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- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: QUEEN Discussion
Having given this a bit of thought... a Queen/Lambert collaboration could work, but they would really need to put some thought and effort into it.
1) Record a new album. A karaoke act isn't going to cut it. Call it Restoration, or Jubilee, or something. Be cocky. Queen was never self-effacing.
2) Move heaven and earth to get Deacon involved. Two old guys trading off their band name with some session musicians and an American Idol singer = not going to cut it. Deacon's endorsement - even if it was limited to studio work and writing credits - would make a huge difference.
3) If you can't get Deacy, get a bass player who's an active participant in the band, not just a session guy milling around the back of the stage in a black t-shirt. Given that the backing vocals were a key component in the Queen sound, why not add something new to the mix? As mentioned upthread, Bowie's old bassist Gail Ann Dorsey would be good - she did the Freddie vocals on Bowie's live version of Under Pressure, so would add a bit of oomph to the songs live.
4) ROCK. People are going to be expecting the 80s pop-tinged Queen with Lambert fronting the band - he can do the showtunes and the big ballads, but can he belt out a Tie Your Mother Down or a Hammer to Fall? Prove it with the first track - make it the heaviest thing Queen's ever done.
5) Collaborate. All those artists who claim to have been influenced by Queen? Time for them to put up or shut up. Get Dave Grohl to co-write a rock track, Axl to pen a piano ballad, Lady Gaga to come up with a pop track. Hell, ask one of them to produce the thing.
6) Put a bit of Freddie in there - complete one of his unreleased tracks as a duet with the new singer. Kisses to the past, and all that.
Do all of that, and it might - MIGHT - just work.
Re: QUEEN Discussion
TONS of great ideas there.
All of them are VERY possible, except...
He is BEYOND retired. I don't see him doing anything with them, even if just in the studio. I'd love to see the original band collaborating again, but it's just a pipe dream. I'm sure if Brian & Roger could've done it, it would've been done.
Lambert & Queen doing 80's Queen = 
The only issue I have with Lambert on a live basis, is he has the tendency to get lazy and pull an Axl/Brian Johnson and just "scream" the songs live, which is something Freddie didn't and/or wouldn't do. It kinda ruins the song.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: QUEEN Discussion
Yeah, I don't see Deacy signing up for anything. But even if they got one writing credit out of him, it'd do a lot to endorse the band. That's what they really need, the hardcore fans are dead set against Lambert 'cause he's a "pop karaoke act" (never mind the fact that he has years of experience doing musicals, and pretty much the only way to get into the industry now is through talent shows).
And getting endorsement from the music industry figures who are friends and fans of the band would help, too. Grohl, Iommi, Gaga, Axl, Elton - get them all writing for the album, shore up any perceived weaknesses in Lambert's repertoire (mainly: can he rock and can he write good songs?).
The screaming thing... could be an issue, but on the other hand it would at least make his sound distinctive from Freddie; you want him to put his own stamp on there. But you also need a vocalist who's clearly in the Queen style (unlike, say, Robbie Williams or Paul Rodgers - who both have the stage presence but not the voice). Lambert's the closest I've ever seen to someone who can carry off the Freddie vibe without being a carbon copy.
Incidentally, he also sings the high vocal line in We Are The Champions, which Freddie never did live - so I think he wins brownie points for that! Getting Gail Ann Dorsey in to bolster the backing vocals would also help:
Oh, and for reference, here's the heaviest thing a member of Queen's done to date:
Something like that, but with better lyrics, please. 
Above all else, there needs to be NEW MUSIC. And good new music, not that shite on The Cosmos Rocks. It's a make or break thing, really - as hard a task as Axl had with Chinese Democracy. He flunked it to a degree, it'd be nice if my other favourite childhood band could make an epic comeback.
Re: QUEEN Discussion
Well see that's the problem. The Cosmos Rocks was a mixed bag. There were a few good ones on their (Say It's Not True is one of the best things Roger's ever done).
The writing issue could very well be a problem. Roger & Brian are getting older, and a lack of Freddie & John on Cosmos was very obvious. They do need to bring someone else in, and Lambert I guarantee you is not gonna be the writer they're looking for. Although his For Your Entertainment album was good, it was pretty much written by everyone BUT him.
That will always be a problem imo. Getting John back would be a great move, but short of calling Bernie Taupin, I think they might wanna get the number for Desmond Child.
It couldn't hurt. I mean they've got nowhere to go but up from Cosmos.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: QUEEN Discussion
I think that Brian and Roger are both capable of writing great songs still - they just need someone who's not lazy or overawed enough to go, "that'll do" when presented with the first draft of the song. Freddie would've said, "I'm not singing these fucking lyrics, darling, come back when you have something better" when presented with the tracks from The Cosmos Rocks.
Actually, I know exactly what they need. Rick Rubin.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: QUEEN Discussion
Actually, here's a thought. Picking up on the collaboration idea, maybe they should do a true Queen+ album – do what Iommi and Slash and Santana have done, with Brian and Roger collaborating as Queen with a whole bunch of different vocalists.
Call it Queen+ Icons, or somesuch. Get Gaga, Axl, Dave Grohl, Lambert, George Michael, Justin Hawkins and anyone else who's ever claimed to have been inspired by Queen on there, each doing one or two tracks. Bung in a couple of Brian/Roger vocal tracks. And then round it off with the two Freddie/Michael Jackson songs.
Pretty much the only way to match the versatility of Freddie is to get a whole bunch of different singers working across the genres. And it'd keep the fans who insist that Queen should ONLY be about Freddie reasonably happy, as the band wouldn't be replacing him. Indeed, you could even use some of the remaining fragmentary Freddie vocals and turn them into duets with the new singers.
It'd essentially be a studio version of the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, but with new tracks.
Now THAT would sell. You'd have some guaranteed hit singles and videos in there with the likes of Gaga, and you wouldn't be asking the megastars to commit to a tour fronting Queen.
Re: QUEEN Discussion
It's a good concept, but I just don't trust Brian & Roger's perception of who to choose to do it.
Had they done that concept in the late 90's/early 2000's, you'd of had a Queen album loaded with performances from Wyclef Jean, will.i.am, Jay-Z, Britney Spears.... lucky would've been Alicia Keys, Norah Jones & Scott Stapp.
I think at this point Queen is beyond collaborations. That's what they did since 1992.
It's time to PICK ONE, or retire forever imo. I personal choice would've been GaGa, but Lambert is a nice #2.
- elevendayempire
- Rep: 96
Re: QUEEN Discussion
Aaaand it's happening: Lambert's fronting Queen for Sonisphere:
http://www.gigwise.com/news/70479/Queen … ---Tickets
Ballsy move, playing Knebworth. This is clearly a trial run for a tour; I only hope that they come up with a new album (and for Christ's sake get some help with the songwriting).
Re: QUEEN Discussion
I think they might just tour the world first and see how it goes. The diehard fans have already been heaping even more hell on them for recruiting Lambert to be Queen's 3rd singer, and the number is even higher if you count all the "Queen +" collabs that were unofficial trial run's behind the scenes.
The diehards feel that the Queen name has become bastardized since Freddie, and with so much time since Freddie's death, John hasn't been there in years, it might be time to retire the name.
Problem is, Queen internationally is a brand name as big as The Beatles or Rolling Stones. It means something.
In other words, Brian May, Roger Taylor & Adam Lambert don't headline Sonisphere without that Queen moniker and everyone knows it.
Although Brian & Roger have some talent, they are tapped out lyrically, and Lambert has never been a writer, simply a performer.
They seriously need an outsourced writer if a new album is in the works.
But personally with all the heat they're getting about continuing Queen, they might just tour and see how it goes for the next couple years, short of a couple singles for charity.
P.S.
To Adam Lambert -- lose the emo-cyborg look. It's so five years ago. Not to be a gross generalizer, but considering you're a gay dude, you should have better fashion sense than that.
