Record Reviews

QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS ~ COSMOS ROCKS (DELUXE EDITION) ISLAND 602537014149 (Barcode: 602537014149) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 2008 Released: 2008 I must admit it took me a while to even consider listening to this album… I mean, separately, QueenFind albums by this artist was always one of my favorite British Rock bands and of course I have always considered Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist as the best British Blues-Rock vocalist ever, but somehow the combination of these two Rock legends seemed too bizarre to be true. Boy was I wrong… Of course the real Queen ceased to exist when the bigger than life Freddie MercuryFind albums by this artist left us for greener pastures. But the remaining three band members: guitarist Brian MayFind albums by this artist, bassist John DeaconFind albums by this artist and drummer Roger TaylorFind albums by this artist decided to carry on for a while and released a couple of albums following Mercury´s death. After a decade of silence May and Taylor decided to revive the Queen moniker in order to tour. With Deacon opting to stay out, they enlisted Rodgers as the new lead singer and recorded a live album during the 2005 tour, which was followed three years later by this, their only studio album together. After two more live albums they decided to call it the day for good (so far). Now Rodgers with his deep, throaty, Bluesy voice was nothing alike the operatic falsetto of Mercury, which meant only one thing, Queen had to change the repertoire to suit Rodgers´ abilities. The early attempt to combine old Queen material with songs associated with Rodgers´ earlier career did not work that well and therefore the band members wrote fourteen completely new songs for this album, which are all credited to all three of them. Musically they range from Rock ballads to Blues-Rock pieces, all of which suit Rodgers´ voice perfectly. The new material turned out to be surprisingly quite excellent. Of course the result proved that the band had to adopt to the lead singer rather than vice versa. In retrospect this is another excellent album in the long history of Rodgers´ achievements and his many fans will find here exactly what they expect from him. May plays some amazing guitar solos, which he always was capable of doing and overall the album is truly much better that I, and many other people, expected. The cosmos rocks indeed. This deluxe version includes a DVD with material filmed in Japan during the original 2005 tour, previously unreleased, which is definitely a great fun to watch. Better late then never!

CD+DVD 2 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

PAUL RODGERS ~ MUDDY WATER BLUES EAGLE 222 (Barcode: 5034504122222) ~ UK ~ Blues Recorded: 1993 Released: 2002 British vocalist Paul RodgersFind albums by this artist is without a doubt the greatest white Blues singer of all times. Since his days as the front man of the legendary FreeFind albums by this artist and in the five decades that followed no other vocalist managed to demonstrate the same level of sensitivity, virtuosity and feeling even remotely close to those of Rodgers. This stunning album, which as the title suggests is a tribute to the great Blues singer / songwriter Muddy WatersFind albums by this artist, finds Rodgers performing the classic material with flare and his usual brilliance. He is accompanied by a horde of great guitarists, all paying tribute to the great Godfather of Blues: Jeff BeckFind albums by this artist, David GilmourFind albums by this artist, Buddy GuyFind albums by this artist, Brian MayFind albums by this artist, Steve MillerFind albums by this artist, Gary MooreFind albums by this artist, Trevor RabinFind albums by this artist, Neal SchonFind albums by this artist, SlashFind albums by this artist and a few others. Anything else said about this music is completely redundant – just grab it when you can as this is one of the greatest Blues albums ever recorded!

CD 1 Essential Recommend To A Friend

VARIOUS ARTISTS ~ SUNFLOWER SUPERJAM EAR MUSIC 4029759101833 (Barcode: 4029759101833) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 2012 Released: 2015 This is a live recording of the annual fundraiser concert for The Sunflower Jam charity, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the participation of top British Rock stars and some guests from abroad. Organized by Ian PaiceFind albums by this artist, the event was also partly a tribute to his Deep PurpleFind albums by this artist bandmate Jon LordFind albums by this artist, who sadly passed just a couple of months before the event took place. The album presents fourteen tracks of ass kicking Rock music and the companion DVD presents the concert in its entirety, adding four tracks that did not fit on the CD due to playing time constrains. The gallery of names is very long and includes some superstars like Alice CooperFind albums by this artist, Brian MayFind albums by this artist, John Paul JonesFind albums by this artist, Micky MoodyFind albums by this artist, Uli Jon RothFind albums by this artist, my all time favorite Hammond player Brian AugerFind albums by this artist, who plays some wicked solos, and many more (if these names are not familiar to you, please don´t read any further). Various lineups formed by the participating musicians perform Rock standards and the overall atmosphere is relaxed and informal, emphasizing the joy of playing together. Of course there is no end to spectacular guitar soloing and some great vocal performances. The music is a tribute to the "real" Rock of the 1960s and 1970s, when the idiom enjoyed its golden days, and shows that many of the Rock idols are still great performers. Overall this is a great piece of Rock fun performed by the best musicians out there, so what else can one ask for. Rather than innovate, this kind of albums are preserving the tradition. I wish I could have been there…

Updated: 06/09/2020Posted: 06/09/2020

CD+DVD 2 Recommend To A Friend

YARDBIRDS ~ BIRDLAND FAVORED NATIONS 2280 (Barcode: 690897228023) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 2003 Released: 2003 Forty years after The YardbirdsFind albums by this artist ruled the British Rhythm And Blues scene for a while and than splintered into several seminal Rock and Prog bands like Led ZeppelinFind albums by this artist, Jeff Beck GroupFind albums by this artist and RenaissanceFind albums by this artist, to mention just a few, here they are again alive and kicking. The original founding members Jim McCartyFind albums by this artist and Chris DrejaFind albums by this artist drafted three younger musicians: guitarist Gypie MayoFind albums by this artist, vocalist and bassist John IdanFind albums by this artist and harmonica player Alan GlenFind albums by this artist and reunited the Yardbirds to record this album, which includes several re-makes of classic Yardbirds material and a nice batch of new songs written by the band members. I´m usually skeptical about reunions, being right most of the time, this album however works amazingly well, as if time stood still (which is a good thing) for all these years and The Yardbirds never disbanded at all. Mayo plays some amazing guitar licks and easily joins the Yardbirds lead guitarists list (Eric ClaptonFind albums by this artist, Jeff BeckFind albums by this artist & Jimmy PageFind albums by this artist), the songs smoke from start to finish and the entire album simply kicks ass. Some spectacular guest guitar players add solos as well: Jeff Beck, Steve VaiFind albums by this artist, Joe SatrianiFind albums by this artist, Brian MayFind albums by this artist and others. Definitely no regrets here – a must!

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted:

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend