News: Queen + Paul Rodgers album & all-star tribute due this year (1 Viewer)

[Michael Allred]

from www.musictap.net;

Hollywood Records will be releasing a Queen + Paul Rodgers album on August 30th. No details as to *what* this is yet but I'm willing to bet it's a live album, no doubt to tie in with a probable US tour. I'd imagine a DVD wouldn't be far behind (if not out at the same time.) I can't imagine it'd be a studio album of new material, I don't think they've had the time to do it.

Also, Hollywood Records is releasing a Queen tribute album July 12th. The only confirmed artist/track so far is Sum 41 doing a version of "Killer Queen." Rumored artists include Green Day (who have been ending their concerts lately with "We are the Champions",) Metallica and Elton John. Velvet Revolver *could* have a track as well since they confirmed doing a version of "Tie Your Mother Down" as a B-side.

 

[Michael Allred]

Currently confirmed list of acts and the tracks that they will be covering
for the forthcoming Hollywood Records Queen Tribute album are as follows:

Gavin Degraw "We Are The Champions"
Jason Mraz "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy"
Josh Kelley "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"
Joss Stone "Under Pressure"
Los Lobos "Sleepin On The Sidewalk"
Nickelback "We Will Rock You"
Rooney "Death On Two Legs"
Sum41 "Killer Queen"
Shinedown "Tie Your Mother Down"

Other acts unconfirmed but in line to contribute are The Flaming Lips
(Bohemian Rhapsody), Godsmack, POD, Queens Of The Stone Age and Harry
Connick Jr (Fat Bottomed Girls).

 

[EricSchulz]

Michael,

Where'd you get the info? I checked Hollywood's site this weekend and the most current info was for "On Fire at the Bowl" DVD, and European dates for the current concert tour.
I AM glad to see some unusual songs on the CD, though: "Good Old-Fashioned..." and "Death..." and "Sleeping..." are some excellent choices, although the Harry Connick song scares me! I could see him doing an incredible "Melancholy Blues"!

 

[Michael Allred]

Eric, the info was on www.brianmay.com which lately has become the best site for Queen news (makes sense though, LOL)

I also read this today;

From Musictap:

"Hollywood Records announces two interesting DVD titles for September 13,
with one from Jesse McCartney and another from Queen. The projects are
title-less for now."

 

[EricSchulz]

Thanks Michael!
I check out QueenOnline pretty much daily, but don't often go to Brian's site. That's gotta change!

 

[AnthonyC]

I may pick up the Queen live album; not sure yet. But a Queen tribute album with a song from Jason Mraz? I'll definitely pick that up!

 

[Michael Allred]

Brian confirmed on his web site that the DVD in question will be Queen + Paul Rodgers live.

 

[Michael Allred]

The Def Lepps have recorded "Dear Friends" for possible inclusion on their
upcoming all-covers album.

Interesting choice, especially for them.

Read all aboot it (as the Canadians say):

http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/ar..._id=1000893570

 

[Michael Allred]

www.brianmay.com not only has the full tracklisting and artist line-up for the "Killer Queen" tribute album due August 9th, they now have either clips or FULL versions of every song!(in the Queen News section)

My fav so far? "Stone Cold Crazy", VERY different vibe to it.

 

[NickSo]

comes out in 2 days... not very impressed upon first listen... a lot of the songs sound like the original queen songs... i might as well listen to the original...

the flaming lips cover of BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY is... interesting, though again, does not stray too far from the original

 

[EricSchulz]

My thoughts exactly. Almost karaoke-like. I did hear a clip of "Under Pressure" which I liked (Joss Stone, I think).

 

[EricSchulz]

Picked up Killer Queen today (but have not listened to it yet) for $11.98 at Target (good thru most of August). Also saw it at Best Buy for $11.99 (probably thru Sat.).

 

[Michael Allred]

This was what I posted at amazon.com about the tribute album:

Looking at the title of my review you might be inclined to think this CD is the best thing since sliced bread but once you take into consideration the absolute dreck that has passed for Queen "tributes" in the past, it's not the highest of compliments.

To be sure, this album features mostly young, up-and-coming artists who are just establishing themselves to the world so some of these covers feel more fresh and lively. Regardless of the (obvious) Constantine fans posting reviews here, his is not the best track on the album (nor the worst.) Let's have a look:

"We Are the Champions" by Gavin Degraw is a laid back and loose rendition of the stadium chestnut. Though perhaps it's more appropriate for a coffee house performance, it's not without merit. The arrangement is strong and Gavin's vocals, while being typical of white guys trying to copy black singers, suits his alternate take of Freddie Mercury's lyrics.

"Tie Your Mother Down" by Shinedown is a boring, by-the-book copycat of Queen's track. It lacks the fun of Mercury's delivery and the bite of Brian May's ripping guitar to say nothing of the solid backbeat of Roger Taylor and the rhythm John Deacon gave it. This clearly sounds like a bar band. Drivel.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Constantine (of "American Idol" loserdom) isn't quite as bad as you'd expect it to be. Once again he stays VERY close to the original production, some would say why bother trying to improve perfection and I'd be inclined to agree. When I first heard his awful performance of this on "American Idol", I cringed upon hearing he'd be doing it AGAIN for this CD. Now that I've heard it, I didn't cringe, cry or vomit. In fact, it caused no reaction from me whatsoever. Basically it's so bland and vanilla it's impossible to get any reaction from you at all. Brought in to beef up the backing vocals are the cast from the "We Will Rock You" musical (like that show needs another plug.) Constantine needs as much backing as he can get. "American Idol" isn't known for producing the kind of talent that will be remembered years from now for earth shattering vocals.

"Stone Cold Crazy" by Eleven w/ Joshua Homme quickly became my favorite from the album because it dared to remove itself from the well known heavy metal original (remember the Grammy winning cover by Metallica?) by actually slowing the number down. This new arrangement gives the fast paced track a new vibe while retaining the crunchy spirit of the original (much like the Nine Inch Nails version of Queen's "Get Down Make Love.") I think May would greatly approve of the guitar solos as well. This is a winner.

"Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" by Jason Mraz is absolutely delightful. Mraz's voice, as Mercury might have put it, is just "fab." Restrained, elegant and lovely to listen to.

"Under Pressure" by Joss Stone is likely the most dissappointing track here. The fault does not lie with Stone's voice (as it is quite stunning) but rather with the music. I have never heard a band fail a singer quite as badly as this. The drumming in particular is horrendous and often misses the beat completely, it sounds like a mistake they failed to edit out. Producer Beau Dozier should be ashamed of himself for putting together such an amateur track. They also failed to include the song's highlight near the end of the track with the "Why why whyyyyyyyyyy" crescendo so instead of ending on a high note, it peters out. What a let down.

"Who Wants to Live Forever" by Breaking Benjamin is pretty decent and does nothing to make you want to run away from your stereo screaming for their heads on a plate. It does not come anywhere close to matching to sadness captured by the original but as MTV/TRL rock goes, it doesn't make you wonder why God would let this happen.

"Bicycle Race" by Be Your Own Pet. I'll sum this up with a few choice words; trash, painful, ridiculous, awful, idiotic.

"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Josh Kelley removes itself from the rockabilly flavor of the original and moves into the teen-pop neighborhood of Hillary Duff and others like it. Is it wretched? No. It screams "Release me as a single and put me into a montage in a Disney movie." That doesn't make it puke inducing, it just makes it middle-of-the-road. Thirteen year olds need something to listen to don't they?

"Sleeping on the Sidewalk" by Los Lobos drops the blues feel and replaces it with this Latino sound that doesn't seem to fit very well. I suppose if you're riding around in a low-rider, this might be more suitable but generally it's out of place.

"Killer Queen" by Sum 41 will likely surprise you the most. This isn't the cheap, lame, "fake" punk the band is known for but a very traditional take on Mercury's campy original. The lead singer (I forget his name at the moment) provides a stronger lead than you'd expect and is rather pleasant.

"Death On Two Legs" by Rooney doesn't take apart what worked and assemble it in a mess of mismatched notes but maintains the beauty and snarl the lyrics convey (though they probably never experienced what Queen did to make them write it in the first place.) It doesn't set the world on fire with originality but is competent and listenable.

"Play the Game" by Jon Brion is rather boring in it's production and his vocal delivery is lacking in passion. This is a song that fails to elicit any strong feelings either pro or con. It's instantly forgettable.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by The Flaming Lips....well once you get past the "WHY did they put the same song on here twice?" feeling, you quickly decide that (SHOCK!) Constantine's version is superior. It's like if "Weird Al" Yankovic tried to cover a song seriously, this is what it'd sound like. How unfortunate.

"39" by Ingram Hill thankfully grasps onto the folk sound Brian May put into the original and doesn't let go. The harmonies are fantastic and envelop you. A great cover that Queen fans should enjoy.

"Fat Bottomed Girls" by Antigone Rising. Two odd things, 1) The CD packaging incorrectly has it as "Fat Bottom Girls" and 2) A song about loving a certain kind of woman is being sung BY women. Are we looking at the new lesbian anthem of 2005? I don't know but it's pretty fun and the female harmonies work very well. It doesn't rock quite like Queen's does but it does a capable job.

All in all, "Killer Queen" is the best Queen tribute album to date (what with cheesy Euro-dance, has been rockers and countless symphonic tributes everywhere you look.) It should bring new fans to Queen with a great deal more success than the others and even with a few awful songs here and there, the artists featured here did a respectable job.

 

[EricSchulz]

Michael, you pretty much hit the nail on the head with most of your review. I liked "Under Pressure" more than you did, and when I heard "Fat Bottomed Girls" I thought: "Why didn't they record this as a country-rock version instead?" (Think Dixie Chicks vs. Big 'n Rich!) THAT would have been fun! By far, the best tracks overall are those that re-interpret the originals...

 

[NickSo]

i think Killer Queen by Sum41 is one of my favourites. that and the Jason Mraz track.

Deryck of Sum41 does a great job with the vocals, it sounds unique, but not too similar that its boring.

i concur with what Michael said re: the Jason Mraz track.

 

[Michael Allred]

Killer Queen - A Tribute To Queen, came in at No 104 in the Billboard chart, on its first week of sales.

Queen + Paul Rodgers' new single, "Reaching Out / Tie Your Mother Down" b/w "Fat Bottomed Girls" will be released on CD August 29th in Europe (excluding the UK.)