"QUEEN, the last assault to Freddie Mercury´s memory
• The greatest group of the 70s and the 80s is nowadays the biggest we can see on the show.
ARTISTS Queen with Paul Rodgers
Place Palau Sant Jordi
Date 2 April 2005
Queen was what it was thanks to only one person, Freddie Mercury. He turned a hard rock band into an exercise of fastuous, delirious and electic megalomania. He turned it into the most imponent band of his era. And if there was something he tried to avoid by any means, was that his group was standard. But what we have seen last Saturday was in the best case, an ordinary band. Almost vulgar, sometimes boring and with a mean purpose. It was a sad, limited and imposible revision. Firstly, because if there are 5 groups in history whose lead is impossible to replace, and Queen is one of them. The one and only who could give coherence with a set list of intentions and styles so different to each other was Mercury. Paul Rodgers does fine in the old songs (like Tie your mother down, Fat bottomed girls) and in others like Hammer to Fall or I want it all which are his kind of epic vision of the rock of the seventies. But seeing him performing Crazy little thing called love and a Kind of magic, with such lack of charisma and in a not convincing manner, takes out all the credibility of this tour which was already little.
That was not 50% of Queen, with lots of luck, 15%. A puzzle made of performances of Brian May (very correct in 39 and Love of my life but never ending with the guitar solo), some concessions to the lost Paul Rodgers, unflavoured interventions of a Roger hungried of protagonism and predictable climax of martial epic. The images of Mercury in Bohemian Rhapsody gave the most intense scene of the night. Of course he must have been moving of his grave hearing how his brave and agonic The show must go on was being used to justify what it is not justifiable. Also not to talk about smoking banned by a band who practiced all kind of excesses...
Anyone who would like to revive the spirit of Queen today can get the original LPs, greatest hits, videos and live performances DvDs. The industry is already in charge of taking advantage of its legacy. And May and Taylor even are now fathers of that musical. The melancholic is already Experience (without Jimi Hendrix, of course) it will be seen as normal."
I personally do not agree with everything...but what is said about Paul Rodgers is totally true. Apart from that Brian and Roger were great but yes, the show is lacking of continuity and could be rated as just fine. After all is Queen!
Hola Drowse!
Serías tan amable de decir quien ha escrito la crítica. Seguro que es Nando Cruz... un hombre que en la vida ha escrito algo positivo de nadie. Sobre la falta de ritmo del concierto... yo noté un bajón en "A kind of magic" (pero Rodgers logró animar el cotarro), en "Crazy little thing called love" y en "Days of our lives" (cantar con una mano en la espalda al fondo del escenario... mal por Roger) pero el resto del show estuvo genial. Sobre todo si pensamos que es la primera gira en 19 años, con cantante nuevo y era el cuarto concierto de la gira.
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For non spanish readers:
I ask about the name of the journalist who wrote this article.
I comment a few low points at Bacelona show (AKOM, CLTCL and Roger's attitude singing TATDOOL).
In my opinion: great concert! Mainly if you think about: the first tour in 19 years, a new singer and the fourth date of this tour.
Hola, yeah, I think it is him (have to say never read this guy before). However I think one must have to admit he is in some sense right. You can really enjoy the show but still do not like Paul Rodgers. I think that is what happened to you too... ;-)
Yes, the day after the show, another El Periódico's journalist talked about a good concert, very good set list but the show would be better with Freddio on stage! (of course!!).
Anyway, I think Rodgers has an excellent voice... an excellent voice which doesn't fit on every Queen song.
• El Periódico, 3/4/2005:
Nostalgia con Queen. El renovado grupo británico revivió sus éxitos en un Palau Sant Jordi lleno. (JORDI BIANCIOTTO) link
• El Periódico, 4/4/2005:
QUEEN, el último asalto a la memoria de Freddie Mercury. El grupo más grande de los70 y 80 es hoy el mayor timo que podemos ver en un escenario. (NANDO CRUZ) link