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LATE LEEDS REVIEW: Express.co.uk

Filed Under () by broddybounce on Saturday, January 24, 2015

Posted at : Saturday, January 24, 2015

uncredited photo from Getty Images as printed in express.co.uk
Here is yet another late review of the Leeds show from Express.co.uk, the online presence of the UK's Daily Express and Sunday Express by writer Paul Jeeves.  He rates it 3 of 5 stars although by the time I finished reading the review and all his accolades for Adam, I wondered why he hadn't given it at least 4 stars.  What do you think?

"...a killer version of Killer Queen."

"...when the song is right boy can this fella sing. He holds all the notes in all the right places and his range is more than impressive."

"I Want It All, Radio GaGa, Crazy Little Thing Called Love all fit Lambert's vocals like a glove and as the crowd embraces him his charisma shines through."



24 comments:

glitzylady said...

@boddybounce
Here's what I thought of this review (I saw it earlier today and I went hmmmmm.....)..

I think the reviewer grudgingly gave it 3 stars out of 5 because he went to it totally prepared to hate it.. and then realized it was pretty darn good..

I didn't **particularly** agree with some of his assessments but I suppose to each his own..

It was his "take" on the show so "it is what it is", as they say..

Backhanded compliments to Adam..

Yes, not everyone is going to love Adam.. I get that.. His opinion. Fair enough..

Dee R Gee said...

I read this one earlier, too. This guy was determined to not like Adam from the get-go, and he stuck to his guns despite being surprised by the quality of the show. He simply could not bring himself to give Adam a true compliment. He had to make it very superficial, ie. "he hits all the notes perfectly," etc.

When we don't WANT to like someone, we generally don't, regardless of what the person does to prove us wrong. I guess I'll give this guy credit to scrunching up the guts to be as positive as he was about Adam. He knows full well how fantastically talented Adam is. It just hurts him to say it.

Anonymous said...

Just saw Brian post a pict with Freddie's mom and sister. Dont know how to post the link here. Lol it's on his FB

glitzylady said...

@Anon 5:50 PM
The picture is on Brian May.com.. and is the same one we featured in our thread about Freddie's mom being at the concert.. No new pics from this concert tonight.. The one posted is from another event.. But a very nice picture!!!

Go to the thread here to see it.. as well as other pics and an interview from 2012 with Jer Bulsara, his lovely mother...

UPDATED!!! Pictures of Freddie Mercury's Lovely Mum @ Queen + Adam Lambert Concert Nottingham UK: Freddie Mercury's Mother & Sister Are In The Audience 1-24-15


http://adamlamberttv.blogspot.com/2015/01/news-from-queen-adam-lambert-concert.html

glitzylady said...

Sorry, meant to say "no new pictures with Brian May, Adam Lambert, etc.." from tonight.. There are pics of Freddie's mother in the audience...

Anonymous said...

I can't believe how hard some fans are to please. Not every review is going to be a glowing six stars out of five review. Not everyone is going to love a concert as much as a die-hard fan no matter who the artist is.

There were very complimentary comments in the review, and not backhanded:
"grows in stature and confidence as he lounges on a chaise-longue, gently fanning himself and swigging champagne, to perform a killer version of Killer Queen."
"Greeting the packed-out Leeds Arena with “Ey Up” is a lovely-touch by the 32-year-old American on his first-ever visit to God’s Own Country and meets with raucous cheers of approval from the 13,000 audience."
"And when the song is right boy can this fella sing. He holds all the notes in all the right places and his range is more than impressive.
I Want It All, Radio GaGa, Crazy Little Thing Called Love all fit Lambert's vocals like a glove and as the crowd embraces him his charisma shines through."

The reviewer admits how impressed he was by the first concert he ever saw and how Freddie set for him a perhaps unfair benchmark. I think it makes the final line very positive and flattering:
"If The Show Must Go On then this killer Queen will certainly rock you."

Overall another great review.

Anonymous said...

No actually it was a new pict. I just checked back on his FB and he removed it. It looked like they were having dinner. I'm not dreaming it up lol It really was posted and now gone for some reason. Wonder why.

Anonymous said...

Ok I stand corrected. He really had posted the pict on his FB but now i found it on his twitter and he said it was from 2011.

JAK said...

My reaction to the review.....now that is a good definition of "to damn with faint praise".

Anonymous said...

It's another great review. No complaints from me.

ICU2;~}INVU4URAQT said...

I don't think it was a bad review, I too think he wasn't prepared to like the concert but obviously is open minded enough to give some credit to Adam and Queen.

I think it is more his writing style. Its abit left of center. His word and phrase choices maybe abit different.

I'll take it as a positive review.

Keep on keeping on........

Dee R Gee said...

JAK, you said just what I feel, too, except you said it much more succinctly.

Anonymous said...

I liked this review; it is honest and no doubt represents the way "luke-warm to indifferent" people feel about QUEEN and also ADAM. My Sister took me to see the live show as a gift. She doesn't particularly like Adam's voice or style -- says he's too intense and noisy. And she gets tired of me gushing over him and lets me know she doesn't want to hear my accounts of his progress or his songs. She says, "He is definitely gorgeous and charming. And he CAN sing! I just happen not to like WHAT he sings and how he sings it even though he IS talented. He's just not my type." I respect that reality in my Sister as I do with this reviewer.
Beverly

Anonymous said...

On another note, there is something that is bothering me and there's no place I know of to express it except here. So, thanks for being here and reading "my problem." :)
When I watch Freddie, (whom I have always enjoyed), I see a kind of "exciting soldier of music onstage attacking the notes and the audience with his powerful middle range." He thrusts his chest across the stage and always looks like a triumphant warrior up there.

When I see Adam (whom I always enjoy), I am seduced by his moody playfulness and rolling pelvic thrusts. Adam is so completely androgynous he seems to have this effect on both men AND women. In fact, without even trying, Adam seems to be able to seduce everything that moves (haha) including musical notes. With his greatest vocal power and purity of tone in the upper register of his voice, he comes across to me as being more melodious and nuanced than Freddie.

I experience these two great singers completely differently. The only thing that unites them in my mind and tempts me to want to compare them is that they are both singing over the same songs musical arrangements --and in the same keys. Sooooooo, all of these UNENDING comparisons between Adam and Freddie are irritating to me. I don't long for Adam to re-record these classics that have already been done adequately with the present musical arrangements. I would prefer Brian and Roger and Son -- and some new additions to the band to write and record NEW music for the Frontman who is the unique ADAM LAMBERT. We all know that Adam is a great singer and CAN sing and perform anything -- including the QUEEN catalog -- with entertaining skill. But, when he sings the QUEEN anthems he will always be in the shadow of Freddie because of the underlying musical arrangements that were written by and for Freddie's "attacking" vocal style. People love Adam's "Killer Queen" and "Dragon Attack" and "Who Wants to Live Forever" so breathlessly because they are so true to who Adam is -- a great, great voice gifted to a great, great emotionally nuanced, sensual (SEXUAL) performer.

I am grateful for AND ENJOY this one time world tour. I have always hoped this tour would happen. But I hope that Adam will then be free to be Adam in his own glory -- with or without the QUEEN band.

There, I said it and I'm glad. Hope I haven't violated any Glambert rules of engagement :).

Beverly

Anonymous said...

Beverly, Thank you! I agree with everything that you said; and I would not change a thing. So glad you expressed what I feel. You were so fair to Adam and Freddie. So funny, that I felt the exact same way about Freddie's deliverly of the songs and Adam's deliverly.

You expressed yourself very respectfully towards both men! I too am excited for Adam to get on with his own music, at least for the time being. Also, if they do tour together again; perhaps Brian could ask Adam to sing one of his songs as a bonus; since he is not actually a member of Queen, but a very important occasional guest; that way his own songs could reach millions!!!!

Thanks again for your thoughtful respectful take on Adam and Freddie!

Belle

Anonymous said...

This review was fine. Not every reviewer is going to fall head over heels in love with Adam - and the scathing comments from BSC Glamberts are unnecessary and embarrassing.

I'm looking forward to hearing Adam's own music.

Anonymous said...

Thank YOU, Belle for taking the time to read and comment. It's been on my heart so long, it was getting too heavy. Glad I could share it and be understood.

Beverly

Anonymous said...

OMG, why do those crazy fans write such rude things to the critic? They are doing Adam more harm than good.

LAMBERT Outlaw said...

Why is it that the critics are allowed to say anything they darn well please & we the fans must remain the 'silent majority' when we disagree with them?? I have read this review & I must say that this man went to the concert with the attitude that he was NOT going to like it ... not just ADAM but Brian & Roger as well. He made them sound like two scrufty old men who were still trying to relive their youth!! Any compliments he gave to ADAM were certainly 'left-handed' and reluctant. I could read between the lines & apparently so did a lot of fans who are being called to task for expressing their opinions. Well ... what's sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander as they say ... if he's going to dish it out ... then he's going to have to take it too!! I don't usually say much on these threads but all this hush-hush don't say anything ... just sit back & take is just a little more than I can do without venting ... sorry if I broke any rules but I had to say something this time.

tess4ADAM(LAMBERT Outlaw)

Anonymous said...

"Why is it that the critics are allowed to say anything they darn well please & we the fans must remain the 'silent majority' when we disagree with them??"

We ARE free to disagree. It would be nice if we could do it without making fools of ourselves. Reviewers are paid to review. They usually have a history of music appreciation and concert-going, which is why they have been given a media platform and a ticket to the event.

Are they posturing a proving their street cred? Often.

Are they sometimes unknowledgeable and uninterested enough in a band to put out incorrect info? Sometimes?

Do they leave before they have seen a quarter of the show? Frequently.

Do they crib from earlier reviews to meet their print deadlines? Yup!

Such is criticism and such is life. Tomorrow they will be reviewing another show and Queen will be performing in a new city.

Reviews are mosquito bites and this review is nice enough in places to be a reasonably small one. It will only hurt more if you scratch it.

Anonymous said...

Tess4Adam,
It is the way that the fans replied to the critic that is the issue to me. They were rude, ranting and accusatory.

Additionally Shosh and Adam have asked fans to not reply to the media like that. I think that is because it reflects poorly on Adam and his fandom. You never know where that critic will play a role in the future.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't respond, just that it may not be worth responding, and if you do respond to keep in mind Adam and at least be civil.

As an additional thought, it is a critic's job to write a review. Not everyone is going to like the same things. What is wrong with someone not liking Adam as much as we fans do?

I'm sure if I were to write a review of a Gaga concert her Little Monsters would tear me apart. I don't have to like Gaga as much as they do and look at the reputation the monsters have created for themselves. It's not good.

LAMBERT Outlaw said...

I agree that the fans should be respectful when answering a review they don't feel is fair ... that's not my point ... but why can't we rebut it in a positive manner? I get the impression that we're not to say anything when the review isn't to our liking. I think letting the reviewer know that we disagree & why is better than just letting it go. Others who haven't seen or heard the show/vids will get the impression that they might as well just skip it if it is that lousy ... especially those who have never heard of ADAM or even QUEEN! Somebody has to stand up for them in a respectful manner & let others know about how genuinely entertaining the show is .. JMO

tess4ADAM(LAMBERT Outlaw)

yada said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
yada said...

Beverly... Not sure you're still coming to this thread, but I hope you might see this.

Your 10:11 post... Wow, could not have been said any better, IMO. You shared so much of what has been on my heart as well... and my assertions and analysis with regard to Freddie with Queen's music and Adam with the same.

You didn't compare Adam & Freddie - in fact, you translated much clarity within context of a resolving truth: Freddie & Adam simply CANNOT be compared. They are completely different singers, and frankly, different showmen.... offering (or offered, in Freddie's case) very different experiences.

.... Both living out the music of Queen (Freddie, still in legacy) and delivering their timeless musical genius.

IMO, your assessments of both frontmen are right on-point, and insightful. Your description of Freddie's stage presence and Adam's essence on stage were like straight from my brain - the very thoughts I've had myself... but you stated them much more fluently. Thank you! I feel a little lighter, too. ;)

I would also choose that Queen & Adam compose new material if they were to ever record (though I don't see it as likely a this point) versus recording current Queen/Freddie material; as the remarkable shadow & legacy of Freddie would always factor in with Adam from a marketing standpoint. I do believe that Adam is the only one who could have possibly pulled all this off... with the tremendous dedication, remarkable patience, incomparable skill and ample understanding and grace that he has; considering that.

I admit though, because I SO adore Adam's WWTLF, Save Me, Love Kills and Dragon Attack... with Adam's "special sauce" he throws into them... It would be a seller for me if they ever did record those songs (and more) together.

That said...
Your post - magnifique! :)