Fun on Earth by Roger Taylor
Fun on Earth is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter Roger Taylor, best known as the drummer in English rock band Queen, released on 11 November 2013 through Virgin EMI. It was recorded in late 2008 and throughout 2009, after the conclusion of Queen + Paul Rodgers' Rock the Cosmos Tour, and was continued after the collaboration ended. It is the first album he has worked on since 2008's The Cosmos Rocks with Queen + Paul Rodgers, and his first solo album since 1998's Electric Fire. Taylor began recording his new studio album in late 2008, a few months before the breakup of Queen + Paul Rodgers. News was first published regarding the new album on Queen's website on 17 November 2009. Regarding the release of the album's lead single, Taylor said: "What happened to the protest song? Music is now so polished, shiny and predictable, we have forgotten to try and say something with it. I am getting old and like everyone, have the right to say something about the "state of control" we live under - powerless to do anything about it. In case you hadn't noticed. The high street is full of holes. We are fighting a pointless actively negative war which is killing our young soldiers and which we simply cannot afford. This war promotes and prolongs terrorism. This is our Vietnam. Unwinnable. Pointless. We are taxed and retaxed while the nation is not only broke but utterly bankrupt, being propped up with tax payers' money and money which is simply printed. We are spied upon by 5 million cameras. We have thousands of petty rules and regulations more than ever before – no wonder people are bewildered and confused. As a nation we own almost nothing including water, electricity, gas, airspace and major manufacturers. Personal privacy is non-existent. We are directionless. I'm pissed off – you should be too." Taylor confirmed in an interview in 2011 that The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken) would be released in 2012. The album did not appear in 2012, and Taylor later announced that it would see release in 2013, with the fans choosing which songs will appear on the album in late 2012. Taylor stated that the album is fully recorded, mixed and mastered but the release date is set in October along with his solo collection, The Lot. In a press announcement on 11 October 2013, it was announced that both Fun On Earth and The Lot would be released on 11 November 2013.
The soundtrack to the Queen biopic will please both casuals and obsessives. For the former, lots of hits: “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”, “Under Pressure” and, of course, the grandiose title track among them. And for the latter, Queen struts out rare live tracks and fresh updates to classics. “We Will Rock You” merges a studio and live performance, “Don’t Stop Me Now” features newly recorded guitar parts from Brian May. The surviving members of Queen also recorded their very own arrangement of the famous 20th Century Fox theme. But the biggest jewel in the crown is the addition of five songs from the band’s dramatic 1985 Live Aid performance—a faithful recreation of which serves as the film's climax—now available for the first time. Ayyy-oh!
