The Royal Sessions
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]
| The Royal Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 February 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013, Royal Studios, Memphis | |||
| Genre | Blues, soul | |||
| Length | 41:34 | |||
| Label | 429 Records, Pie Records | |||
| Producer | Perry A. Margouleff [1] | |||
| Paul Rodgers chronology | ||||
| ||||
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
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Glide | 8/10[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. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Thank You" | Isaac Hayes, David Porter | 3:10 |
| 2. | "Down Don’t Bother Me" | Albert King | 2:17 |
| 3. | "I Can’t Stand the Rain" | Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles | 4:05 |
| 4. | "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" | Jerry Butler, Otis Redding | 5:36 |
| 5. | "That's How Strong My Love Is" | Roosevelt Jamison | 3:15 |
| 6. | "Walk On By" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | 6:49 |
| 7. | "Any Ole Way" | Steve Cropper, Otis Redding | 2:38 |
| 8. | "It's Growing" | Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Born Under a Bad Sign" | William Bell, Booker T. Jones | 4:09 |
| 10. | "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember" | Otis Redding | 6:31 |
- 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
- Graff, Gary (14 January 2014). "Paul Rodgers, 'Walk on By': Exclusive Song Premiere Off 'The Royal Sessions'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 17 February 2014.
- Collette, Doug (2014) "Paul Rodgers - The Royal Sessions", Glide, 10 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- 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
- Stevenson, Jane (2014) "Paul Rodgers: New album 'like coming full circle'", Toronto Sun, 29 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "Paul Rodgers donates album profits to charity", Daily Express, 29 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "Blues Albums", Billboard, w/e 1 March 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "Paul Rodgers Chart History", billboard.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "The Royal Sessions Reviews". Metacritic.com. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
- Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2014) "The Royal Sessions Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- Shriver, Jerry (2014) "Listen Up: Notable new releases", USA Today, 4 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "Eric Church Tops This Week's CD Reviews", Winnipeg Sun, 16 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- Valentin, Michel (2014) "Les reprises royales de Paul Rodgers", Le Parisien, 26 January 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
- "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) - "Paul Rodgers | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
- "Paul Rodgers Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 17 August 2016.