Return of the Champions
	Mix produced by Joshua J. Macrae and Justin Shirley-Smith
	Released on September 19, 2005
	UK CHART POSITION #12 . . . US CHART POSITION #84
	Find it at GEMM
62526-2 cover [high resolution scan]

K ronomyth 24.0: RETURN OF THE KA-CHINGPIONS. Queen + Paul Rodgers? Bad Queen, bad. Actually, they should have called this Queen – John Deacon + Paul Rodgers and maybe tossed in a parenthetical statement for the session players like (1 guy we’ve known for while + 2 guys we’ll probably never see again). As some kind of unholy barter, Rodgers is allowed to sing four Bad Company/Free songs: Wishing Well, Feel Like Makin’ Love, Can’t Get Enough and All Right Now. In exchange, he dutifully belts his way through a dozen Queen songs and does a decent job on the ones where it doesn’t really matter: Tie Your Mother Down, I Want To Break Free, Hammer To Fall. On the ones where it would have mattered (Bohemian Rhapsody, We Are The Champions), Rodgers comes up short. IMHLMAO, the highlight of the show is when Rodgers steps away from the microphone and both Taylor and May step in: Say It’s Not True, ’39 and Love of My Life (Taylor later does an awesome job on I’m In Love With My Car). It’s the connection between May, Taylor and the audience that makes this a welcome return. No one was expecting Rodgers to come with them, let alone bring the ghost of BadCo along as a warm-up entr’acte, but at least they didn’t try to perform a medley of Feel Like Gettin' Down And Makin’ Love. In fairness, Rodgers’ voice sounds as good as ever, it was just never a good fit for Queen. The fact remains that Freddie was irreplaceable and no one could have reasonably conceived of Paul Rodgers as a replacement, so the decision here is more about keeping the catalog alive (and, yes, making money) than re-creating the classic Queen experience. If you’re in a nostalgic mood, I’d recommend Queen On Fire or Queen Rock Montreal. [Note: the Japanese DVD version includes a live version of John Lennon's "Imagine" from Hyde Park.]

TRACK LISTING

Disc One

1. REACHING OUT
2. TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN
3. I WANT TO BREAK FREE
4. FAT BOTTOMED GIRLS
5. WISHING WELL
6. ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST
7. CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
8. SAY IT'S NOT TRUE
9. '39
10. LOVE OF MY LIFE
11. HAMMER TO FALL
12. FEEL LIKE MAKIN' LOVE
13. LET THERE BE DRUMS
14. I'M IN LOVE WITH MY CAR
15. GUITAR SOLO
16. LAST HORIZON
    
    Disc Two
    
1. THESE ARE THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES
2. RADIO GAGA
3. CAN'T GET ENOUGH
4. A KIND OF MAGIC
5. I WANT IT ALL
6. BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY
7. THE SHOW MUST GO ON
8. ALL RIGHT NOW
9. WE WILL ROCK YOU
10. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS
11. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN
    
    Bonus DVD
    
1. REACH OUT/TIE YOUR MOTHER DOWN
2. WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS

CREDITS

SPIKE EDNEY -- keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
BRIAN MAY -- guitars, vocals
DANNY MIRANDA -- bass guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
JAMIE MOSES -- guitars, backing vocals
PAUL RODGERS -- vocals, guitars
ROGER TAYLOR -- drums, vocals

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