The Royal Sessions
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| The Royal Sessions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 4 February 2014 | |||
| Recorded | 2013, Royal Studios, Memphis | |||
| Genre | Blues, soul | |||
| Length | 41:34 | |||
| Label | 429 Records, Pie Records | |||
| Producer | Perry A. Margouleff [1] | |||
| Paul Rodgers chronology | ||||
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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]
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 one, and debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 81.[6][7]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100[8] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [9] |
| Glide | 8/10[2] |
| USA Today | [10] |
| Winnipeg Sun |  [11] |
Steven Thomas Erlewine, reviewing the album for AllMusic, describes 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. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Thank You" | Isaac Hayes, David Porter | 3:10 |
| 2. | "Down Don’t Bother Me" | Albert King | 2:17 |
| 3. | "I Can’t Stand the Rain" | Don Bryant, Bernard Miller, Ann Peebles | 4:05 |
| 4. | "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" | Jerry Butler, Otis Redding | 5:36 |
| 5. | "That's How Strong My Love Is" | Roosevelt Jamison | 3:15 |
| 6. | "Walk On By" | Burt Bacharach, Hal David | 6:49 |
| 7. | "Any Ole Way" | Steve Cropper, Otis Redding | 2:38 |
| 8. | "It's Growing" | Warren Moore, Smokey Robinson | 3:05 |
| 9. | "Born Under a Bad Sign" | William Bell, Booker T. Jones | 4:09 |
| 10. | "I’ve Got Dreams to Remember" | Otis Redding | 6:31 |
- The vinyl version of this album does not contain "Born Under a Bad Sign"
- Amazon Exclusive includes three bonus tracks – "Shake", "Walk In My Shadow" and "Wonderful World"
