My thoughts on Adam Lambert+Queen plus welcome feedback.

Hi Guys.
Ive never seen Queen live,I was 14 the last time they did a concert but ive seen the concerts on DVD,plus clips etc and have been a Queen fan for over 20 years.
i haven't seen much on Lambert,the odd clip of Youtube usually from someone in the crowd but I actually managed to find the full Hammersmith Concert 2012 in HD on there so I watched it.
Now my view is probably a little unfair, I havent been there in person and my views are based on the concert in HD.
A.L has a clear talent and the guy CAN sing,however after watching it all for 2hrs I just think the whole concert went up and down and basically a bit flat. I just dont think that he has the style to sucessfully pull off most of the songs. The clear favourite of mine was WWTLF which was incredible plus WWRY and WATC suited his style to a tee. I didnt think there was any real energy to the show. OK no one is gonna fill Freddies boots but he didn't seem to really interact with the audience and use that stage to the full extent. Even Brian May didn't move around much and I don't put that down to age,he's in his 60s not 90.
Im not slagging the concert off,it's good to see Queen and it's good to see them touring this year but I think things need to be stepped up a gear and bring some real energy into the show.Also I was a bit disappointed and I saddened to see a couple of great concert songs left out,"now im here" being one of the them.
Personally I prefered Paul Rodgers. Maybe because Freddie always liked him but I think his style suited the majority of Queen Songs and he does have that rock voice. I also know that PR+Q was only a temp thing anyway.

I think no matter who BM and RT want to front the band there is always going to be critisism. We have all listened to queen songs for 30 years and its hard to retune the same songs but in a different style.


Does anyone have any different views or disagree with any of my comments. Maybe thoughts on PR VS AL. Who do you prefer? Are these Queen + tours a good thing for a new generation of people or are they just a money spinner and should Queen maybe should have stopped touring when Freddie passed.

I haven't seen them live (yet) either. I was too young to see Queen before Freddie died, never saw a QPR, except on YT, and same for QAL so far (YT of EMA, Hammersmith, Kiev, iHeart, etc.). I have tickets to two of the shows this summer. From YT alone, I by far think QAL is better than QPR, both in terms of fit and energy. Certainly Brian and Roger seem much more energized by Adam than they did by Paul, although maybe that has to do with them relishing what they may perceive as their last hurrah. Whatever it is, that's my impression watching the vids as an Adam fan, but also in assessing the audience response.

Despite how good PR is at rock, his rock is a very different style, imo, than Queen. I don't find it a good fit, and I do find QAL a good fit. Do either of them match the original Queen vids I've seen (with the original 4)? Nope. It's definitely Queen>QAL>QPR for me. And I don't know if it's just the era (Brian and Roger so close to 'retirement' age), or if it's actually Adam vs Paul, but the venues are much bigger and selling far better for QAL than for QPR. Of course that's not exactly a fair comparison, because PR wasn't really known well here (at least in the US, really don't know about Canada). Anyway, my two cents, for what it's worth.

I'm a little surprised that you would name a thread "Adam Lambert + Queen" or refer to "PR+Q" when in fact these tours have definitely been promoted the other way around -- "Queen + Adam Lambert" and "Queen + Paul Rodgers." Neither Paul nor Adam have considered Brian and Roger as THEIR backing musicians. The subject has been discussed in great detail. I'm surprised you haven't seen the pros and cons in other forums or other threads here in this forum. Most people agree that no one will EVER replace the original Queen band with the original four members -- Freddie, John, Brian and Roger. Adam himself knows he is not a replacement for Freddie because that iconic man is irreplaceable. He considers it an honor to sing with Brian and Roger who he calls "rock royalty!" Brian and Roger like working with Adam because he is an easy guy to work with -- not a prima donna. Adam considers his singing of Queen music a tribute to Freddie and Queen. Some people think Adam has a better vocal range for some of the songs in the Queen catalogue and others, like you, like Paul's ability to sing the rock music. I hope there will be some new songs added to the set list they performed back in 2012 and am very excited to see them in person in both Chicago and Auburn Hills.

doubt that it's "anyone but Freddie" as being a problem.
most mature queen fans accept that musicians need to make music, and Bri/Rog have a right to continue the queen name...not a problem.

the problem is "the fit"

good as Paul Rodgers was - he wasn't a "queen" fit...he was more akin to the Smile sound
again AL - he ain't a "queen" fit - he's a glam rock fit

there are some natural "queen fits" out there...but they're either not interested, or bigger than queen are right now...or worse still... DEAD !!!

George Michael, Steve Perry, Ronnie J,

Yeah Glam rock sprung to mind when I watched the concert. To me the best you would ever get realistically wouldve been with George Michael and maybe if they all acted fast at the time as he was a realistic replacement then it wouldve been a decent blend. Worked for ACDC when Brian Johnson took over although they brought many good songs out with him wheras with Queen they had already had their best years in terms of music.
Ps apologies. The Youtube video was entitled Adam Lambert+Queen.I didnt think.:)

[QUOTE] [b]Radioqueen wrote:[/b]

Yeah Glam rock sprung to mind when I watched the concert. To me the best you would ever get realistically wouldve been with George Michael and maybe if they all acted fast at the time as he was a realistic replacement then it wouldve been a decent blend. Worked for ACDC when Brian Johnson took over although they brought many good songs out with him wheras with Queen they had already had their best years in terms of music.
Ps apologies. The Youtube video was entitled Adam Lambert+Queen.I didnt think.:)[/QUOTE]

Sorry to be repetitive because I've posted this link before but you may have not seen it -- this is a review by someone who was at the first Hammersmith show on July 11, 2012:

http://markgilroymusic.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/live-review-queen-adam-lambert-london-hammersmith-apollo-11712/

Read the comments at the end of the article!

Thankyou. No I didnt see it. Ill have a read now.

Good honest review and a good read. Thankyou.

[QUOTE] [b]brENsKi wrote:[/b]

doubt that it's "anyone but Freddie" as being a problem.
most mature queen fans accept that musicians need to make music, and Bri/Rog have a right to continue the queen name...not a problem.

the problem is "the fit"

good as Paul Rodgers was - he wasn't a "queen" fit...he was more akin to the Smile sound
again AL - he ain't a "queen" fit - he's a glam rock fit

there are some natural "queen fits" out there...but they're either not interested, or bigger than queen are right now...or worse still... DEAD !!!

George Michael, Steve Perry, Ronnie J, [/QUOTE]

Hit the nail on the head. I am a very shallow and new (less than 2 years) Queen fan. I therefore see AL as a good fit although I am not a fan of his own work. For those seasoned knowledgeable fans, QAL will look alot different than the real classic Queen. For this reason, I am a fan of Queen's mature fans. Newbies can learn alot from recent and archived QZ and QOL postings, and of course, internet Queen related articles.

Any thoughts from the older Queen fans? Im talking 45yrs old plus? Fans on here that have been to Queen Concerts back in the day? When I watched the Hammersmith DVD there seemed to be a lot of younger fans who probably werent even born when Freddie was around so the reviews on A.L could be different with younger or older people. I have a friend who is 22 and loves Queen and really likes A.L. I have another friend whos 55 and saw Queen 5 times who cant take to it now as much as he loves BM and RT.

[QUOTE] [b]FreddieCat wrote:[/b]

[QUOTE] [b]brENsKi wrote:[/b]

doubt that it's "anyone but Freddie" as being a problem.
most mature queen fans accept that musicians need to make music, and Bri/Rog have a right to continue the queen name...not a problem.

the problem is "the fit"

good as Paul Rodgers was - he wasn't a "queen" fit...he was more akin to the Smile sound
again AL - he ain't a "queen" fit - he's a glam rock fit

there are some natural "queen fits" out there...but they're either not interested, or bigger than queen are right now...or worse still... DEAD !!!

George Michael, Steve Perry, Ronnie J, [/QUOTE]

Hit the nail on the head. I am a very shallow and new (less than 2 years) Queen fan. I therefore see AL as a good fit although I am not a fan of his own work. For those seasoned knowledgeable fans, QAL will look alot different than the real classic Queen. For this reason, I am a fan of Queen's mature fans. Newbies can learn alot from recent and archived QZ and QOL postings, and of course, internet Queen related articles.

[/QUOTE]


Did I read this wrong? Are you saying you're a fan of an artist's fans or some portion of an artist's fans? For me this is odd. I'm a fan of certain artists, but while I've encountered cool fans, cray fans, ott fans, and all anti-fan versions of the same, I really don't care one way or another about them, because the artist is the thing, not the fans. Now some fans and anti-fans (of all the types listed above) are entertaining, and some annoying, but I can't imagine being fans of any of them.

Of course I like some (the ones that are clever and entertaining) and dislike others (the ones that aren't clever and are simply annoying). Is this what you meant by 'being a fan of'? Because if so, I do understand that, even if I disagree. I find older or longer-standing fans (even within Adam's fanbase, which is relatively new) to generally be entitled and pretentious. Sometimes their entitlement and pretension is entertaining, but usually it's annoying. To me, at any rate. Now if a fan is entitled and pretentious, but very clever and witty, I generally cut them some slack, because I value cleverness and wit a lot.

I personally feel PR was a better fit. Even if he did not sing some songs perfectly, he (IMO) didn't try to be someone he wasn't.
AL, I get the impression it's way too forced and trying too hard.

I'm fortunate enough to have seen Queen first time in 1974 and many times since, I thought the Paul Rodgers era was a good fit, but then I was a big Rodgers fan from back in the day, I sympathise with those who look forward to the Q+AL shows because they never saw Freddie live, and I don't think we older fans should be sniffy about it ! Just enjoy the music, and of course look forward to the forthcoming Queen album whenever it appears !

I guess if you are a powerhouse singer you should just sing like a wimp according to some? LOL

[QUOTE] [b]SweetCaroline wrote:[/b]

I guess if you are a powerhouse singer you should just sing like a wimp according to some? LOL
[/QUOTE]
Too bad AL is no powerhouse singer. His dependence on covers is taking the easy way out IMO.