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
Paul Rodgers
Released4 February 2014
Recorded2013, Royal Studios, Memphis
GenreBlues, soul
Length41:34
Label429 Records, Pie Records
ProducerPerry A. Margouleff [1]
Paul Rodgers chronology
The Cosmos Rocks
(2008)		 The Royal Sessions
(2014)

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 1, and entered 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, gave it four stars out of five, describing 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

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
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References
  1. Graff, Gary (14 January 2014). "Paul Rodgers, 'Walk on By': Exclusive Song Premiere Off 'The Royal Sessions'". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2014-02-17.
  2. Collette, Doug (2014) "Paul Rodgers - The Royal Sessions", Glide, 10 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  3. 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 2014-03-28.
  9. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2014) "The Royal Sessions Review", Allmusic. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  10. Shriver, Jerry (2014) "Listen Up: Notable new releases", USA Today, 4 February 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2014
  11. "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. Pandora Archive. 24 February 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2016. 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.
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