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British blues-rock icon Paul Rodgers is still going strong on his UK Tour 2006.
In fact, the legendary singer’s voice is in great shape. This night at the
Lyric Theatre, he rolled back the years backed by his sensational all-American
band – Howard Leese (ex-Heart) and Kurtis Dengler (Electric Shades of Blue)
on guitars, drummer Ryan Hoyle (Collective Soul) and bassist Lynn Sorenson.
The former Free and Bad Company frontman is going through a serious commercial
renaissance via the release of the outstanding Free Forever DVD,
Free's Chronicles and Free's Live At The BBC CDs. With the added
benefit of leading Queen last year, all things are pointing towards Rodgers
once again.
This outstanding gig was a memorable night in many ways. Going back to the
early '70s when I saw Free at the Boxing Arena in Liverpool, this was very
much a sentimental event. Thrilled at seeing him once again, and meeting him
after the show, it brought back floods of memories from that night when a
music-mad teenager went to his first rock gig at the age of 16.
Arguably one of the greatest voices of all time, he’s proving he can still
cut the mustard at the age of 56. The setlist, drawn mostly from his Free
days, some Bad Company and solo releases, the seasoned veteran went all out
to impress - and how.
As the white spotlight draped him, he opened with soulful funky bass-led
I’ll Be Creepin’ with greetings engulfing the venue. Parading the stage
to engage his fans, he was out to have good night, spinning and lofting his
mic stand. Free’s All Right Now follow-up flop, The Stealer
cranked up the pace with the band showing their collective credentials.
Two gems followed – Pony and one of Free’s most treasured songs, the
haunting Be My Friend.
Dropping in “work-in-progress” War Boys (A Prayer For Peace), he
encouraged the crowd to stand and party, though that would take a bit longer
to take effect. When Feel Like Making Love arrived three dancers popped
up at the stage front, which clearly delighted Rodgers. Moving to tinkle the
grand piano, Rodgers launched into the rock blast of Bad Company. A song
with The Maytals, Smile, recorded in Jamaica, was considerably beefed-up for
purpose, as mesmerising 17 year old Dengler and slick Leese went head-to-head
on solos.
The three song run-in became the crowing glory. Fire And Water raised
the stakes. The opening of Wishing Well brought the long overdue party
atmosphere, raising the roof. Then Rodgers asked, "Are you reaaaaaaady ?"
"Yes we’re reaaaaady", we replied to the drumstick countdown of All
Right Now. Chords blasting out, the story of the boy-meets-girl pickup
sent the crowd wild. Leese’s solo (a match for Kossoff’s any day), was the
defining highlight of the show. Rodgers even managed to let us sing the
chorus a few times on our own, to everyone’s delight.
A change of T-shirt for the finale, more thrills followed. Hendrix’s Little
Wing was superb (more dazzling work from Dengler) as was sexy rocker
I’m A Mover. Going out in style, a thumping The Hunter boomed out,
taking the set to another level, again with Dengler and Leese showboating,
whilst Rodgers’ mic stand was lofted and thrown several times, marking a
triumphant return to Manchester.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.Accept
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.