I was curious what the forum thought about Adam Lambert's tours with Queen? I thought it might lead to some interesting conversations. Obviously nobody can replace Freddie, but wondering what everyone thought about this particular topic.

This guy is Freddie reincarnated, IMO. Outstanding !!!

Trax

It's a match made in heaven. Adam is flat out fabulous with Queen! I don't they could have found a better singer or a better fit.

Far better than Journey with the guy THEY use now..... Lambert is very good. Got to give him his props.

I will have to give this video a watch later! It's one of those things where you either have to make Queen songs your own which is incredibly hard to do, or you have to and replicate them. I would be very curious to see how the gentleman you linked holds up.

He's flamboyant in all the right ways, and in a lot of ways has the same over-the-top yet understated allure that Freddie did that you can't quite place. I got the chance to see Adam Lambert and Queen in Vancouver for my birthday a few years ago, and it was such an fantastic show. They did a montage and memorial piece for Freddie where it was a bunch of clips of Freddie singing one of his songs, and Lambert just bowed out for the entire song and just watched the footage and gave Freddie his time to be there, even though he wasn't really there. It felt really respectful, and the crowd went crazy for it.

I actually don't think I've seen who is touring with Journey. I'll have to look in to it later.

The thing I like about Lambert is that he has a really great range that can easily match Freddie's, but he also can easily fit in to a more rock genre despite being a more of a pop/electronic pop singer. I like that he can adapt, but also that he's not trying to be Freddie directly.

They certainly have a nice balance together.

Personally, I prefer his earlier video. He still does a great job at imitation at any rate.



As far as Adam, I love that he obviously loves Freddie; but still is himself. To me, it seems like he was a logical choice...maybe a little too logical. There is a small part of me that wonders if that was all a set up...I mean his audition was a Queen song; and he ends up be the lead singer of the band. Could be extremely clever marketing. Or, perfect timing. All good either way by me.

As far as Arnel, I think he does a GREAT job and has a fantastic attitude. He's not Steve Perry and can't sing everything the way Steve did...but...I kind of think Steve can't anymore either. I love both of those singers.

Makes it a damn good tribute band.

To me it would be like hiring someone to replace John Lennon and George Harrison, playing the songs as they were recorded, and still calling it "The Beatles".

Or taking 3 of the original members of "The Dave Brubeck Quartet" and hiring a new pianist who can play like Brubeck and still calling it "The Dave Brubeck Quartet".

I might still like the new groups, but to me they wouldn't be the same.

I know the group "Jay And The Americans" had 3 different Jay's, the second one's real name was David. I like the first two editions for different reasons and haven't heard the latest one.

I think Adam does a great job and I don't want to diminish his talent or effort.

I wish them all the luck in the world (though I doubt that they will need luck).

Insights and incites by Notes

I think he is a great fit for that band.

They tried before using Paul Rodgers (singer from "Bad Company" and "Free") which had some nice moments, I actually have a DVD from one of those concerts.

But Adam is a much more natural fit, it is more like "Queen" instead of "Queen with Paul Rodgers".

Are they doing any new material, or just playing the old hits?

I think Adam is a super singer and remember thinking Freddie Mercury the first time I heard him sing. I guess the difference would be whether they just sing the old songs, or do new material as to whether they are considered a tribute band. Otherwise, you could also make the argument that Chicago has just been a tribute band since 1978, when Terry Kath passed away.

I too find he is a good fit for the band. You obviously can't replace Freddie, but Adam Lambert does put his own spin on it that pays homage well to the original.

I would be most interested to hear new material where Adam does himself instead of Freddie.

Notes

I was going to ask that. Are they actually writing songs or are they just a Queen oldies band?

(cue "Twilight Zone" music)...

So I had to post to this thread. You're won't believe this, but my wife is TODAY wearing a black tee-shirt that says, "Queen + Adam Lambert -- 2014 North American Tour"!

We saw them in Dallas. Fantastic. I couldn't imagine them with anyone else ("Freddie's Dead"--Curtis Mayfield), but that Martel guy posted here above is fantastic.

Lambert, in addition to the voice, commands the stage. It just felt like this was Queen. (Never saw all the original guys.)

BTW, IMO Queen was much more than Freddie, as great as Freddie was. Incredible guitar work!

Great, great concert! We drove a couple hundred miles and spent the night to see them. Totally worth it, and my wife was the one that was all hot to go see them.

Adam Lambert does have his own solo stuff, but as for Queen - no, they strictly do older Queen material.

Adam Lambert's solo stuff isn't my cup of tea, but he's definitely a talented fellow.

I don't think they're doing any new material, at least not that I know of. When I saw them it was all the hits you'd come to expect from Queen, just with Adam singing. That being said, it was a few years ago and I have no idea if they're making new music together. I'll have to look in to that, methinks!

Edit: Oh, looks like Deryk already beat me to the confirmation.

This is true, and I think something that not everyone thinks about -- myself included. We tend to think of Freddie when we think of Queen, and less so of all the other people who made Queen what they were and what they still are today. Thank you for reminding me of that.

Actually, while Freddie really was the "voice" of Queen, I generally give equal billing to Brian May for creating the Queen sound. If you look at the first seven albums, you will see them clearly labeled "no synths", because all that neat sound was done by Brian on guitars and other real instruments. Sure, there were effects, but they weren't synthesizers. ("The Game" broke the rules and they then became a synth band.)

I actually started listening to Queen with their first album, and fell in love with that new sound. The whole first side is excellent (IMHO), but definitely not everyone's cup of tea. "Queen II" was very thematic, but didn't have any hits on it, and it is still one of my favorites to listen to beginning to end.

I did start losing interest after "The Works" came out. Radio Ga-Ga just didn't do much for me.

But I do listen to their first 7 or 8 albums on a fairly regular basis.