Customer Reviews

Strange Frontier

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was Roger Taylor's best solo album and proves him as a great artist in his own right , with his rock rhythms which should appeal to any lover of rock.
Sort of a combination of Smokey and Bruce Springsteen.
My personal favourites are
The angry rocker -Man On Fire , which tells of alienation and frustration.

Strange Frontier - intelligent lyrics combined with perfect synthesis of different tempos merging into one another.
Strange Frontier tells of dangerous times and living through them.
"Take your children while you can
But there's nowhere you can run
No more tears and no more fun".

And the ballad Beautiful Dreams

Taylor's version of the Dylan hit Master Of War.

Taylor certainly should built up his own fan base , with his own special style.

Strange frontier was first released on vinal in 1980 or 81. After wearing out my copy I've been searching for it ever since. If you like Fun in Space you will love this one. Overshaddowed by Freddie and Brian while with Queen, this album really shows the true talent of Roger Taylor.

i picked this vinyl up at its release and played it very little. It didn't seem to move me too much. Recently while transferring my Vinyl to digital I got the chance to hear it again "for the first time". It's really a fine effort. Taylor leans heavily on synth and programming but never fails to let the silicon chips block out the soul. We even get to hear a bit of Brian May guitar. Lush in its production Taylor layers his sound so well it still sounds pretty fresh today amid all the synth drums, sound swells and blips and bleeps from the synths. All is not perfect however, some melodies fall flat ("beautiful dreams") and Springsteen's "Racing in the Streets" lays flacid, but alas this is not a top choice Springsteen song to cover. High spots are..."Man on Fire" "I cry for You" "Masters of War" and the hauntingly beautiful "Killing Time". Taylor was indeed ahead of his time. At least he was on my timepiece.

While this was perhaps Taylor's best solo album, considering the combo of polish and catchy cuts, his work with The Cross was far superior. Unfortunately, the three albums he made with that group are no longer in print ("Shove It", "Mad, Bad & Dangerous to Know", and "Blue Rock"). And although it was rough hewn, I enjoyed "Fun in Space" far more overall.

Well, in the large non-queen career of Roger this album marks the break between the old and the new style of Roger's music. We see a lot of experiments on it (Killing time, Abandonfire, I Cry for you, Masters of War) along with old style songs (Man on fire, It's an ilussion, Young Lovers, Racing in the Streets). We hear in this album a lot of electronic drums and keyboards, that even though put Roger away from his old/classical style, make a really good album as a whole. My favourites are Racing in the Streets, Man on fire and Killing time. My "less" favourite is Abandonfire by far.

Strange Frontier is a killer album with a combination of rock and pop music. Roger continues to subtly incorporate his apolitical views in this album with good, strong tracks like 'Strange Frontier', 'Abandon Fire, and 'Masters of War'. You do not have to be a Queen fan to absolutely love this album! It's all Roger's! I just can't believe how he could write this amazing solo album while hits for Queen at the same time.

I agree with all the reviewers, and I too came to this album late, though I've always been a Queen fan. But, after all the Springsteen influences, I discerned a strong Bowie and Eno influence, and even on one tune, a Lou Reed influence. This was the mid-80s, after all. A nice album, much better than much of the dreck today.

Strange Frontier is RT's second solo album. It is a solid album with 8 original songs and two covers. The highlights of the album are the title track and Man on Fire (although you are doing yourself a disservice by only listening to the songs - check out the music videos for a real trip back to the early 80s!). It's an Illusion and Killing Time are two other strong songs. The Springsteen cover (Racing in the Streets) was probably a mistake - Springsteen's songs are musically too recognizable and in this particular song RT's voice is too similar to Springsteen's. The inclusion of this track on the album likely brought on a deluge of Springsteen comparisons that really aren't appropriate (it really is only this song that they sound at all alike). The Dylan cover is better (since RT can actually sing) and politically aligns with some themes that RT has also touched on in songs he has written. This song fits in better with the album and if you didn't know any better, could pass at an RT original. This album is fun to listen to and shows some real flashes of brilliance on RT's part. Check this album and his other solo work out.

Roger Taylor is not just a great drummer (Queen), but also a good composer and singer. I have this album in vinyl and now in CD. This is a good job. It doesn't seem with Queen. It really sounds different, as a real solo project. I stil prefer the first Roger's album, Fun in Space, but this is a good job too.

Very good example of a typical Roger's style at drums and guitar.
He is doing very well on this album what he does best - good, energetic, sensible and creative music! I recommend.