Fun in Space (©1981 Parlophone)

1: No Violins 2: Laugh Or Cry 3: Future Management 4: Let's Get Crazy 5: My Country I & II 6: Good Times Are Now 7: Magic Is Loose 8: Interlude In Constantinople 9: Airheads 10: Fun In Space

. I'd always like Roger's songs - my first exposure to his stuff was I'm in Love with My Car, the B-side to Bohemian Rhapsody. So when Roger released his first solo album Fun in Space it soon became one of my favourite albums. Who'd a figured the drummer from Queen was so great on his own? This is a far cry from the sound of Queen, but you can hear many of the elements Roger brought to the table.

Fast forward over twenty years and I finally found a copy of CD, and boy does it sound great! Roger essentially handled all of the musical chores here, and the results are outstanding. Of course I'm listening to this now with a mixture of nostalgia while taking it at face value over twenty years later. Sure some of it is kind of dated, but it sounds remarkably fresh. Let's Get Crazy still puts a big stupid grin on my face when I hear it. Quite possible the best track on the album is My Country I & II.

This is classic stuff kiddies, and if you haven't heard this shame on you.

Reviewed September 20, 2004

Strange Frontier(©1984 Parlophone)

1: Strange Frontier 2: Beautiful Dreams 3: Man On Fire 4: Racing In The Street 5: Masters Of War 6: Killing Time 7: Abandonfire 8: Young Love 9: It's An Illusion 10: I Cry For You (Love, Hope and Confusion)

Back in '84 when this first came out, I bought it right out of the box. Man on Fire got a bit of airplay which was pretty cool, but it was the weird tracks that really caught my attention.

Remember this was back when Springsteen ruled the airwaves, and oddly enough, Roger covers the Boss on Racing in the Street. His version of Dylan's Masters of War is brilliant. He sounds pretty bloody pissed off thank you very much. But where Roger really takes it to the next level are on songs like the strangely haunting Beautiful Dreams. His ability to mix the electronic and good old rock and roll is pretty freaking cool.

I still really like this one a lot, and while if I was listening to it now for the first time I probably wouldn't give it five stars, back in '84 I played this one nearly to death, it was excellent then, and it's still pretty bloody good now.

Pretty simple really, after all, this was strange stuff (what were you waiting for me to try and work a frontier reference in there someplace ... I tried, couldn't think of anything).

Reviewed September 20, 2004
(otherwise known as Roger Taylor day at my house)

Happiness? (©1984 Parlophone)

1: Nazis 1994 2: Happiness 3: Revelations 4: Touch The Sky 5: Foreign Sand 6: Freedom Train 7: You Had To Be There 8: The Key 9: Everybody Hurts Sometimes 10: Loneliness... 11: Dear Mr Murdoch 12: Old Friends

Okay, so it took Roger ten years to put out another solo album, and given the sad distribution in North America (sad meaning none), it took me another ten to finally pick it up. I'm coming at this from a different point in my life from his previous albums. I have way more crap at home to listen to now than I did twenty years ago, and my attention span has gotten shorter as I got older. To say I'll be playing this one continuously for several months would be a bit of a stretch. However, I have been playing it consistently for several days - in fact it played all day on my headphones at the office today as I worked on a rather mundane presentation.

Roger can write a hell of a tune, but he's not the world's greatest lyricist. "I went to the Ukraine / They don't have much to eat / no sugar on the table / but the people stay sweet." But he's sincere and manages to pull off the cheese without sounding like a wanker. He's pretty funny too, as when he's skewering Mister Murdoch: "... and my dear Mr. Murdoch you're really the pits / bad news is good for business, you're the king of the tits." Musically this is pretty good, with only a couple of flat bits (okay maybe not flat, I know it's supposed to be dramatic, but it just seems overly melodramatic instead)- most notably Foreign Sand which oddly enough is considered by many this album's finest track - well there's no accounting for taste is there?

He's not quite as out there as he was on his previous efforts, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. There are a lot of really good songs here, and I'm glad I finally snagged a copy.

So it took me a decade, better late than never.

Reviewed September 21, 2004

Electric Fire (©1998 EMI Records)

1: Pressure On 2: A Nation Of Haircuts 3: Believe In Yourself 4: Surrender 5: People On Streets 6: The Whisperers 7: Is It Me? 8: No More Fun 9: Tonight 10: Where Are You Now 11: Working Class Hero 12: London Town - C'mon Down

This one got under my skin almost immediately. I’ve always liked Roger’s solo work, but with Electric Fire he nails it to the wall. From the opening cut Roger is in fine form. Nation of Haircuts, and Surrender rank up there with his best songs ever. He’s not always a lyrical genius and you have to let a song like The Whisperers be what it is, without poking at it. Besides, the music is first rate.

Musically, this probably the most accessible he's ever been - he's gone farther along the path he took on Happiness. It's still got elements of quirkiness, but it's not so overt - which is either a good or bad thing depending on your point of view.

It may not be a perfect album, but I can’t stop listening to it. As to whether or not it's Roger's best solo work, that's up in the air, but I’ve been playing it for months now.

So Roger, it's been a few years I've finally caught up (except for The Cross stuff), where's the next one?

November 25, 2004