MustaphaIbrahim wrote:This thread is so negative, you guys just want to complain about every little thing you can, I thought this was a message board for fans! I like coming on here to find out interesting stuff about the band I love, and I often get great stuff from here. All this negativity is making me spend less and less time on this site. For the record I saw Queen + Paul Rodgers twice during the Cosmos Rocks tour, I flew to Europe from Australia just to see them, as I had never seen them before, and it was the best concert (The one in Hamburg) that I'd ever seen in my life. Brian and Roger will do whatever they want to do to, it's their lives, if they choose to perform together again, then I'll be there what they have given to Rock n Roll music is invaluable.
But this thread isn´t about how good or bad were Q+PR; I really enjoyed every minute of that adventure, really; since the very first minute I flew to London and attended the Brixton academy gig until the very last gig I attended from the Cosmos Rocks tour. God, it was Brian and Roger live !
I am one of those who think "Queen" was the 4-piece band we all learnt to love, with Freddie - of course - and John; but my love and passion for Roger, Brian and John made me believe, after Freddie´s passing, that the three remaining members were allowed to keep carrying the torch and always wanted them to continue making music, the three of them, even using the Queen name, if they wanted.
After NOBY, wich I trully supported, I had the hope they would continue doing new stuff, but after John´s retirement all my hope was gone. Then all of a sudden came the joining with Paul Rodgers and somehow blinded I kept supporting Brian and Roger using the name "Queen". All I wanted was seeing them together performing live again ... and I even enjoyed TCR, wich is an album I still listen to from time to time.
But, imho, many wrong decisions were taken during TCR tour; they almost repeated the same setlist and format as in the 2005/2006 tours, they didn´t follow their own claiming of being a new band that would play their new material, they chose releasing the Ukraine gig when it had anything fresh to offer, instead of the later gigs of the tour (ie: South America) etc etc etc etc ...
And then it came when realized I went wrong with my support of Brian and Roger using the "Queen+" name .... of course the commercial opportunities of that decision were better in terms of selling tickets and so on, but now I know many of us (included Brian, Roger and Paul, I dare to believe) would have been more relaxed and would have enjoyed more all the process in case they had decided using a new name for the new band they claimed they were. You have many examples out there: Audioslave was Audioslave, they weren´t Rage Against The Machine + Chris Cornell; Chickenfoot isn´t "Half Van Halen+the God Satriani+ 1/4 Red Hot Chilli Peppers"; and you have the recent example of Them Crooked Vultures, too.
I mean, with a correct marketing strategy, Brian May+Roger Taylor+Paul Rodgers could have done better, gained respect and, most important, avoided the fracture caused amongst the Queen fan base.
And this fracture, this let down in many, many of the long-loyal fans has turned into negativity and criticism when years go by and there is anything new, or better said, anything for the fans, to be offered.
We all know there are so many precious stuff inside the vaults; so many live recordings, so many demos, so many BBC sessions still waiting there in the dark, but we are only getting the Greatest Hits stuff again and again ... and then we look around us and see how ANY band or solo artist is releasing fresh and really attractive stuff for their fans; you can call it boxsets with unreleased tracks and B sides, you can call it full live performances for downloading from their respective websites .. you can call it whatever.
And no one will convience me this is a matter of manufacturing costs and things like that because, one again, many bands are doing it. Many of wich are still playing in a minor league than the brand "Queen" still plays.
Is this criticism? yes it is; have Brian, Roger and Jim the right to release whatever they want? yes they have, of course; but I also firmly believe that the fans, at this stage, in 2010, have the right to - pay attention, this is an almost forbidden verb -MOAN about the commercial directions the band has taken since, let´s say, Queen On Fire, wich I think is the last interesting product they released.
Roger Taylor's a rockstar, he's not going indie and if he did, he'd be selling himself a million miles short. 
