Much chatter on the blogs and fan sites after Adam Lambert (and Kris Allen) performed We Are the Champions with the two surviving members of Queen on last week's American Idol finale. Could runnerup Adam be Queen's pick as its next lead singer now that they have parted with Paul Rodgers?
Guitarist Brian May, seeking a way to make his group relevant again for the first time since flamboyant original leader Freddie Mercury died in 1991, told Rolling Stone: "(Drummer Roger Taylor) and I are definitely hoping to have a meaningful conversation with him at some point. It's not like we, as Queen, would rush into coalescing with another singer just like that. It isn't that easy. But I'd certainly like to work with Adam. That is one amazing instrument he has there.''
May is certainly correct in that. Adam's instrument is certainly a better fit in Queen than Paul Rodgers' was. The Bad Company singer was an ill-fit in Queen. He did an adaquate classic rock job on the tours but the sole studio album they put out with Rodgers, Cosmos Rocking, was the most embarrassing effort in the Queen canon (and that's pretty lame if you include the ill-fated Flash soundtrack nearly 30 years ago). Lambert certainly has more vocal range and style and flair than the comparitively bland, colorless Rodgers.
But don't expect anything to come of this. If I were Adam's agent -- and I'm not -- I would advise him to graciously thank Brian and Roger and say "Thanks, but no thanks." The last thing Adam needs to do is step into a band of senior citizens to sing songs written and popularized by a beloved dead man years before Adam, 27, was even born.
Bad move. Sure, it would reenergize Queen considerably more than stodgy Rodgers managed, but creatively Adam needs to be on his own to sing original material and shape his own act. Queen were great and they had their time and their best music endures. But Queen has not written an album's worth of great material that has mattered since 1980's The Game. It's Adam's time now and I have no doubt he'll use it wisely and pop music will be the beneficiary.
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Photo: AP
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