| mickyparise 23.10.2008 23:30 |
So your frontman has moved on (or died) but your fans still want to hear you. As Queen tour their first album with Paul Rodgers as lead singer, Chris Mugan warns of the hazards of replacing a legend Friday, 24 October 2008 Just as Freddie Mercury himself once prophetically sang, the show must go on. So for years after his death, the remaining members of Queen soldiered on in with a variety of guests, from an imperious George Michael at Wembley to boy band Five's reading of "We Will Rock You". Yet there remained a demand for them to regurgitate the hits, so Roger Taylor and Brian May found a more permanent replacement. On paper, their choice looked odd: Queen were college geeks, while Paul Rodgers was in his teens when he found fame with Free, thanks to a growling, bluesy delivery miles from Mercury's cod-opera confections. Yet when guitarist May cameoed on Free's signature tune "All Right Now", he found a whole new chemistry with Rodgers and he joined full time. Ever respectful to Mercury's memory, the new line up is billed as Queen + Paul Rodgers. Quite right, as new album The Cosmos Rocks fails to match even the group's late-eighties nadir. Still, their current arena tour is doing the business. Could bringing in a famous name be the way forward for Led Zeppelin, if they choose to tour without Robert Plant? Or Velvet Revolver as they seek to replace Scott Weiland? As we see below, whether you go for an established name or a greenhorn, pitfalls await established bands hunting for a new singer. link |
| john bodega 24.10.2008 00:16 |
It always takes me around 30 seconds to figure out that a review is crap. There's usually a strong clue right there in front of me ; in this case, it was the line about Queen having a 'late eighties nadir'. What a cocksucker. "Was It All Worth It" shits on this stupid guy. It leaves lumpy turds in his mouth. He's probably right about most of the rest of the 80's though. |
| Winter Land Man 24.10.2008 00:22 |
Zebonka12 wrote: It always takes me around 30 seconds to figure out that a review is crap. There's usually a strong clue right there in front of me ; in this case, it was the line about Queen having a 'late eighties nadir'. What a cocksucker. "Was It All Worth It" shits on this stupid guy. It leaves lumpy turds in his mouth. I agree. |
| P-Staker 24.10.2008 03:05 |
What we learned from this interview: 1. If you went to college, you're a geek. You've no business having friends who weren't geeks. 2. While tens of thousands of fans and music professionals mistakenly think Freddie's performances were milestones of rock, they were in fact "cod-opera confections." 3. A Kind of Magic and The Miracle were a failure. They only went multiple platinum in Europe and the States because Freddie's mom was traveling around buying all the copies. 4. If a reviewer says something, that's all evidence you need. Wow! This guy must have went to college. I want to be him when I grow up. |
| Micrówave 24.10.2008 11:48 |
Don't forget this pot of gold: Quite right, as new album The Cosmos Rocks fails to match even the group's late-eighties nadir. I mean Journey, Motley Crue, The Who, Guns N Axel, Duran Duran, and The Geto Boys sound just as fresh as they did at the heights of their careers, what's wrong with Queen? pfft. |
| AmeriQueen 24.10.2008 16:29 |
I'll respond to this because of the Zepelin reference. That's a simple problem with a perfect solution. Led Zeppelin + David Coverdale. Coverdale/Page was one of the greatest 90's rock albums and it took me 15 years to finally locate on the net a live Coverdale/Page concert, but it proved what I suspected which is that his voice can cover Plant better than Plant, especially now that his voice seems to be weakening;. Coverdale singing Black Dog is on you tube and it proves how incredible a live cover he can do of Plant. The proof is hard to dispute these days especially. As for the Queen frontman problem, the answer is long past, and at this point the only problem I have with using Queen's name is that I wish for a camoflauge to hide away from the Freddie fanatics that cannot seperate their feeling in exchange for a major blues voice legend to bring May and Taylor back for a supergroup/Queen revival, using the Queen name in order to deliver the most Queen reflecting perfection via half the band in a reunion tour instead of a blank. There is no band that can't be covered with some different vocalist, but is there a reasonable point to replacing the vocalist? Van Halen and AC/DC went on strong with different vocalists, and they don't seem to have anything on May and Taylor, so why is the singer of Free/Bad Company/The Firm not worthy? |
| the dude 24.10.2008 18:55 |
All forms of Queen and all Queen albums have received bad reviews. So effing what?!!! Reviewers hated Elvis too. I've seen Velvet Revolver live .Trust me. Scott Weiland will not be hard to replace. In fact, I thought he was a magician. But as is turns out it was the heroin that made him so skinny that when he turned sideways he diappeared. He runs out of breath very easily on stage. You can't take a reviewer seriously when he puts these 2 bands in the same review. How do these morons get this job anyway? There's no degree in criticology. It's just some opinionated moron that happens to have that as a job |
| Oli4 25.10.2008 09:56 |
This is pure rubbish.$0$0$0$0Of course Paul can't replace Freddie; nobody can. But I haven't yet noticed any tries to replace Freddie. I mean, Freddie's dead so Roger and Brian can't continue making music with the name Queen? They even put Paul's name after it! Brian and Roger have been a part of Queen for as long as Freddie has. It's their right to call themselves Queen and to get themselves a new singer. $0$0$0$0$0Of course, I don't think they should call Paul Freddie's "replacer". But why on Earth can't they make new songs with him and do some oldies at gigs?$0$0$0$0$0This reviewer is a complete idiot.$0 |
| bhm0129ad 25.10.2008 10:03 |
personally, I think there is a distinction to be made between 'replacing' a singer because you fell out with him, and having a 'guest singer' because yours died. My ONLY regret in this whol Q+PR thing is that it took them so bloody long to play again. Don't get me wrong, I know how hard it must have been ( I did after all, make 3 albums with my own brother before he died last year aged 29, and I find it hard to face even playing my guitar now, still) but I think even Freddie ( upon seeing the '05 tour) would have raised his arms in the air with an air of 'AT LAST dears...' How people can expect Bri and Rog to either sit on the sidelines forever without playing or recording is just plain unfair to two of this country's best Musos, as is slating them for EVERY move they make post Fred, wether it's the all successful but widely panned WWRY stage show, or using another legend as their guest frontman, they seem to attract snide remarks and criticism from all and sundry. We don't have to listen to reviewers or critics, of course, but It's just a shame that so many people do, 'cos I fear there are many people missing out on Q+PR AND the whole Queen catalogue just because they do believe what they read and not what they hear. |
| mooghead 26.10.2008 08:24 |
Zebonka12 wrote: It always takes me around 30 seconds to figure out that a review is crap. There's usually a strong clue right there in front of me ; in this case, it was the line about Queen having a 'late eighties nadir'. What a cocksucker. "Was It All Worth It" shits on this stupid guy. It leaves lumpy turds in his mouth. He's probably right about most of the rest of the 80's though. The one song you could think of to counter his claim sure showed him! |
| mooghead 26.10.2008 08:26 |
Micrówave wrote: Don't forget this pot of gold: Quite right, as new album The Cosmos Rocks fails to match even the group's late-eighties nadir. I mean Journey, Motley Crue, The Who, Guns N Axel, Duran Duran, and The Geto Boys sound just as fresh as they did at the heights of their careers, what's wrong with Queen? pfft. Journey? The Geto Boys? Height of their career? Who the fcuk are they? |
| R37 27.10.2008 07:36 |
The whole discussion about Paul Rodgers beeing the new singer is so wayst of time Roger and Brian have said over and over agian Thet decided to work with Paul, becose he was not trying do imitated Freddie, and had made his own carreer as a singer allreaddy.Yes, the fact that they use the name Queen is out of commercial point of view,i mean who,(besides the Die-hard Queen fans) is going to buy a cd from May/Taylor/Rodgers?) Then again they added the + Paul Rodgers to show the people "Look you have to see this as a new band with roots in the old one" In my personal opnion the only thing missing in Queen+Paul Rodgers is John Deacon, he retired from music but it would have been a great suprise iff he at least did a cameo on the cd. |
| master marathon runner 27.10.2008 08:53 |
i,d love to have pr,s job, i reckon i could make a go of it. |
| sperry419 30.10.2008 19:54 |
Who cares what some stupid critic thinks? I know what I like and I like Queen with Freddie and also with Paul Rodgers. Haven't heard the Cosmos Rocks yet but I'm sure I'll like it. Nobody can "replace" Freddie the same way you can't replace anybody else you love. You just move on, that's all. |