HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Review: With Lambert in the lead, Queen brings back musical memories with new twists
10 July 2014 by Joey Guerra
If there were any qualms from Houston fans Wednesday night about Adam Lambert slipping into the studded leather of the late, great Freddie Mercury, they were silenced when the “American Idol” finalist lent his swooping vocals to “Fat Bottomed Girls.”
The audience, already enthusiastic through opening tunes “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” hit a fever pitch amid the thundering harmonies. It set a jubilant tone for the rest of the show.
Lambert is a formidable singer in his own right. But it’s more than a tall order to front Queen, the seminal English rock band whose hits still ring true with new generations of fans. Mercury’s vocal prowess is still the gold standard for many singers. (How many TV talent show singers have attempted those songs?)
But Lambert is, in many ways, the ideal choice for the job. He’s famous but not quite a superstar. He’s scored hits but has yet to achieve a truly signature sound. And he possesses the right amounts of wit, charisma, rock ‘n’ roll heart and – yes – glam factor. Few current singers would likely attempt such a feat.
Lambert sauntered onstage in leather and studs and sunglasses, owning the moment but not taking anything away from guitar Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, both of whom still play with precision and power.
Lambert doesn’t go the easy route and turn the proceedings into a Queen karaoke extravaganza. He puts his own stamp on every song, a thoughtful mix of sex and flamboyance and modern sensibilities. (He looked great throughout a flurry of costume changes.) It’s a tribute to Mercury, to be sure, but it’s something different, too.
He was particularly effective on the grand “In the Lap of the Gods … Revisited,” a campy “Killer Queen” (complete with hand fan and chaise lounge) and searing versions of “Somebody to Love” and “I Want It All.”
A visibly touched May took a solo turn, just spotlight and acoustic guitar, during “Love of My Life,” which ended with video of Mercury performing the song. It was an emotional highlight.
May was joined by Taylor and dedicated sci-fi opus “’39” to the astronauts and employees at NASA, which they visited earlier in the day (Still sweet, if less successful.) And Taylor crooned “These Are the Days of Our Lives” over a montage of candid Queen moments.
The Lambert-less shenanigans almost went on too long, but he returned to the strains of “Under Pressure” (and a visible rise in audience reaction). It kicked off a triumphant stretch that included a gorgeous reading of “Who Wants to Live Forever” and the band’s most recognizable hits
. “I can’t believe the beautiful, incredible sound you make,” May told the crowd. “Singing brings magic, right? Music brings magic.”
The feeling indeed seemed to be mutual.
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CHRONICLE.COM
Adam Lambert keeps Queen rocking in Houston
10 July 2014 by Joey Guerra
If there were any qualms from Houston fans Wednesday night about Adam Lambert slipping into the studded leather of the late, great Freddie Mercury — they were silenced when the “American Idol” finalist lent his swooping vocals to “Fat Bottomed Girls.”
The audience, already enthusiastic through opening tunes “Stone Cold Crazy” and “Another One Bites the Dust,” hit a fever pitch amid the thundering harmonies. It set a jubilant tone for the rest of the show.
Lambert is a formidable singer in his own right. But it’s more than a tall order to front Queen, the seminal English rock band whose hits still ring true with new generations of fans. Mercury’s vocal prowess is still the (impossibly) gold standard for many singers. (How many TV talent show hopefuls have attempted those songs?)
But Lambert is, in many ways, the ideal choice for the job. He’s famous but not quite a superstar. He’s scored hits but has yet to achieve a truly signature sound. And he possesses the right amounts of wit, charisma, rock ‘n’ roll heart and — yes — glam factor. Few current singers would likely attempt such a feat.
Lambert sauntered onstage in leather and studs and sunglasses, owning the moment but not taking anything away from guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, both of whom still play with precision and power.
Lambert doesn’t go the easy route and turn the proceedings into a Queen karaoke extravaganza. He puts his own stamp on every song, a thoughtful mix of sex and flamboyance and modern sensibilities. (He looked great throughout a flurry of costume changes, particularly a stunning, leopard-print suit and glittering crown he donned to close the show.) It’s a tribute to Mercury, to be sure, but it’s something different, too.
He was particularly effective on the grand “In the Lap of the Gods … Revisited,” a campy “Killer Queen” (complete with hand fan and chaise lounge) and searing versions of Somebody to Love” and “I Want It All.”
A visibly touched May took a solo turn, just spotlight and acoustic guitar, during “Love of My Life,” which ended with video of Mercury performing the song. It was an emotional highlight. But the Lambert-less shenanigans went on a bit too long. May, joined by Taylor, dedicated sci-fi opus “’39″ to the astronauts and employees at NASA, which they visited earlier in the day. And Taylor crooned “These Are the Days of Our Lives” over a montage of candid Queen clips. They were sweet, if unnecessary, moments.
Lambert returned to the strains of “Under Pressure” and incited a visible rise in audience reaction. It kicked off a triumphant stretch that included a gorgeous reading of “Who Wants to Live Forever” and punchy takes on “Radio Ga Ga,” “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and “The Show Must Go On.”
The only real misstep came, frustratingly enough, during “Bohemian Rhapsody.” A game Lambert traded lines with archival footage of Mercury. It was a nice gesture but felt clunky and short-circuited the song’s thundering impact. No disrespect to Mercury, but it would have been much more effective to let Lambert handle the song.
The younger singer did, however, get his due on closers “We Will Rock You” and “We Are the Champions.” Lambert powered through them with appropriate doses of confidence and reverence, leading the crowd through fist-pumping singalongs.
“I can’t believe the beautiful, incredible sound you make,” May told the crowd. “Singing brings magic, right? Music brings magic.”
The feeling indeed seemed to be mutual.
—
HOUSTON PRESS
Queen + Adam Lambert Doesn’t Add Up for Either Party
10 July, 2014 by Cory Garcia
Queen + Adam Lambert
Toyota Center
July 9, 2014
Put yourself in these two situations:
A. You’re a member of a Hall of Fame-level band who wrote some of the most famous, popular songs in rock music. Your lead singer was perhaps the greatest of all time, but he’s no longer with us. You can still play and, more importantly, you still want to play, but no matter what you do, the shadow of your fallen front man will always be there.
B. You’re a singer with an amazing voice, good looks, and a charming personality. You should be a megastar, but you just haven’t found the right songs yet. You have fans, but you need something to push you over the hump that separates pop act and legit star.
If you look at these two situations and think, “Well, why not put A and B together?”, congratulations for picking the path of least resistance. The good news is that this solution will make both parties some serious money.
That’s pretty much where the good news ends for Queen and Adam Lambert.
Here are three facts:
1. Queen has an amazing collection of songs.
2. Brian May, guitarist and occasional astrophysicist, and Roger Taylor, drummer and occasional [insert hobby here], still know how to bring it onstage.
3. Adam Lambert has an amazing voice. Just flawless.
Now, admittedly, the decision to do this tour with Lambert is the one that in theory should make the most sense. And sometimes it actually makes more than sense; on songs like “Killer Queen” and “I Want It All” they actually do manage to make some magic, and it’s quite impressive.
The problem is that these magic moments are few and far between.
Adam Lambert is probably the best choice to front Queen if you need a warm body to fill that position; he’s miles ahead of Paul Rodgers and a much better contemporary choice than, say, Lady Gaga. The problem is that just because he’s the best choice doesn’t mean he’s a good choice.
Again, there’s no doubt that he can sing. Seeing him live will give you a greater appreciation of his skills as a singer; he is multitudes more impressive than he seems on TV. But while his voice may be amazing, it doesn’t really fit into the type of music that Queen plays, even though all signs point toward the idea that he should.
Perhaps the best example of things not working is “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” which saw Lambert spend the entire track with a fake lip curl as if he was suddenly auditioning in a role for an Elvis musical. It just doesn’t work, and no matter how many times he tried to add his own flair to the show, it rarely worked.
To his credit, however, it must be mentioned that at no time did it feel like he was trying to ape Freddie Mercury. Lambert may have the highest respect for Mercury, but he made the wise decision to not try and be Mercury. It’s hard to say who he was trying to be — he was certainly trying hard to be somebody — but Mercury it was not. Here’s the real mind-bender for you though: Lambert is the one that’s getting the short end of the stick here. A
ll the people who believe the problem here is that Lambert can fill Mercury’s shoes have it all wrong; the problem is that Adam Lambert is too talented to vamp on stage while Brian May works his way through yet another (admittedly impressive) guitar solo.
This show was actually best when it was just the Queen guys doing their thing. Brian May knows how to control a crowd, even when his guitar solo goes about three minutes too long. He’s funny, engaging, and seemingly sincere even when he’s repeating the same lines he does at every show. Roger Taylor can still carry a tune, and it was cute to see him have a drum solo battle with his son.
The Queen guys still have it. They can still play. They’re just going about things the wrong way.
In the end, the show didn’t show enough reverence toward Mercury (which is weird to say, given that he “sang” a good chunk of “Bohemian Rhapsody”) to be considered a tribute and the combination of Queen/Lambert aren’t releasing any new music, so you can’t consider them relevant. Nostalgia is nice, but it only gets you so far, which might explain why a large chunk of the crowd sat the entire time and the fanfare for one of the greatest songs of all time was pretty damn muted.
If this was a one-off attraction, a major show in Wembley Stadium for instance, that was being recorded and sold on DVD and CD and whatever digital format the kids use these days, it would make perfect sense. It would be something special. But this isn’t special: it’s just a couple of guys rocking out onstage together but not making anything even approaching art.
Adam Lambert needs to find someone the right song that shows off his voice and his charisma. Queen needs to give up the ghost and just fucking use Mercury’s vocal tracks for all the songs that need them if they’re going to tour.
Those may not be the simple solutions either party is hoping for, but being a champion isn’t easy.
Personal Bias: If you’ve made it this far, you may not be surprised to learn that I once wrote a blog that mentioned this combination specifically.
The Crowd: Mostly older folks who were into it enough to clap their hands but not so in to it they felt the need to stand, with a sprinkling of folks who were clearly born after Freddie Mercury passed away.
Overheard In the Crowd: “If this little cog in the wheel can help make him successful then I’ll do what I can.” The lady sitting next to me and my +1 was a moderator for the official Adam Lambert fan forums, and I must say that her excitement and passion make me feel real bad about basically everything I wrote about this. Random Notebook Dump: If my +1’s unofficial Instagram experiment is any indication, Adam Lambert is huge on social media.