Guitarist backs Adam Lambert to the hilt with a 20-plus song set didn’t miss
a moment in the band’s history
BY STUART DERDEYN, POSTMEDIA NEWS JUNE 28, 2014 11:29 PM
Review: Queen's Brian May showcases doctorate of riffology in Vancouver
Queen’s new vocalist Adam Lambert performs in concert at Rogers Arena, Vancouver,
June 28 2014.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann , PNG
Queen and Adam Lambert
Saturday night | Rogers Arena
For all the operatic flourishes, U.K. dance hall ditties and disco funk offs, Queen
was always about epic arena rockers. The English quartet’s canon is loaded with the
crunchy goodness every hard rock act wants.
Add in the unparalleled vocal chops of the late Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, a.k.a.
Mercury, and it’s no surprise why Queen ranks with the Beatles in all-time sales.
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Mercury’s passing from AIDS-related complications in 1991 put the remaining active
members in quite a fix. Who were guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor going
to hire to fill the spot?
Legendary Free and Bad Company shouter Paul Rodgers was a marquee name but lacked
any of the required range and both the tour and studio albums were weak. Enter
American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert, 32, a guy with serious range and the requisite
glam sense to do the flamboyant material justice.
From the opening quartet of Now I’m Here, Sheer Heart Attack and Fat Bottomed Girls,
the singer was on. But May’s guitar-tistry overshadowed all.
The PhD in Astrophysics was showcasing his doctorate of riffology at Rogers Arena
and the lecture was brilliant.
Lambert hit his stride with Lap Of the Gods/Seven Seas of Rhye, bringing his own
soaring range to hit notes almost as high as his platform boots. Somebody To Love
was huge, right down to his bluesy take on the final chorus.
The singalong to May’s solo rendition of Love Of My Life proved this was an audience
of faithful fans. A good thing as the guitarist honestly noted he isn’t a singer.
Guess that explains why footage of Mercury played for the final chorus.
May followed with a folky ‘39 and Taylor rasped out These Are The Days Of Our Lives
as more vintage footage played across the screens. Even on this somewhat twee number,
May dropped some killer licks.
The Taylors — Roger and son Rufus — provided the short drum solo before Lambert
returned to wail through Under Pressure and it was back to the races.
But not before the singer urged around of applause for Mercury and introduced a new
song, Love Kills, to be featured on the coming new Queen album. Assembled with old
recordings of Mercury, the idea seems a tad weird. But if the roar for the late
entertainer was any indication, the market is there.
The 20-plus song set didn’t miss a moment in the band’s history and certainly
delivered the hits. While I would have relished Seaside Rendevous, you don’t
complain when the version of Don’t Stop Me now bounces that hard.
That song and the Show Must Go On might be apropos to Queen version 2014 on the
whole. Their show was a far sight better than the perfunctory cash grabs many of
their peers are presenting.
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