Queen: The Complete Works

by Georg Purvis

  Once again, the British press was positive, drawing attention to the absent friend but respectfully conceding that Paul was a suitable stand-in. Sheffield’s The Star wrote, “As the lights went down the original members of the line-up took to the stage – drummer Roger Taylor and lead guitarist Brian May, complete with trademark perm. The crowd went wild but if it was dark-clad, long straggly-haired rock types you were expecting in the packed audience you would have been disappointed. From ten-year-olds sitting on their dads’ shoulders to thirty-somethings, forty-somethings, even pensioners, there were all sorts singing along to Mercury’s lyrics. Just as the audience reflected the band’s wide appeal Rodgers intentionally set out not to try and be the new Freddie Mercury. But he did an excellent job with his voice – sexy, husky and strong, stepping out of the limelight for almost half the set which was performed by May and Taylor.” Birmingham’s Evening Telegraph opined, “Queen without Freddie Mercury might seem, on paper, a brazen case of Hamlet without the prince, but they conjured up a truly majestic kind of magic for a packed-to-the-rafters NEC. The concept worked because, rather than trying to act as a replacement or a substitute for the great showman, Paul Rodgers provided a triumphant alternative. He might not boast Mercury’s charisma and theatricality, but he proved that he is a superb rock vocalist in his own right as he wove some of his own hits (’Feel Like Making Love’, ‘Wishing Well’) into the Queen back catalogue ... May – one of the very few men in the world who can look cool wearing bubble-curls and a big girl’s blouse – was in supreme form, reminding us that his unique, gloriously fluid guitar was a key component in Queen’s success. And Taylor, too, clearly revelled in the occasion, especially when introducing the one new song, poignant AIDS warning ‘Say It’s Not True’. It remains to be seen whether this project will produce more fresh material but as they led an ecstatic audience through encore choruses of ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’, it was difficult to imagine that they won’t be back with more of the same. You can’t have it all, but when some of the greatest rock music ever written is recreated so brilliantly, you’ve got more than most of us could dared to have dreamed of.”

  OPEN AIR TOUR

  2 TO 15 JULY 2005

  Musicians: Brian May (guitars, vocals, lead vocal on ‘’39’ and ‘Love Of My Life’, lead vocal intro on ‘Hammer To Fall’, acoustic guitar), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, and ‘Radio Ga Ga’), Paul Rodgers (vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’), Spike Edney (piano, keyboards, vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’), Jamie Moses (guitars, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’)

  Repertoire: ‘Reaching Out’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Wishing Well’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘’39’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, ‘Let There Be Drums’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, Guitar Solo, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Imagine’

  Itinerary:

  July 2: Estadio Restelo, Lisbon, Portugal

  July 6: Rhein-Energie Stadion, Cologne, Germany

  July 10: Gelredome, Arnhem, Netherlands

  July 15: Hyde Park, Parade Ground, London (rescheduled from 8 July)

  The Queen + Paul Rodgers band proceeded to a four-city open-air itinerary that offered them bigger audiences than the indoor venues had permitted. Brian was ill during the Cologne show but, apart from messing up the guitar intro of ‘I Want To Break Free’, was in a good mood to match that of the audience, who were in high spirits despite getting drenched before the show even started. (Paul duly threw in a line from ‘Singin’ In The Rain’ following ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’.) In particular, there was a rousing reception given to ‘We Will Rock You’ and ‘We Are The Champions’ when the cast of the We Will Rock You musical joined the band on stage.

  A proposed concert at Hyde Park on 8 July, reprising the original Queen’s triumphant 1976 free concert there and with The Darkness scheduled to join the band for a song or two, was postponed for a week as a mark of respect; the day before, London had been the target of a series of terrorist bombings, claiming fifty-two lives. The rescheduled Hyde Park gig therefore included a resonant, semi-acoustic rendition of John Lennon’s ‘Imagine’, with Brian, Roger and Paul each taking a verse at the end of the catwalk, later regrouping on the main stage for a full-band coda.

  The Independent was pleased with the Hyde Park show. “On the evidence of this concert, one has to ask where on earth has [Paul Rodgers] been for the last two and a half decades? It is a mini mystery of rock, like the riddle of why John Deacon, Queen’s original bassist is not on the tour and seems to have been written out of the script. The linking of guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor of Queen with Rodgers is both inspired and odd. Inspired because the voice is so great, and he retains a stage presence. He swings a microphone stand in the same way as Mercury, even if he hasn’t got the same swagger and panache, and even if he and the rest of Queen cannot remotely play an audience in the way that Freddie did. But the pairing is odd because Rodgers in his heyday was to some degree the antithesis of Mercury and Queen. Free were a band for the sweaty university circuit. The fans of their heavy, driving rock and intense ballads, were the ‘heads’, the post-hippies who were, frankly, unlikely to be playing ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ in their bedrooms. Freddie Mercury was camp; Paul Rodgers, whose sexuality was traditional rock star hetero, was never, ever camp. This oddity was well illustrated at Friday’s concert when Queen’s ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ was immediately followed by Free’s ‘Wishing Well’. The first is typically cheeky (excuse the pun), the second moody and contemplative. Yet, somehow it worked. Rodgers did justice to Queen’s classics and resurrected his own, with as many people singing along to Free’s ‘All Right Now’ as to Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’. And, it was a joy to be reminded that ‘Radio Ga Ga’ is one of the best singalong stadium anthems ever.”

  ARUBA & US SHOWS

  8 TO 22 OCTOBER 2005

  Musicians: Brian May (guitars, vocals, lead vocal on ‘’39’ and ‘Love Of My Life’, lead vocal intro on ‘Hammer To Fall’, acoustic guitar), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, and ‘Radio Ga Ga’), Paul Rodgers (vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, piano on ‘Bad Company’), Spike Edney (piano, keyboards, vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’), Jamie Moses (guitars, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’)

  Repertoire: ‘Reaching Out’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘’39’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, ‘Let There Be Drums’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, Guitar Solo, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘’39’

  Itinerary:

  October 8: Aruba Entertainment Center, Oranjestad, Aruba

  October 16: Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford, New Jersey

  October 22: Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California

  The Queen + Paul Rodgers band continued their 2005 campaign with three shows in October, each spaced about a week apart. The first was in Aruba,
a surprising choice of locale, though the concert sold out fairly quickly and the band played to a packed house. The second and third shows marked the first time Brian and Roger had visited the United States under the Queen banner since 1982. The two concerts, one in East Rutherford and the other in Los Angeles, were seen as tests: if the shows were successful, there was the possibility of a full-scale US tour the following year. Thankfully, both shows were sold out and the band performed to enthusiastic audiences.

  The sets differed slightly from previous legs. ‘I Want To Break Free’ and ‘A Kind Of Magic’ were dropped in favour of ‘Bad Company’ (with Paul on piano) and ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy’, the first time either song was performed that year. In LA, former Guns N’ Roses guitarist Slash joined the band on stage during ‘Can’t Get Enough’, causing uproar among the audience.

  JAPANESE TOUR

  26 OCTOBER TO 3 NOVEMBER 2005

  Musicians: Brian May (guitars, vocals, lead vocal on ‘’39’ and ‘Love Of My Life’, lead vocal intro on ‘Hammer To Fall’, acoustic guitar), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, and ‘Radio Ga Ga’), Paul Rodgers (vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, piano on ‘Bad Company’), Spike Edney (piano, keyboards, vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’), Jamie Moses (guitars, vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Say It’s Not True’)

  Repertoire: ‘Reaching Out’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Fire And Water’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘’39’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, ‘Let There Be Drums’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, Guitar Solo, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Wishing Well’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘I Was Born To Love You’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Long Away’, ‘I Want To Break Free’

  Itinerary:

  October 26/27: Saitama Arena, Tokyo

  October 29/30: Yokohama Arena, Yokohama

  November 1: Nagoya Dome, Nagoya

  November 3: Fukuoka Dome, Fukuoka

  While the Aruba and North American shows in October were successful and enjoyable for Queen + Paul Rodgers, they merely served as a warm-up for the band’s first full-scale tour of Japan since 1985. ‘Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)’, a song reserved for Japanese audiences, was included, while ‘Wishing Well’ was brought back in place of ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy’. Even more surprising, following ‘I Want It All’ Roger and Brian, acoustic guitar in hand, strolled out to the end of the catwalk and duetted on Freddie’s 1985 solo track ‘I Was Born To Love You’. In its rerecorded state as released on Made In Heaven, the song, issued as a single in both 1996 and 2004, had become to Japan what ‘Love Of My Life’ was to South America.

  The band played to capacity crowds each night, though, on his website, Brian would cite the “spaced-out” European itinerary and “highly intensive” Japanese schedule as mental and physical hindrances, also mentioning that he didn’t feel on top form during the US gigs either. He affirmed his determination, however, to perform better for the Stateside crowds in future, suggesting that plans were already afoot to bring Queen + Paul Rodgers to American soil.

  NORTH AMERICAN TOUR

  3 MARCH TO 13 APRIL 2006

  Musicians: Brian May (guitars, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Love Of My Life’, lead vocal intro on ‘Hammer To Fall’, acoustic guitar), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocal on ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, lead vocal intro on ‘Radio Ga Ga’), Paul Rodgers (vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, piano on ‘Bad Company’), Spike Edney (piano, keyboards, vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Moses (guitars, vocals)

  Repertoire: ‘Reaching Out’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Can’t Get Enough’, ‘Take Love’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, ‘Let There Be Drums’, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, Guitar Solo, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘Dragon Attack’, ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘’39’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘Under Pressure’, ‘Red House’

  Itinerary:

  March 3: American Airlines Arena, Miami, Florida

  March 5: Veterans Memorial Arena, Jacksonville, Florida

  March 7: Gwinett Center, Duluth, Georgia

  March 9: MCI Center, Washington, D.C.

  March 10: DCU Center, Worcester, Massachussets

  March 12: Nassau Coliseum, New York, New York

  March 14: Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  March 16: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, Ontario

  March 17: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, New York

  March 20: Mellon Arena, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  March 21: Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

  March 23: Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois

  March 24: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, Michigan

  March 26: Xcel Energy Center, St Paul, Minnesota

  March 27: Bradley Center, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

  March 31: Glendale Arena, Glendale, Arizona

  April 1: State University’s Cox Arena, San Diego, California

  April 3: Arrowhead Pond, Anaheim, California

  April 5: HP Pavilion, San Jose, California

  April 7: MGM Garden Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada

  April 10: Key Arena, Seattle, Washington

  April 11: Rose Garden, Portland, Oregon

  April 13: Pacific Coliseum, Vancouver, British Columbia

  Rehearsals for the band’s first major US tour began in February 2006 and, though little attempt was made to update the set list, a few surprises were in store. ‘Dragon Attack’ was resurrected for the first time since 1985, and ‘Bad Company’ was retained, having not had a single performance during the European leg. The most surprising addition was ‘Take Love’, a new song written by Paul for the union’s first studio album.

  Apart from performances of ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘’39’ and ‘Say It’s Not True’ during the first few shows (plus Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Red House’ at the final concert in Vancouver), the set list remained static, though songs were occasionally moved around to keep the band on their toes. Dissenters were quick to point out that some shows performed to less than capacity; while it was true that the band enjoyed only four sold-out shows (Toronto, Detroit, Las Vegas and Vancouver), they hardly experienced the kind of half-full arenas the nay-sayers indicated. Unfortunately, promotion for the tour was scant. The larger cities ran radio ads and special promotions, but areas that had never been Queen-friendly (Florida, Georgia and Arizona) were accorded a minimum of publicity.

  While Queen had rarely attracted positive notices in the US, some reviews raked Brian and Roger over the coals for even daring to go out on tour without Freddie. The Boston Globe wrote, “It was much trumpeted as a Queen reunion, but no matter how much you squinted as the awkwardly named Queen + Paul Rodgers combo pounded out beloved classic rock anthems at the DCU Center on Friday night, it just wasn’t anything close ... The most haunting moment came when the video screen displayed 1970s footage of Queen: skinny, sexy kids with cool haircuts and endless possibilities. Before an encore of ‘We Will Rock You’, Free’s ‘All Right Now’, and ‘We Are the Champions’ came the audacious ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. As Taylor and May played their parts, a video screen displayed footage of the late Freddie Mercury singing an
d playing piano. For a while the pair were actually backing a tape of themselves. Eventually the band moved in, with Rodgers voicing the song’s more rocking parts. Superstar karaoke.” Chicago’s Daily Herald was equally unimpressed: “Imagine if the staples of 1970s arena rock – leather pants, fog, levitating pianos, drum solos, strobes – went through a modern day makeover that now included tanning, teeth whitening, expert designer duds and intermittent video footage that, like Oprah’s makeover specials, illustrated how then was scraggly and now is shiny. The result would be much like what arrived at the Allstate Arena Thursday, a tour that crossbred Queen and Bad Company, two bands from the classic rock years that previously had nothing in common other than they shared airplay in the glory years of FM radio ... The longer than two-hour show featured many usual Queen hits, but because Mercury, one of the most distinctive personalities in rock, also happens to be dead, the set list was padded with songs where that niggling little fact wouldn’t be so noticeable. Which meant too much time for Roger Taylor’s C-level power ballads (‘The Days of Our Lives’), a new song from Rodgers (’Take Love’) and forgotten Queen songs like ‘Dragon Attack’ that were never missed in the first place. Devoting time to such limp material, when many of Queen’s classics were ignored, was like showing up to Symphony Center to hear the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play ‘Chopsticks’.”

  Still, the critical response was, just like the 2005 leg, mostly positive. Miami’s South Florida Sun-Sentinel was overly apologetic for the low turn-out on the first night: “One would think that a venue as massive as the AmericanAirlines Arena and a band as monumental as Queen would be ideally suited for each other. Sadly, though, on the opening night of the legendary ‘70s rock group’s first major tour since the death of their lead singer, the arena was full of empty seats and half-hearted fans. Until the final 60 minutes and the band’s awe-inspiring encore, even those in the front rows stood placidly, awaiting a call to action from their aging idols.” Duluth’s Forsyth County News praised to Paul but wrote that “the highlight of the show was seeing Brian May play live. May plays the guitar the way an expert marksman would shoot a rifle, taking out one incredible riff at a time. I had no idea how unique his playing style was until I saw him live. He hits every note with melodic precision, and then without warning he would switch from rifle to machine gun and absolutely blow the crowd away. As impressive as Mercury’s writing and singing was, it turns out that the styling of May’s guitar is as equally defining as the heart of Queen. Roger Taylor’s casual drumming style is equally as unique and it was great to see the two Queen veterans back in the limelight ... It will be interesting to see if the band decides to write together and we can see what happens when operatic rock and roll meets the dirty South.” The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote, “Having the bluesy belter from Bad Company replace the campy, operatic Mercury was akin to replacing the cast of Desperate Housewives with guys from The Sopranos. Yet the audience that sold out the Wachovia Spectrum on Tuesday night found it could be done. Sonically, Queen is the same as it ever was. Guitarist May’s towering glissandos and drummer Taylor’s chunky rhythms were in place. May rather touchingly sang ‘Love Of My Life’, which he called ‘Freddie’s love song.’ Taylor did his creepy smash, ‘I’m in Love With My Car’, as well as Mercury’s synth-slick ‘Radio Ga Ga’ ... Oddly, Rodgers’ own material – like his soul-metal ‘Bad Company’ – fit right in with Queen’s sleekly crunchy harangue. While Rodgers upped the gruffness, Queen turned ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ from casually cool to shuck-jiving.”