Queen and Adam Lambert

Saturday night | Rogers Arena

For all the operatic flourishes, U.K. dance hall ditties and disco funk offs, Queen was always about the epic arena rockers. The English quartet’s canon is loaded with the crunchy goodness every hard rock act wants.

Add in the unparalleled vocal chops of the late Farrokh “Freddie” Bulsara, a.k.a. Mercury, and it’s no surprise Queen ranks with the Beatles in all-time sales.

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Mercury’s passing from AIDS-related complications in 1991 put the remaining active members in quite a fix. Who were guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor going to hire to fill the spot?

Legendary Free and Bad Company shouter Paul Rodgers was a marquee name but lacked any of the required range and both the tour and studio albums were weak. Enter American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert, 32, a guy with serious range and the requisite glam sense to do the flamboyant material justice.

From the opening quartet of Now I’m Here, Sheer Heart Attack and Fat Bottomed Girls, the singer was on. But May’s guitar-tistry overshadowed all.

The PhD in astrophysics was showcasing his doctorate of riffology at Rogers Arena and the lecture was brilliant.

Lambert hit his stride with Lap of the Gods/Seven Seas of Rhye, bringing his own soaring range to hit notes almost as high as his platform boots. Somebody To Love was huge, right down to his bluesy take on the final chorus.

The singalong to May’s solo rendition of Love of My Life proved this was an audience of faithful fans, which was a good thing as the guitarist honestly noted he isn’t a singer. Guess that explains why footage of Mercury played for the final chorus.

May followed with a folky ‘39 and Taylor rasped out These Are the Days of Our Lives as more vintage footage played across the screens. Even on this somewhat twee number, May dropped some killer licks.

The Taylors — Roger and son Rufus — provided the short drum solo before Lambert returned to wail through Under Pressure and it was back to the races.

But not before the singer urged a round of applause for Mercury and introduced a new song, Love Kills, to be featured on the new Queen album. Assembled with old recordings of Mercury, the idea seems a tad weird. But if the roar for the late entertainer was any indication, the market is there.

The 20-plus song set didn’t miss a moment in the band’s history and certainly delivered the hits. While I would have relished Seaside Rendevous, you don’t complain when the version of the Show Must Go On is that strong. The song might be apropos to Queen on the whole.

Their show was a far sight better than the perfunctory cash grabs many of their peers are presenting.

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