The name Paul Rodgers is usually associated with legendary classic rock bands like Bad Company and Free but something you might not know is that he has had a deep love affair with roots based music for a long, long time.
The Royal Sessions is clearly a labor of love and pays loving homage to this music he holds dear. He collected these songs as a youth on 45s released on Stax/Volt, Goldwax and Hi Records. All of the songs on The Royal Sessions were hand-picked by Rodgers and he displays his powerful vocals soulfully, complimenting the incredible musicianship of Memphis in a magic way.
The opportunity to record this fantastic piece of work came together as Rodgers was working on a solo record and producer Perry Margouleff discovered that Royal Studios was still up and running under the auspices of Willie “Pops” Mitchell’s son Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell. It turned out to be a dream come true for Rodgers, getting to record these songs that had such a deep meaning for him and with such great historical significance. The Memphis players forged an immediate bond when presented with his formidable talent and sincere love of the songs.
Rodgers said that they all spoke the same language in the room and he could really feel the love. It really does show, they were clearly all in the pocket throughout this entire release. “The Royal Sessions” was recorded in an all analogue format live in the storied Royal studio in Memphis and the sonic quality is thick, rich and very pleasing to the ear. Rodgers was paired with a classic rhythm section full of all-stars that played on some of the original hits dating back to the ’60′s. The roster of musicians includes Reverend Charles Hodges (Hammond B3), Michael Tolls (guitar), LeRoy Hodges Jr. (bass), “Hubby” Archie Turner (Wurlitzer), Steve Potts and James Robertson Sr. (drums), The Royal Horns and the Royal Singers.
Tracklist:
01. I Thank You (3:11)
02. Down Don’t Bother Me (2:17)
03. I Can’t Stand The Rain (4:05)
04. I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now) (5:37)
05. That’s How Strong My Love Is (3:16)
06. Walk On By (6:49)
07. Any Ole Way (2:39)
08. It’s Growing (3:06)
09. Born Under A Bad Sign (4:09)
10. I’ve Got Dreams To Remember (6:33)
Deluxe Edition:
11. Shake (3:26)
12. Walk In My Shadow (2:59)
13. Wonderful World (3:15)
Media Info:
Bitrate: 320 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.99
MPEG-1 layer 3
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