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Last Updated: Mar 20th, 2006 - 14:13:54 |
Live Review: Queen in Toronto
Paul Rodgers injects his own brand of vocals into British rock band's classic mold
By JANE STEVENSON - Toronto Sun
TORONTO - Last night's show by Queen + Paul Rodgers -- as the first North American tour by the British rockers in 20 years has been billed -- began with sound of the late, great singer Freddie Mercury.
A recording of Mercury -- who died of AIDS in 1991 -- performing It's A Beautiful Day seemed a fitting beginning, as in Freddie's gone but not forgotten.
But it didn't take long for the mood to lift with such naughty favourites as Tie Your Mother Down and Fat Bottomed Girls as new singer Rodgers -- of Free and Bad Company fame -- was backed up by some monstrously loud playing from Queen guitarist Brian May, and Queen drummer Roger Taylor, both decked out in head-to-toe white.
The trio was also joined on stage by ex-Blue Oyster Cult bassist Danny Miranda, guitarist Jamie Moses of the Brian May Band, and longtime Queen sideman Spike Edney on keyboards. (Queen bassist John Deacon retired from touring.)
Two other big hits, I Want To Break Free and Crazy Little Thing Called Love, followed as the musicians veered from the set list at their Miami tour launch two weeks ago, also trotting out a new song, Take Love, early in the proceedings.
The biggest difference, of course, between Mercury and Rodgers, is power, range and the flamboyant factor.
But really who was ever going to fill Freddie's operatic and wildly over-the-top shoes? We all know who put the queen in Queen.
That isn't to say that the warm, bluesy tone of Rodgers' voice was a bad thing. Just different. And his muscular, compact frame wasn't hard on the eyes either. Even if he wasn't in a unitard, a costume that Mercury favoured.
As May said earlier, they weren't looking for a Mercury replacement or impersonator, but someone with whom they had good chemistry to reinterpret Queen's classic songs.
Rodgers, naturally, really shone on the Bad Company anthem Feel Like Makin' Love, filled out by lovely harmonies from the other band members, not to mention monster playing by both May and Taylor.
And he later rose from the stage, playing a piano for Bad Company, and quickly followed that up with another great Bad Company hit, Can't Get Enough.
But the first really poignant moment in the show came when May walked out to the tiny stage on the floor to play acoustic guitar and sing on his own. At least initially.
"You guys are great, fantastic, thank you for this welcome back," said the guitarist, 58. "I sincerely thought it would never happen. This is a great bonus in my life. I hope it's a great night in yours."
"This is for Freddie," said May before launching into Love Of My Life, which saw him accompanied by the crowd's voices.
May then strapped on an electric guitar and was joined by Rodgers and Taylor, both 56, and the rest of the band for Hammer To Fall, which May described as "my little old song of peace."
The Rod Stewart-sounding Taylor even took over on lead vocals on I'm In Love With My Car, after a drum solo, and These Are The Days, which saw black-and-white vintage footage of Mercury playing on video screens behind him to huge cheers from the sold-out audience.
Speaking of Mercury, he would later return again to sing a videotaped concert version of Bohemian Rhapsody, before Rodgers and the rest of the band eventually took over in the live setting. This was a wise move on everyone's part given the song's legendary challenging vocals.
Less successful was when Rodgers attempted Another One Bites The Dust, which frankly was missing Mercury's nicely clipped delivery.
But perhaps the ultimate highlight was a rousing performance of the Mercury-David Bowie duet Under Pressure, which May described as "a song that we've never, ever played before on this continent, but they put me under a lot of pressure."
We're glad they did, Brian.
Matching that song in intensity was the encore trio of We Will Rock You, Free's All Right Now and We Are The Champions.
The Buffalo News. Jeff Miers. 03/17/06
Still Reigning
“What’s particularly surprising is how natural and organic this new union sounds. May and Taylor – founding members of one of the most successful bands, commercially speaking, in rock history, but a band never given its true critical due – have pulled off the near impossible: They’ve found life after Freddie.”
PRESS QUOTES:
Quotes:
Miami Herald. Howard Cohen. 03/04/06
Minus Mercury, remade Queen rocks AA Arena
On the opening night of its first North American tour since 1982, Queen recaptured the flavor of its classic rock shows
“Surprisingly, Queen can carry on without Mercury. The show must – and is – going on.
“It’s an old-school classic rock outing complete with all the musical chops and excesses boomers will recall of the bygone days..
“There is a void for showmanship and musicianship in rock music, and Queen’s surviving members – guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor – are up to the task of fill it.
“The whomping drum fill Taylor drops immediately after the ascending “Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me..” line still delivers an adrenaline shot to the heart”
“This more down-to-earth version of Queen didn’t tarnish its hallowed reputation”.
Philadelphia Inquirer. Patrick Berkery. 03.10/06.
Queen and Paul Rodgers
“It’s a chance to hear two of the genre’s most identifiable commodities – Rodger’s rough-hewn pipes and May’s layered wall of squeal and shred – tearing through many of the genre’s most indentifiable songs”.
Washington Post. Chris Richards. 03/11/06
Queen
“May…some of the greatest guitar playing a rock fan could ever hope to hear. The audience cheered his soaring solos…
“The band encored with…quintessential Queen hits (and de facto jock-jams) “We Will Rock You2 and “We Are The Champions”. You can hear the former over the PA during practically every sporting event…but seeing it stomped out in real time was a treat”.
Boston Herald. Sarah Rodman. 03/11/06
Queen in good company with Paul Rodgers on the mike.
“Vocalist (Paul) Rodgers capably commanded center stage with his robust, soulful voice and didn’t let Mercury – or bandmates guitarist Brian May and dummer Roger Taylor – down. Rogers gave his all from “Tie Your Mother Down” to “We Are the
Champions”.
“It’s hard to begrudge May and Taylor doing what they so clearly love to do…they still have plenty of gas left in their tanks judging by Taylor’s hard-hitting yet nimble stick work on “Fat Bottomed Girls” and the funky “Dragon Attack” and May’s piercing, melodic solo on the elegiac, slowed down version of “Hammer To Fall”.
“Queen and Paul Rodgers roared through the majestic harmonies and slamming power chords…they were victors in the eyes of the folks assembled (in the DCU Center”.
Newsday. J. Edward Keys. 03/15/06
“For a band as notoriously grandiose as Queen, it’s ironic that the best moments were the smallest. An unaccompanied Brian May performed “Love of My Life” on the acoustic guitar. His performance was lovely, delivering short, restrained bursts of guitar that allowed the melody to stumble gently forward. The song turned into a tender call-and-response between May and the generation-spanning, near capacity crowd, each singing their affection back to each other.
“The only moment that eclipsed it was the appearance of Mercury, via video screen, to sing the first few verses of “Bohemian Rhapsody”. What could have been the epitome of schmalz was surprisingly arresting.
Fredericksburg News. Emily Gilmore. 03/16/06
Queen Still Supreme
“Let’s get one thing straight right away: While Queen frontman Freddie Mercury is no longer with us, his former bandmates still kick some major rock ‘n’ roll butt.
“The show (at Washington’s Verizon Center) was a blast for most everyone involved.
The musicians…performed with with a verve that shows they still get a thrill from being onstage. The people in the audience were on their feet almost the entire time and sang practically every word.
“For the encore, the group transitioned from a thundering “We Will Rock You” to Free’s “All Right Now” before swinging back around to finish with “We Are The Champions”. We can’t go back in time, but it was still totally exciting to be in that room and hear that music performed with passion.”
The Philadelphia Enquirer. A.D. Amorosi. 03/16/06
It’s Mercury Free, but Queen Still Rocks Out
“Sonically, Queen is the same as it ever was. Guitarist May’s towering glissandos and drummer Taylor’s chunky rhythms were in place. Rodgers reached for a higher range and hit it, sturdily, every time. Rodger’s own material fit right in with Queen’s sleeky crunchy harangue.
“Having the bluesy belter from Bad Company replace the operatic Mercury was akin to replacing the cast of Desperate Housewives with the guys from The Sopranos. Yet the audience that sold out the Wachovia Sepctrum found it could be done.”
© Copyright 2005 by QueenWorld.com
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