Customer Reviews

Now

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Such a deal! Not one, but two CD's worth of material from one of rock's greatest singers at a great price! The first set, Now, was recorded in 1997 and it's great to hear Paul Rodger's fabulous voice with an up-to-date sound and (almost) current production values. The material is very good, too, especially the soaring new classic, "Hold Back the Storm," which closes the set. Like wind-driven waves on a beach, this song builds to climax after climax, and is as good as anything Paul has done in years. "Soul of Love" and "Nights Like This" are also standouts. Then, on disc two, Paul and his solo band perform hits from Free, Bad Company, and solo discs to an adoring audience in Germany. (Yes, the audience singalong of a big hit always sounds cheesy on record, but a group of boisterous, boozy locals singing "All Right Now" with a pronounced German accent is not to be missed.) Highlights here include all the Free songs and all the numbers from Paul's tribute album, Muddy Water Blues. Particulary good is an excellent jam version of "Rollin' Stone," complete with whistle and other train sound effects by former Crawler and Paul McCartney guitarist Geoff Whitehorn. In sum, a fine set, especially considering you get double the music for the price of a single CD.

The classic British rock vocalist of Free and original BadCo fame returns with a double CD of new material and some previous live recordings. The new material in "Now" represents some of his finest work since his 1983 solo project called "Cut Loose." "Now" can be considered a Paul Rodgers career summary wrapped up in eleven songs. The power rock opening cut "Soul Of Love" brings back memories of BadCo's "Good Lovin' Gone Bad" as does "Holding Back The Storm" - pure classic original Bad Company material from the mid-70's. Rodgers also remains true to his blues roots by mixing in a quick and catchy "Overloaded" and the gospel-like "Love Is All I Need." He also extends his vocal range with the ballad "All I Want Is You" and a rockin powerful piece called "I Lost It All." The CD allows Rodgers, with his new band, to re-live the past and move on to the future in a refreshing, well-written and well-produced manner (the CD is crisp and clear). The live material is best represented by a moving six-minute version of "Be My Friend" - a song which accents the bluesy vocals which have made Rodgers the legendary voice of past and now present again.

I'll try not to retread the other reviews that were correct in how great a singer PR is. The now ablum is refressing and would easily had many hits if released in the mid 80's. The Live ablum is a mixture of Bad Co classics, Free, and heavy blues. This is damn impressive stuff.

The other reviews missed one thing, the first two songs of the live portion are better than most discs in total.

What a great comeback for Paul Rodgers in 1997!This album sounds like the glory days of Free and Bad Company and yet very modern...so get it,treasure it,wear it out!

Hearing Rodger's lastest versions of the old Free Classic's, almost re-kindles memories of Free concerts from the early '70's. This two CD package is a great deal and an excellent mix of old and new.

Fans of Paul Rodgers' work with Bad Company and especially Free will absolutely love the Live cd of this set. Recorded in Germany, this disc contains some classic Free material that really showcase Paul's magnificent voice. The set opens with Little Bit of Love and keeps soaring from there, with Paul giving an inspired rendition of Be My Friend, in my opinion, Free's most underrated song. The middle section has a definite blues vibe with stirring takes of Louisiana Blues, Muddy Water Blues, Rolling Stone and I'm Ready. The first cd, Now, of original material has some really nice songs. Soul of Love, which was a minor hit, starts it off nicely. Other gems include Heart of Fire, Saving Grace, All I Want is You and I Lost It All. Really, if you appreciate the vocal talents of Paul Rodgers, anything he sings sounds pretty damn good. All in all, this is a definite worthy addition to your collection.

Having been a lifelong fan of "FREE" and "BAD COMPANY" etc. Paul Rodgers has always been a great favourite of mine. His voice (in my opinion) is probably the best there is for a "white blues vocalist" who can also easily turn his hand to other types of music!

I purchased "Paul Rodgers - Now" a few years ago and, loved it! The album covers the whole spectrum of Paul's capabilities so when it was (ahem), borrowed forever I was gutted, buying it again was never a question but, when "and LIVE" came as part of the package, well, seventh heaven! OK, so Kossoff, Kirk and Frasier weren't with him on the Free tracks but they are still brilliant!

All in all excellent value for money!!!

The more I listen to this, the more I like it. One of the greatest voices in Rock Period. Check out all of his stuff. Free, Bad Co., The Firm, Solo.
All Good.

I liked the "Then" disc because it had some great classic tunes on it, but the "Now" disc was really impressive with the almost spiritual sound Paul incorperated into some of the new songs he has writtem. The whole disc is great but I particularlly liked "Nights Like This".The title is self explanitory and perfect for just those times.A couple other top tunes are "All I Want Is You" & "Heart of Fire". I mentioned earlier that some of the songs had a spiritual "sound" to them, and while Paul is not known for being a "Christian Rock" artist his heart must have had a brush with the Lord because he certainly sounds "annointed".This is DEFINATELY one (or actually two) CD you will want to add to your collection if you are a Paul Rodgers fan. Great job Paul!

Soulful but still rocks, some in vain of earlier Clapton, which I suppose is probably an obvious comparison. Rich, more mature songwriting. I consider one of my favorite Rodger's outings.