Customer Reviews

Party at the Palace: Queen's Jubilee Concert

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

 

 

(3.5-4*)
This is a decent CD of this historic musical event. We enjoyed the TV coverage of the event by VH1 and Mrs. Osbourne in the USA but inevitably much was cut. The opening National Anthem played by Brian May from the roof top of Buckingham Palace is unforgetable -- visually and aurally wonderful. Unforgivably they cut Tom Jones and Shirly Bassey from the TV coverage. The CD covers more of the Party which is great. However I believe it is not a complete record of the show -- I am pretty sure I heard (a fairly lack lustre version of) "My Guitar Gently Weeps" during the show -- somebody please stick an overdriven Les Paul in EC's hands and tell him to cut loose. I found Sir Paul way too over exposed and in your face for my tastes during the show -- fortunately that is not quite so grating on the CD. Sir Paul led a couple of dud songs during the show of which only one appears on the CD [they needed a shepherd's hook to pull him off really].

Queen (the group!) stole the show - of course nobody can replace Freddie Mercury for vocals but the boys did a surprisingly good job. Other memorable momments included Annie Lennox (always great it seems), Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys doing good vibrations and Ozzy Ozbourne & Tony Iommi playing Paranoid for the Royal family (who could have foreseen that?!). Sir Cliff Richard hamming next to Ozzy was a pretty strange sight too (good Christian Cliff all in white, dark prince Ozzy all in black - clever, eh?!).

This is one of the best tribute CDs ever released, featuring England's rock and roll royalty. Sting is noticeably absent, but a pleasant surprise is the inclusion of Shirley Bassey. She proves that her voice has lost none of its power, as she belts out a strong version of "Goldfinger." Too bad she's not included on the current Goldmember soundtrack. Cliff Richard sounds like a young rocker on the rockabilly classic "Move It." It's bittersweet to hear Queen without Freddie Mercury, but Brian May and company carry on admirably. Sir Elton John must have missed the memo about performing older songs, as he turns in a heartfelt rendition of his current single at the time, "I Want Love." Even Brian Wilson, the only American in the concert, sounds in fine voice on "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations." Tom Jones may have had some royal undergarments thrown his way while singing the sexually suggestive song "You Can Leave Your Hat On." That song was originally sung by Joe Cocker, who is on hand to perform "With A Little Help From My Friends." Rod Stewart immediately follows him with a moving version of "Handbags And Gladrags." Having two gravelly-voiced singers in a row works well, which is further proven on "All You Need Is Love." Rod starts the song off, followed by Joe Cocker and chorus; Sir Paul McCartney joins in midway through the song. Sir Paul leads off the concert closer "Hey Jude," with all of the other artists singing along with the last chorus. I guess my invitation to the party got lost in the mail!

As I understand it the purpose of this concert was to celebrate 50 years of the Queen reign with a sampling of music from the time period. I think Prince William & Harry were supposed to have had a hand in the choice of artists selected, Queen Victoria must be spinning in her grave.
Some of the performances weren't the best in my opinion, Brian May's God Save the Queen might've been something to see from the roof of the Palace but it didn't sound like much. I thought Bryan Adams #5 Eveything I do was pretty good as was #16 Layla by Eric Clapton and #2 Can't buy me love by Phil Collins (by my count he was a drummer for 17 of the 21 selections). The Queen might not've been thrilled with it (who picked Ozzy Osbourne?)but it seems to have pleased an awful lot of people.

The Queens 50th annivesary "Party At The Palace" concert is a collection of mostly vintage[aging] rockers who performed some of their signature tunes for the Queen to raise money for her trust. The cd has it's ups and downs, but overall it makes for an enjoyable nostalgic listen. The highlights include Rod Stewart's "Handbags", Steve Winwood "Gimmie Some Lovin", Eric Clapton "Layla", Joe Cocker "With A Little Help From My Friends" and a fabulous version of "All You Need Is Love" in Which Sir Paul lets Rod Stewart and Joe Cocker sing lead. Paul McCartney ends the show with a resounding "Hey Jude" sing along. I must say That Brian Wilsons "God Only Knows" and "Good Vibrations" are the best moments on the cd. His singing was fantastic. Some of the low points include Cliff Richard, Tom Jones[singing a horrible rendition of "You Can Leave Your Hat On"], Atomic Kitten and Queen minus Freddie mercury isn't the same. Still the good outweighs the bad here making this an enjoyable cd but certainly not essential.