Paul Rodgers

In a career dating back to 1968, Now was only Paul Rodgers' second solo album of original material, following 1983's Cut Loose. Of course, in that time he fronted Free, Bad Company, the Firm and the Law, and in the early 1990s crafted tributes to Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix, so he wasn't exactly idle. Now was an album for Free and Bad Company fans, recreating those groups' guitar-bass-drums backing and bluesy hard rock sound. It has always been amazing that a singer as distinctive as Rodgers, whose gruff voice can be identified within seconds, has remained anonymous behind his group monikers.

In 1993, Paul Rodgers released the acclaimed blues based album Muddy Water Blues (now available on Eagle Records) with contributions from many special guest artists with a shared love for the blues. In July 1994 the tour in support of this album rolled into Montreux. The regular tour band was joined through the evening by a number of special guests to create a typically unique Montreux festival performance including an amazing finale of Hoochie Coochie Man where all the guests join in. As well as tracks from the Muddy Water Blues album there are all the classic tracks that you would expect from across Paul Rodgers highly successful career. With guest appearances from: Brian May (Queen), Steve Lukather (Toto), Eddie Kirkland, Sherman Robertson, Luther Allison, Robert Lucas and Kenny Neal.

If you didn't know that Electric was completed in 2000, you could easily assume that it was recorded back in the 1970s. That's because this solo offering isn't much different from the recordings that Paul Rodgers made with Bad Company and Free during his youth. Instead of trying to be relevant to the alternative rock scene of 2000 like some veteran rockers have done, Rodgers excels by sticking with what he does best: 1970s-type arena rock that is slick and bluesy at the same time. "Freedom," "Deep Blue," "Jasmine Flower," and other selections don't break any new ground for the British singer (who wrote and produced all of the material himself), and Electric will hardly be considered cutting-edge by 2000 standards.

If you didn't know that Electric was completed in 2000, you could easily assume that it was recorded back in the 1970s. That's because this solo offering isn't much different from the recordings that Paul Rodgers made with Bad Company and Free during his youth. Instead of trying to be relevant to the alternative rock scene of 2000 like some veteran rockers have done, Rodgers excels by sticking with what he does best: 1970s-type arena rock that is slick and bluesy at the same time…

The set of 10 classic re-recordings of Rodgers hit classics from his repertoire with Free and Bad Company as well as solo tributes to Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix. The miracle is that these renditions are just as powerful as the originals, due in part to the stellar lineup of accompanying players: Jason Bonham on drums, Pino Palladino on bass and guitarists Reeves Gabrels, Jeff Beck, Andy Summers, Neal Schon, Adrian Vandenberg, Ian Hatton and Rodgers himself. Rodgers vocal ability just gets better as he ages and he proves just how good he is on this disc.

Recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, The Royal Sessions sees classic rocker Paul Rodgers – first known as the lead singer of Free, best-known as the frontman of Bad Company and later a Freddie Mercury substitute in Queen – paying tribute to his beloved '60s Southern soul. Rodgers set up camp in Memphis and surrounded himself with many veteran Memphis soul musicians, cutting a collection of deep soul covers – primarily tunes released or recorded at Stax, sometimes songs that were made at Muscle Shoals – that remain faithful to the spirit and arrangements of the originals.

Paul Rodgers is the possessor of one of the great rock voices. As the frontman of first Free and then Bad Company he also established himself as one of the great rock performers and a classic songwriter. In 2005 he joined forces with Queen on their first full tour without Freddie Mercury, an association he has continued with their recent new studio album and accompanying tour. This Blu-ray was filmed in Glasgow on his sell out autumn 2006 UK tour and features powerful performances of songs from across his career.