Paul Rodgers and Queen have split. I can't say that I am all broken up over this. As a long time Queen die hard, and a fan of both Free and Bad Company, the band's decision to carry on with Rodgers under the Queen moniker made little sense to me. Quite frankly, I thought the music made was sophomoric. I know many feel that way about the classic line-up with the late, one of a kind showman, Freddie Mercury, but that's not what this is about. (and you're all wrong)
Here is what Gary Graff has to say about the split on Billboard.com.
Queen will no longer rock you -- at least not with Paul Rodgers.
With a summer reunion tour with Bad Company looming, the singer tells Billboard.com that the Queen + Paul Rodgers collaboration is, in effect, over, and without animosity. "At this point we're gonna sit back from this," Rodgers says. "My arrangement with (Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor) was similar to my arrangement with Jimmy (Page) in The Firm in that it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement.
"I think we made a huge success of it, actually. We did two world tours and a couple of live recordings, and...made a studio album (2008's commercially disappointing 'The Cosmos Rocks') which was pretty historical for (Queen's Brian May and Roger Taylor) because they hadn't really gone in the studio with anybody and recorded something like that for a very long time. So it was quite an achievement, I think."
Rodgers says he leaves the collaboration with nothing but good memories and the feeling of a job well done.
I wish I could say the same. The one studio record, "The Cosmos Rocks," is just about unlistenable, with Spinal Tap inspired lyrics, and cheesy guitar riffs right out of...well...ok, Spinal Tap. The one live performance I did manage to see in 2004 (I think) felt like nothing but an opportunity gone awry. Talented veterans of rock and roll, with an endless supply of classic back catalogue, missed the mark thanks to a poor song selection, and stage theatrics right out of....uh...Spinal Tap.
Some might say that Freddie Mercury's theatrics on AND off stage were no less Spinal Tap-ish, with his prancing and preening, boas, eye-makeup and gym shorts. The difference I see is that Freddie couldn't help it. Paul Rodgers, Brian May and Roger Taylor, circa 2007, made a conscious effort.
Kudos to original Queen bassist John Deacon who wanted no part of any of this. Now thankfully, there will no more of that jazz.
2 comments:
gee I don't see why they just don't get Jason Bonham or Ringo's kid Zak and just keep touring.....I mean trust me on this it would work
The bottom line is I bet they made a lot of money off of suckers who were expecting a Queen meets Bad Company experience. In this case the sum was a lot less than either of the individual parts.
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