A reassuringly rocking return
I wasn’t sure what I was going to make of this single when I received it; I also wasn’t totally sure what I wanted to make of it either. That argument of whether a band should try and continue having lost such an iconic member was raging inside my head (remembering when Iron Maiden didn’t have Bruce for a period in the nineties), especially when you take into account the remaining members are set up for several lifetimes financially. So I did what everyone should do in these situations: forget who the song is by and consider it purely as a peace of music standing on it’s own feet. I’m pleased to report that ‘C-lebrity’ is a perfectly decent slab of rock done the classic way.
It’s an obvious observation to make, but initially it’s hard to think of this as a Queen song, however their trademark vocal harmonies dominate as they provide the song’s catchy chorus hook. The guitar riffs sit in the box labeled “reminiscent of ‘Hammer to Fall’” which is clearly no bad thing, and the over riding impression left as the track comes to it’s abrupt end is, Queen with Paul Rodgers are releasing a track that could easily have been a strong offering in the days of Freddie.
As an appitiser for new album ‘The Cosmos Rocks’ this single does the trick as I for one am now very interested to hear what the rest of the LP sounds like. There will naturally be those unable to consider the new Queen material on merit, be that as a result of fanaticism or simply snobbishness, but as a return to satisfy the demand their hugely successful tour suggests there is, it ain’t half bad at all.