What can be said about Paul Rodgers that hasn't been already? The man with what many consider to be the ultimate rock voice has written, sung and played on many of the genre's most enduring songs. From Free's summertime classic "All Right Now," to Bad Company's "Can't Get Enough," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Ready For Love," and "Rock 'n' Roll Fantasy" to "Radioactive" by The Firm, Rodgers has put his indelible stamp on everything he has been a part of in his legendary career. Last year saw him reunited with Mick Ralphs, Simon Kirke and Boz Burrell for a highly successful 30 date U.S. tour of the original (and some would say only) Bad Company. Not one to sit still for long, Paul returned to the studio with his solo band to produce the strong new collection of songs called Electric. This record features the same line-up of musicians as his last solo disc, 1997's Now: Geoff Whitehorn (guitar), Jim Copely (drums) and Jaz Lochrie (bass). This time out, Rodgers has also added the talents of Tom Keelyside on flute.

"Deep Blue" is the opener and immediately conjures Bad Company with it's straight ahead riffing and classic, blues-inflected vocal melodies. The next track, "Walking Tall," has a standard walking bass line and beyond the strange and silly lyric "Kazaam, Kazungle I'm the king of the jungle," is fairly uneventful. A return to more classic form is apparent on "Find A Way," a power ballad in the mold of Bad Co.'s timeless anthem "Shooting Star." Rodgers displays his knack for accenting selected vocal lines with superb harmony, adding to the depth of feeling in the pretty "China Blue." This track also boasts some beautiful, melodic lead guitar from Whitehorn and some tasty drumming from Copley. "Love Rains" might as well be Bad Company with its piano (played by Rodgers) and electric guitar recalling "Run With The Pack." The female backing vocals add a different, though a bit unnecessary, touch to this one and kind of mar an otherwise strong track. Next, we have the six and a half minute "Over You," a showcase for the beautiful flute playing of Tom Keelyside. This track and the aforementioned "Find A Way" are the only two tracks longer than five minutes on the disc. In fact, Rodgers may have deliberately been gearing this record toward radio, as the total time is only 41:38, practically an EP by today's standards. Most of the songs offered here clock in around the four-minute mark…perfect length for FM airplay. This is fine, as the songs are strong and deserve airplay (there are quite a few potential rock radio hits here). A couple of unreleased or live bonus tracks would have been nice, however, as there is over thirty minutes of space left on the CD. Speaking of radio, the first single from Electric, "Drifters," was the most added FM rock track it's first week of release and sees Rodgers back where he belongs -- on radios everywhere! The Bad Co. reunion can be credited with reminding people of this man's talent since the Now album also had several radio friendly cuts, yet received little or no attention from radio. I questioned the selection of "Drifters" as the lead single, leaning more toward "Find A Way" or the track "Freedom," but obviously, the record company made the right call.

"Freedom" is a rocker with an opening riff so infectious, I can't get it out of my head and don't want to, for that matter! Throw in some instantly classic lyrics ("I was a drifter on the road to nowhere, a shadow in the wind") and a couple great lead breaks from Whitehorn and you've got a monster track on your hands. The gorgeous ballad "Jasmine Flower" follows and makes me wonder who inspired such a blatantly beautiful song. The lyric "you know your daddy loves you" toward the end of the track hints that Paul has a little daughter running around at home. At any rate, you just can't write a song like this without some pretty powerful inspiration. I'm certain the same holds true for the closing song "Conquistadora," obviously written for the lady in our hero's life. The intro to this song reminds me of "Rising Sun" from Rodgers' first solo album Cut Loose from '83, but this is a much more guitar driven track to say the least. Whitehorn cuts loose himself here and leaves you wanting much more. The band is currently lighting up stages across the U.S., and if you have a chance to see them, you will not be disappointed. Just don't expect a Bad Company show, as Paul prefers to mix it up in his song selection playing tunes from all three, or I guess I should now say four, of his classic bands.

Reviewed by Nostradumass

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