Having debuted at No. 1 on the U.K.’s official albums chart with their “Live Around The World” album, QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT now release the full length performance of “Somebody To Love” on QUEEN‘s official YouTube channel.
The “Live Around The World” album compiles concert highlights from the world over, personally selected by Roger Taylor, Brian May and Adam Lambert from over 200 shows they have performed together, many among them becoming available for the very first time.
The show-stopping “Live Around The World” performance of “Somebody To Love” was captured at the Isle Of Wight festival in 2016 — QUEEN + ADAM LAMBERT‘s first U.K. festival together and a milestone show which Lambert recalls was “a really special night.”
Written by Freddie Mercury, “Somebody To Love” was a highlight of QUEEN‘s 1976 album “A Day At The Races” and a huge hit in its own right, reaching No. 2 in the U.K. and a Top 20 place in the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. Mercury freely acknowledged that the song’s composition was influenced by the legendary soul star Aretha Franklin and — as the “Live Around The World” performance confirms — Lambert‘s soulful, gospel-tinged interpretation is well suited to this much-loved, soul-searching song with its complex vocal harmonies.
“Adam has the ability to sing anything and everything we throw at him,” Taylor said of Lambert‘s vocal abilities. “There’s nothing he can’t handle. Our songs are big and theatrical and Adam fits that easily. I think he’s the best singer around. His range is staggering.”
“Some of QUEEN‘s songs are just so vocally athletic and physically demanding,” Lambert said. “For example, ‘The Show Must Go On’ is certainly demanding, ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’ goes from zero to 99. ‘Somebody To Love’ is really intense and big.
“One thing as a vocalist which I love about QUEEN‘s catalogue is they’ve ventured into so many different genres,” Adam added. “It makes every show a fun and challenging evening for me and I just love that.”
