.
The band really changed the arrangement of the next song Hammer To Fall, a song off the 1984 Queen album The Works. Brian sings the first verse to just his electric guitar, after the first chorus, the drums and bass start up, yet the song is still a mellow ballad instead of the rocker it was originally. Paul is finally back on stage and he sings the second verse and chorus. The band kicks in to the hard rock version of the song, just in time for Brian's solo, how convenient for him. This song is a real crowd pleaser, and it makes for a nice introduction to a Bad Company favorite Feel Like Makin' Love. Brian plays his Red Special here, but during the acoustic parts, Jamie Moses' 12-string acoustic is clearly heard over Brian's Red Special. But when the heavy chorus kicks in, Brian turns himself way up, and it sounds very Queen like whenever the Red Special is used, it has such a distinctive sound.
Well, Paul finally returned to the stage during those last two songs, but now he and the rest of the band have to leave again while Roger Taylor performs his drum solo. He is known to be outspoken about his loathe for drum solos, but somehow he manages to fit one in somehow. Thankfully he kept the solo to only about three minutes. No matter how impressive his talent, these things bore me. Roger then segues his solo into his 1975 Queen classic I'm In Love With My Car, one of the heavier rockers from A Night At The Opera. The band sounds sparse here, and Roger sings with a more reserved voice than he has in the past. At the end of the song, I kind of cringe when I see Roger arise from his drum stool, because I think Brian is now going to perform his guitar solo.
Uh oh, my suspicions were correct, Brian does in fact break out his old guitar solo. It's basically the same solo he has done since the 70s, it has the Brighton Rock delay effect, which is a delay which echoes the guitar part played twice and spaced strategically. The cool effect here that makes it less painful is the movie screen behind him. It shows scenes of London, and then finally the Royal Palace and it seems to place Brian standing on the roof, which he actually did when he performed God Save The Queen at the Party At The Palace Concert a couple of years ago. Brian does shave down this solo to only about six minutes, but then segues his solo into a guitar song Last Horizon. It sounds like the future music featured in the original Bill & Ted movie, but it is basically just a sneaky extension to his guitar solo.
After the applause, you hear the beat emanating from a drum machine, and Roger Taylor takes center stage sans drums, with just a microphone. He sings the 1991 Queen song These Are The Days Of Our Lives. The performance is sort of shabby when compared to Freddie's vocals, but thus it is one of the most enjoyable of the concert. The use of the movie screen behind the band now shows old movies of Queen in Japan in early 1975. It is very reminiscent and even gives a tug at the old heart strings of the Queen fan. You do actually see some people wiping away tears in the audience during the performance of this ballad.
Hey, keep that drum machine going! Roger sings again, this time his 1984 hit single Radio Ga Ga, from The Works. Of course the vocals are a lot less dynamic than when Freddie used to sing it. Luckily Paul Rodgers makes his return to the stage during this song, and makes it slightly more interesting.
It's time to belt out another Bad Company favorite, Can't Get Enough, which is now a breath of fresh air at this point. The band sounds again at the top of the game playing as a whole unit. This bluesy rocker is so much fun anyway, and the audience really gets into it. It's also crazy, (but great) to see Brian sharing the guitar harmony lead with Jamie Moses. Brian has been the single guitarist of a rock band so long, I would think he's look out of his element sharing a guitar lead, but he looked very comfortable.
It's A Kind Of Magic has never been my favorite Queen song. Paul's vocals give the song much more balls than it's ever had. The song drags on a bit too long for my liking, clock in at almost six minutes. The band then unleashes their heaviest song from the 1980s with I Want It All from 1989's album The Miracle. It's like the song was made for Paul Rodgers. Even on the studio album, Freddie tries to rasp his crystal clear voice in order to sound more like a singer in the Paul Rodgers vein.
The song I was perhaps most impressed with was Bohemian Rhapsody. At the end of I Want It All, Paul waves his hand toward the movie screen in back of him and then Freddie appears. It seems that Queen have separated the audio of Freddie's piano and vocals from the rest of the band usually heard in this concert footage, and now this band plays live along with Freddie. It is such a wonderful effect that magically resurrects Freddie and he is once again playing with his old band mates. Freddie performs the first two verses, and then as usual they play the studio recording of the operatic parts, but with the movie screen showing these wonderful moving images of Freddie, it really makes the whole experience magical. Paul makes his way back to the stage during the hard rock portion of the song, and delivers a masterful rendition of Freddie's baby. Then at the very end, Freddie and Paul trade lines to make perfect this song's performance. I'm sure Freddie's mom, who was sitting in the audience this night, had tears in her eyes this whole song.
The Show Must Go On is performed after the band leaves the stage and then return again. This song can be found on Queen's 1991 studio album Innuendo. The song is heavy, but most of all quite somber. Paul has changed his clothes, and this is about the 3rd or 4th time, his wardrobe changes challenges Freddie back in the old days.
The band play Free's All Right Now, which is a good choice after The Show Must Go On. Although the song is a bit repetitive for my liking, the hook is still undeniable. Queen then perform the two songs which really brought this whole concept to life. When Brian heard Paul take on We Will Rock You and We Are The Champions at the British Hall of Fame, he saw the potential in a tour with this vocalist. The audience really got into these last two songs knowing probably that they were the last. These two Queen classic were written for the stage, and Brian even confessed that We Are The Champions is his favorite song to perform live. The audience knows that when the studio recording God Save The Queen from A Night At The Opera is heard over the PA system, then the show is over. Indeed this is true.
For a bonus, there is the John Lennon song Imagine taken from the Hyde Park show. The song was performed to remember the wounded and killed from the subway bombings from the Muslim terrorists that week, and also to remember that peace is attainable. Each member, Brian, then Paul and then Roger sang a verse to the song. It was real nice for what it was, I personally can't stand the Lennon song, even when it is performed by Queen.
I think the show needs to be tweaked a little to be more inclusive of Paul Rodgers, even if it's just one or two songs less without him. I hope they continue to go on together as a unit, either with more touring or even possible a new Queen + Paul Rodgers studio album. Somehow, I doubt that this will ever come to fruition, but it would be something nice to wish for.
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD Video Occasion: Good for a Rainy Day
Despite taking a lengthy break from the music industry after the sad death of their unpredictable frontman Freddy Mercury, Queen returned in 2005 with...More at HotMovieSale.com
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