Two Words, One Answer.
Roger Taylor
 Keep Yourself Alive (Limited Cd 5 Versions) $29.88 1998 . This was AN ULTRA LIMITED EDITION. It comes in a standard jewel box with a front and back cover and a beautifully silk screened disc. Their are 5 versions, some which are EXTREMELY RARE VERSIONS of Keep Yourself Alive. The versions are: long lost original version, bbc version,l ive killers version, album version, and 1998 remastered version, The catalogue number is: 11032  Electric Fire $28.98 At the time of writing, this is Roger Taylor's most recent solo album. There are not as many stand-out tracks as on "Happiness?", but it does have more to satisfy this listener than "Strange Frontier". With Roger, it is quite difficult to describe his material! There isn't too much that is "Heavy" on here, but the intelligence behind the songs elevates them to much more than "pop" music. I am a HUGE fan of Queen, but other than that I listen to classical and the vilest form of Black MeTal, so let that be the perspective that you read this review through. I find all of Roger's releases to be very very listenable, and each one has songs that you will never forget. This one features a cover of John Lennon's "Working Class Hero" that is spiteful and morbid, as the lyrics intend. In fact, most of Roger's lyrics are acerbic, with varying degrees of wit. There is nothing that is too "weird" on this album...perhaps the "weirdest" would've been his first, "Fun In Space", but even that was just a collection of very solid pop/rock songs. Many reviewers read far too much into these releases...let me tell you, if a MeTalhead like me doesn't find anything "hard to grasp" on these albums, neither should anyone else. I imagine they are easier to decipher if you are fans of Queen, but more particularly the British sense of humour. For you Queen fans that are unfamiliar with these albums, you will note that they are not too much like Queen...there are some songs similar to "Drowse" or "Rock It(Prime Jive)" or even "Radio Ga-Ga", but usually much more personal and less bombastic(of course, who is MORE 'bombastic' than Queen?). Stand-out tracks on this album include the rocking "Nation of Haircuts" and the tender, airy "The Whisperers", as well as the heart-felt tribute to friendship "Tonight". Another great album from Roger!  The Call of the Sword $15.99 I read the complete series of Chronicles of Hawklan a number of years ago. I couldn't put them down. I read one after the other. All of the books were excellent, with the exception of Whistler. For some reason, I struggled with that one. But all the rest were a very good read. Interesting characters and plot - a lot of action. It is an epic story that I thoroughly enjoyed and was sad when I read the last book. This series would make a great set of movies (if you are a LOTR fan, you will enjoy these books!) 1 The Call of the Sword (1988) (ISBN 1-84319-078-8) 2 The Fall of Fyorlund (1989) (ISBN 1-84319-111-3) 3 The Waking of Orthlund (1989) (ISBN 1-84319-139-3) 4 Into Narsindal (1990) (ISBN 1-84319-147-4) 5 Dream Finder (1991) (ISBN 1-84319-155-5) 6 Farnor (1992) (ISBN 1-84319-179-2) 7 Valderen (1993) (ISBN 1-84319-189-X) 8 Whistler (1994) (ISBN 1-84319-197-0) 9 Ibryen (1995)(ISBN 1-84319-216-0) 10 Arash-Felloren (1996) (ISBN 1-84319-224-1) 11 Caddoran (1998) (ISBN 1-84319-232-2) 12 The Return of the Sword (1999) (ISBN 1-84319-240-3) |
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