With his slender stature and long hair, Paul Rodgers was a poster boy of '60s and '70s rock. But the British frontman of such successful groups as
The Free and
Bad Company was also blessed with a blues and soul voice that was as smooth as it was raw, with which he turned songs like Allright Now (The Free) and Can't Get Enough Of Your Love (Bad Company) into timeless classic rock favorites. Notable
… was his role as successor to the late Freddie Mercury on the Queen album The Cosmos Rocks (2008). On Midnight Rose, we hear Rodgers, who immigrated to Canada, at his best in a repertoire of bluesy rock, with a solidly grooving rock band behind him (thank God). But more folky forays with gurgling acoustic guitars are not shunned either, nor is a carried and lingering rock ballad in the form of highlight Highway Robber. Rodgers sounds vital and completely in his element on this red-blooded classic rock album. (MR)more
