I was wondering if there are people, who hadn't heard of Paul Rodgers before the ROTC tour, and who started listening to his old things after it.
At the time I was 21, and a big Queen fan (listening to Queen from some months before birth, indeed), who never dreamed of a Queen concert. Then it happened to be reality and I first heard Paul Rodgers at the concert, knowing only that he had been the frontman of Free and Bad Company. From his bands I only knew the song "All Right Now".
After the concert I was so impressed by Paul that I bought the albums I could buy and acquired those I couldn't. Therefore I cannot understand the people barking against him - he is a hell of a singer, with his own style, and therefore now Q+PR is a blues-rock band. That doens't make it a bad band.
So, are there people, who started listening to PR after the ROTC tour?
I completely agree with you! I haven't yet heard much of Paul Rodgers' solo ventures, but I intend to in the near future. He's capable of incredibly strong vocals, showcased in Cosmos Rockin', yet can still pull off a powerful ballad, heard in Small. I think that most of the people that come here and say bad things about him haven't really given him a chance. They're just upset that he's "taken Freddie's place". If any of these so-called "fans" actually listened to Brian, they would know that Paul is not taking his place! This isn't Queen Part II or anything - it's a completely new projet. Some of the people on these forums are so ignorant!
Knew who he was, but wasnt that well-aquainted with his music.
Free has gone on to become one of my favourite bands now and I think at least the early Bad Company is almost as good. Im not too big a fan of The Firm though, it has dated a lot in my mind. I havent heard all of the soloalbums, but I think at least Now and Cut loose have some really good tracks on them.
The album Free Chronicles is a great start for someone getting into Free I think. Nice packaging, large booklet, great sound and a good price, at least here in Sweden.
The original Bad Co. Anthology is a bit older and more expensive but a very good introduction to the band aswell. Otherwise I guess Bad Co. and Straight Shooter are also excellent.
lord_bumbury wrote: I was wondering if there are people, who hadn't heard of Paul Rodgers before the ROTC tour, and who started listening to his old things after it.
I had never even heard of the name Paul Rodgers before he was announced as the singer with, and the only connection I could make was after the classic "he's the guy who sang All Right Now" reply.
I did get buy a copy of Free's greatest hits and liked some of the songs on the Bad Co anthology (and if there's a single disc compilation of Bad Co out there, I'm listening to suggestions.), but he's not my favourite singer by far.
All this means that I don't indiscriminately hate everything with Paul Rodgers in it, and there must be another reason for me to dislike The Cosmos Rocks album. ;)
I was into Free when they first came out in 1968 with thier eponymous album and Tons Of Sobs.I had,until recently,all of thier albums and was a big fan of them until a certain other band came on the scene in 1974.
This really is like a coming together of my two most favourite bands.
I went out and bought Bad Co's 10 from 6, and The Very Best of Free. And in my view they are damn good.
I knew and loved some tracks already - All Right Now, Wishing Well, Can't Get Enough, Feel Like Makin ' Love etc. But most of that was a result of either Levis adverts or Wrigleys adverts in the 80's ! And the Originals compilation album that accompanied the Levis ads.
I did have a copy of Bad Company's live album, What You Hear Is What You Get - this was from the early nineties when Brian Howe was the lead singer of Bad Co. I didn't know anything about Bad Co. at the time to know that it was a different lead singer and paid little attention to it to be honest.
Makes for interesting listening but nothing worth paying for... Interstingly enough, his website begins with the familiar phrase "Long regarded as one of rock's legendary voices"... I wonder where the hell we'd have been if this whole project was Queen + Brian Howe. Erm .. No thank you..
I wonder if any of that is why Bad Co. reformed and played a one off show earlier this year.
Before Paul Rodgers teamed up with Brian and Roger, I didn't even know who Paul Rodgers was (I heard of Free and Bad Company of course, but I didn't know the name of their singer). He's a good choice, but I will not buy anything from his previous bands or his solo albums. He's really good, but I couldn't listen to him for hours and hours. I will listen to him as long as he sings QUEEN material, but that's it (sometimes I think : stick to the melody and sing it properly, dammit) ;-)
If you want to hear him at his best, I would recommend a solo album he did that was a Tribute to Muddy Waters. Great performances by him, and Brian even makes an appearance on the song 'I'm Ready'. I'd love to see those two revive that one for the stage.
Well I started to listen to Free & Bad Company after they announced the tour. I love the earthy Paul Rodgers rock.
What disappoints me in the new album is the rather low level of composition & weak lyrics. This has still nothing to do with Paul as a vocalist. It's also Brian's and Rodger's fault.