OK, first of all, I've been a Queen fan for over two decades now and I remember Freddie's passing and the tribute concert (GNR stood out that night with a superb two song performance) and I also loved the Paul Rodgers thing, even though I didn't care much for the album they recorded together. Therefore, when I found out that they'd already played some shows a couple of years ago with Adam Lambert and were currently touring with him, my first thought was "damn, I wonder if this shit is gonna work at all", since I really don't give a damn about Lambert's own material. Well, I watched the Ukraine concert from 2012 (it's available in full length proshot on youtube) and all my prejudices flew out of the window. Lambert is no Freddie, but his voice and performance style is a very good fit for Queens music, not to mention that Brian May's guitar tone and playing throughout the show was a sheer eargasm.
Anyhoo, a lot of people have voiced their strong objections to this collaboration and even though I kind of understand where they're coming from, I think it's great that Brian and Roger are still touring and playing Queen's music to an audience that is clearly interested in hearing them live. Adam isn't trying to be Freddie, he sings the songs in his own style, just like Paul Rodgers did and to me that's a good thing, having a Freddie clone like for example Marc Martel singing for them whould in my opinion have been just plain lame, since there is only one original Freddie, who can never EVER be replaced.
Another thing, they're apparently putting out an album later this year with some previously unheard recordings of Freddie that have been worked into complete Queen songs, like the album Made In heaven was. I'll definitely be getting my hands on that one.
Author