The 1981 Listening Post - Roger Taylor - Fun In Space

Roger Taylor - Fun in Space #128 April 6 1981 Roger Taylor Fun in Space Genre: Rock 4.75 out of 5 Highlights: Future Management Let’s Get Crazy My Country I & II Good Times Are Now Constantinople/Airheads Remember that scene in Bohemian Rhapsody when everyone in the band was SO pissed off that Freddie signed a solo deal to make Mr. Bad Guy? Yeah. No one seemed upset that, four full years before that, Roger made a solo record that was some strange rock hybrid of The Cars and Gary Numan and David Bowie all run through the taffy machine that is Roger’s arpeggiated sensibilities. And this really bugged me. Cuz I was one of those Queen kids that had to have Fun in Space. And I played the shit out of it. That whole year. I studied the cover and the inner liner with all the alien sci-fi novel depictions with variations on Roger’s name (Regor La Troy!) I marveled at how Roger played just about every instrument. And thanked the rest of Queen for butting out. And how the P.P.S. said “157 Synthesizers.” Which was a big fuck you to all those “No Synths” on those other Queen records. (My own band wrote No Synthesizers on our album as my own nod to my favorite band.) But is the album any good? Some of it is terrific. And the kind of stuff you would NOT find on a Queen record, until they allowed Roger to bring in those damned Synths and then we all got shite like “Calling All Girls” and “Machines”. I took this album to review because it meant so much to me as a kid. And I wanted to see just how biased I was when I rated it 5 years ago. Yeah, I was biased. But also not. See Roger understands hooks and he seems to have been able to tap into those groups I mentioned above and synthesize them into a rather catchy little number. “Future Management” is a terrific example of this for me. It’s kind of groovy, almost raga and designed to lull you into a state of digital drowsiness. For me the best thing on the record is “Let’s Get Crazy”. It’s the only song where the esteemed drummer lets loose and actually…plays the shit out the skins. The solo is without a doubt one of the most satisfying of the era, for years it was my ringtone (remember ringtones?) And it’s on that song that he divests himself from his idol, David Bowie. Because, let’s face it, Bowie could not, would not, rock that hard. I can only imagine what “Good Times Are Now” would be like if Brian had played the solo. And Freddie could have crushed “Magic is Loose”, a song that seems to have been with him in mind. And let’s not forget that Roger wrote the lovely “Heaven for Everyone” which Freddie would, eventually, put vocals on, as well as the nostalgic and melancholy “Those Were the Days of Our Lives” as well as other deeply emotional ballads. That’s the thing that separated Roger from Ocasek and Numan and, yes, even Bowie: Roger comes across as a very deep feeling guy. Sure, he was the band’s lothario, look at those locks and tell me you blame him for his indulgences. And that’s how he elevates those tracks. And then there is the soundscape/stadium rock experience that is “Constantinople”, where the musician walks into the wrong room and then steps on stage to the live audience, takes control (a little mini-wall), walks out, shuts the door and immediately pounds into the “Sheer Heart Attack” sequel “Airheads”. I say listen to them back to back. They are of a pair. On “My Country I & II” he builds a percussive tapestry that makes me wish he had played this live with other musicians. And it’s a song that fades out, fades back in and then hard stops abruptly. It’s damned great. If Roger Taylor wanted to tour this album just for nostalgia sake, I would buy tickets, stat. https://music.apple.com/us/album/fun-in-space/1443857764

The Listening Post - Roger Taylor - Strange Frontier

Roger Taylor - Fun in Space

#161

June 25 1984

Roger Taylor

Strange Frontier

2.75 out of 5

Highlights:

Strange Frontier

Man on Fire

I loved Fun in Space. I mean, I LOVED Fun in Space. So much so that I resented the movie, Bohemian Rhapsody for the portrayal of Freddie’s solo album as a breach of trust with the band when Roger’s solo album AND his second both predated Mr. Bad Guy. 

And I guarantee that I rank Fun in Space higher than anyone else. Because Queen. 

So, I couldn’t wait for this album to come out. And what a disappointment it was for me. 

Roger has always been upfront about his desire to be David Bowie. His music all screams Bowie. However here, he seems to also want to be Bruce Springsteen and, Roger, you are no Bruce Springsteen. His version of “Racing in the Street” is a misstep. Less so is his cover of “Masters of War”…well…actually I appreciate the bombast here…it works for 1984 America. 

This isn’t ALL failure. The title track is a good little rocker and so is “Man on Fire”, the single but the rest of it…meh and, truth be told, this tracks aren’t that great, either. 

If Roger had no ideas left for Queen these past couple years, he’s really out of gas here. 

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that his track “Let’s Get Crazy” from his first album is among my favorites of all time and every time that drum breakdown happens I stop what I’m doing and air drum to it. One of the songs I wish we had covered….

https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/strange-frontier/975951606