You don’t need to be a qualified psychologist to interpret the first song on “Midnight Rose.” “I’m coming home” offers the hook to “Coming Home,” “to the thing that I love.” And, honestly, it sounds like it.
“Midnight Rose,” you see, is the first album of new Paul Rodgers music in almost a quarter of a century, and yet it seems like he’s never been away. He’s had Bad Company out on stage; he’s performed the songs of Free, and he’s been in that other band that we don’t name on this site. But there’s something else too, something that makes him far more ubiquitous: he’s probably the greatest hard rock singer there has ever been. Every time there’s a great voice, you compare it to Paul Rodgers.
That’s why this album matters. This isn’t some run-of-the-mill artist making a return from the wilderness; this is a legend of the game lacing his boots back up and getting back on the pitch.
And if we may stretch the football analogy still further than with the eight tracks here, Paul Rodgers has just curled a 25-yarder into the top corner.
It’s not that it’s ground-breaking. In fact, this is a brilliant record simply because it sounds like Bad Company, and on work like “Photo Shooter,” it’s abundantly clear that no one does this better.
The title track is a slow-burning acoustic piece with a gospel tinge. Its sound is effortlessly huge, in the way that latter-day Springsteen might be.
It’s the one that follows, though, that shines a light on the record. “Living It Up” is from the heart, the fan talking about why he left his home to chase his dreams in America. The beauty of it is that he still sounds just as excited by it. That’s the only one he doesn’t write on his own too, enlisting the help of bassist Todd Ronning and drummer Rick Fedyk.
Interestingly, the production team includes Bob Rock (Bon Jovi, et al.), but also Paul’s wife, Cynthia Rodgers, who also drew the artwork. If it was her who encouraged him to do this, then we should all thank her.
There’s an air of contentment about this entire collection, but nowhere does it sound smoother than “Dance In The Sun.” The laid-back, sunshine-filled grooves mix wonderfully with the backing vocals, and “Take Love” is the type of thing that every hard rock band from Thunder downwards would admit they are trying to recreate. That’s not to say it’s a copy, though; there’s a loose piano, almost Stones-like, and it’s another with clever use of harmonies.
“Highway Robber” is a mid-paced Gunslinger-type thing that all rock ‘n’ roll has, and the harmonica gives it a folky touch, and the last one, “Melting,” goes full-on desert blues. “Get behind me, troubled mind,” he sings. “Look behind and wonder who we are.”
Maybe it’s that questioning that led him back here, that “lit the spark that became a fire,” as he puts it. Whatever it was, though, just be glad it happened because “Midnight Rose” is blooming worth the wait.
Rating 9/10
