The Royal Sessions

2014 studio album by Paul Rodgers
The Royal Sessions
Studio album by
Paul Rodgers
Released4 February 2014
Recorded2013, Royal Studios, Memphis
GenreBlues, soul
Length41:34
Label429 Records, Pie Records
ProducerPerry A. Margouleff [1]
Paul Rodgers chronology
Live in Glasgow
(2007) 		The Royal Sessions
(2014) 		Midnight Rose
(2023)

The Royal Sessions is a studio album by Paul Rodgers of Free and Bad Company fame. Released on 4 February 2014, it consists of ten covers of blues, rhythm & blues and soul songs recorded at Royal Studios in Memphis, Tennessee with local musicians and produced by Perry A. Margouleff.[2][3] Rodgers chose songs for the album that inspired him in his youth.[3][4]

Rodgers announced before the album's release that he would be donating all proceeds from it to the Stax Music Academy, an after-school music programme in Memphis, stating that he wanted to "pay the proceeds to the people who gave us this music".[5]

The album entered the Billboard Blues Albums chart at number one, and debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 81.[6][7]

Reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[8]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Glide8/10[2]
USA Today[10]
Winnipeg Sun[11]

Steven Thomas Erlewine, reviewing the album for AllMusic, describes it as "enjoyable".[9] Glide magazine awarded it 8/10.[2] USA Today gave it three stars out of four, with Jerry Shriver saying that "Rodgers' devotion rings true".[10] The Winnipeg Sun gave it two and a half stars, describing it as "Enjoyable, but not essential."[11] Le Parisien writer Michel Valentin viewed the familiarity of the songs as a drawback.[12]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Thank You"Isaac Hayes, David Porter3:10
2."Down Don’t Bother Me"Albert King2:17
3."I Can’t Stand the Rain"Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles4:05
4."I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)"Jerry Butler, Otis Redding5:36
5."That's How Strong My Love Is"Roosevelt Jamison3:15
6."Walk On By"Burt Bacharach, Hal David6:49
7."Any Ole Way"Steve Cropper, Otis Redding2:38
8."It's Growing"Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson3:05
9."Born Under a Bad Sign"William Bell, Booker T. Jones4:09
10."I’ve Got Dreams to Remember"Otis Redding6:31
  • The vinyl version of this album does not contain "Born Under a Bad Sign"
  • Amazon Exclusive includes three bonus tracks – "Shake", "Walk In My Shadow" and "Wonderful World"

Personnel

  • Paul Rodgers – vocals
  • Michael Toles – guitar
  • Leroy Hodges – bass
  • Michael Barar – viola
  • Roy Brewer – violin
  • Marc Franklin – trumpet
  • Charles Hodges – Hammond B3
  • Wesley Hovanec – assistant engineer, electric bongos, videography
  • Jonathan Kirkscey – cello
  • Beth Luscombe – viola
  • Perry Margouleff – guitar, mixing, producer
  • Lannie McMillan – tenor saxophone
  • Susanna Perry-Gilmore – violin
  • Jessie Munson – violin
  • Royal horns – featured artist, horn
  • Lester Snell – piano
  • Gary Topper – tenor saxophone
  • Archie Turner – Wurlitzer
  • Mark Wallace – cello
  • The Royal Singers – strings
  • James L. Spake – baritone sax
  • James Robertson – drums
  • Steve Potts – drums
  • Daniel Bean – assistant engineer
  • Ryan Smith – mastering
  • William Wittman – engineer, mixing

Charts

Chart (2014) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[13] 92
UK Albums (OCC)[14] 58
US Billboard 200[15] 81

References

  1. ^ Graff, Gary (14 January 2014). "Paul Rodgers, 'Walk on By': Exclusive Song Premiere Off 'The Royal Sessions'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
  2. ^ a b c Collette, Doug (2014) "Paul Rodgers - The Royal Sessions", Glide, 10 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  3. ^ a b Ragonga, Mike (2014) "Paul Rodgers' Royal EPK Premiere, A Conversation With Astro Raph, Plus Exclusives From MODOC and Christine Rosander", Huffington Post, 28 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  4. ^ Stevenson, Jane (2014) "Paul Rodgers: New album 'like coming full circle'", Toronto Sun, 29 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  5. ^ "Paul Rodgers donates album profits to charity", Daily Express, 29 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  6. ^ "Blues Albums", Billboard, w/e 1 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  7. ^ "Paul Rodgers Chart History", billboard.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  8. ^ "The Royal Sessions Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  9. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2014) "The Royal Sessions Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  10. ^ a b Shriver, Jerry (2014) "Listen Up: Notable new releases", USA Today, 4 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  11. ^ a b "Eric Church Tops This Week's CD Reviews", Winnipeg Sun, 16 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  12. ^ Valentin, Michel (2014) "Les reprises royales de Paul Rodgers", Le Parisien, 26 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  13. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 24 February 2014" (PDF) (1252). Australian Recording Industry Association. Australian Web Archive. 24 February 2014. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 March 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2016. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  14. ^ "Paul Rodgers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  15. ^ "Paul Rodgers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  • v
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Studio albums
  • Cut Loose
  • Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters
  • Now
  • Electric
  • The Cosmos Rocks (with Queen)
  • The Royal Sessions
  • Midnight Rose
Live albums
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