PAUL RODGERS: LIVE IN GLASGOW

Details

• Release Year: 2007
• Genre: Music
• Plot: Outgoing (as of 2007) British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a onetime rock musician and promoter, once said that if he could sing like Paul Rodgers, he might never have entered politics. Whether that would have been music's gain and Parliament's loss is debatable, but Live in Glasgow is further evidence that Rodgers is a worthy role model. While he went on to stardom and the commercial big time with Bad Company and the Firm (with Jimmy Page), and more recently fronted the re-constituted Queen in Freddie Mercury's stead (a strange pairing that worked well nonetheless), many would argue that Rodgers' best band was his first: Free, the late '60s-early '70s blues-rock quartet that was a model of spare soul combined with a melodic pop sensibility, with Rogers' vocals leading the way. Rodgers apparently agrees; no less than nine songs in this 80-minute concert are drawn from the Free catalogue, including not only their one big hit, 'All Right Now,' but also a number of more obscure but still excellent tunes like 'Wishing Well,' 'I'll Be Creepin',' and 'Be My Friend.' His band, too, does a pretty decent job of reviving the Free spirit; guitarist Howard Leese, formerly of Heart, fairly channels the late Paul Kossoff on several solos, albeit with less restraint. There are four songs from the Bad Company era ('Can't Get Enough' and 'Feel Like Makin' Love' are among them, natch) and just one, 'Radioactive,' from the Firm (probably no coincidence, as that band was neither Page's nor Rodgers' finest moment). But this is all about the singer, who, if anything, has improved with age. Rodgers can belt the blues, but never goes overboard; he can deliver plenty of grit and passion, but has an appealing tender side as well. And 'Warboys,' the one new song featured here, indicates that while Tony Blair may be done, Paul Rodgers is still a ways from the end of the road. --Sam Graham ; ;
• Runtime: 2:07