In a perfect world, Clint Eastwood would still look like Philo Beddoe, Keith Moon would still be defenestrating televisions, and Freddie Mercury would still be overbiting into searing vocal gymnastics and producing unbounded musical masterpieces with his inimitable band.But our world is far from perfect; Clyde is dead, The Who are two, and our heroes dwindle to nothing more than nostalgia cash cows.Freddie Mercury's untimely death in 1991 ground the Queen entity to a halt, sidelining the careers of his three ever-faithful band mates, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor. Public perception was such that no other front-man or vocalist could ever replace the sacrosanct position Freddie held in the eyes of Queen fans; subsequently, Queen seemed to have run their course through Earth's bloodstream… But like the Phoenix, which has assumed prominence on their new logo, Queen - after over a decade languishing as dethroned royalty, with a website run by a fan-club pining daily for any scent of newsworthy meat - have risen anew in a formidably potent incarnation.Filmed at Hallam FM Arena in Sheffield, in May 2005, "Return Of The Champions" sees Brian May and Roger Taylor leading a revamped quasi-Queen to new horizons, with the vocal engine that makes this outing possible – in what must have been a political coup of grandiloquent bargaining and cross-pollination – Paul Rodgers.Is it any good? For those who would doubt that Brian and Roger would take this iconic institution on the road with anything less than sterling magnificence, a karate-chop to the Spock nerve should be deservedly applied.This is not some uppity, shoe-staring, angst-adrench cover band – this is the world-girdling juggernaut itself; these are not pretenders to the throne – this IS Queen. Freddie purists (myself included) would approach this production with the darkest trepidation – one false move would occlude the Innuendo, one misstep, debase The Miracle; one heartbeat, steal away A Kind Of Magic. But, through Queen's intrinsic arrogance, and the sheer, ground-shaking talent of these individuals - it works! Marrying Rodgers' leather-panted street-cred to Queen's ostentatious pomp-bombast, with a light-show that resembles the detonation of twelve nuclear warheads, the archly-titled entity Queen + Paul Rodgers delivers a show as vital as it is nostalgic, as musically pure as it is tastefully augmented, as slick as it is raw-edged. As fully Queen – without fully Queen."Reaching Out," a charity song Brian performed in 1996, opens the show, featuring Paul Rodgers *a cappella*, immediately endearing us with his rock-steady vocals and charmful stage presence, poignantly reflecting the yearning of Queen fans over the last 19 years (Queen's last live performance was at Knebworth Park, 1986).The pity is that Queen, much like other acts with catalogs large enough to choke a tyrannosaur, must channel their live outpourings to the few "hits" that the groundling multitudes' purchasing power has necessitated. Every bit as grandiose as "Bohemian," we will never hear performed live "Brighton Rock," "The Prophet Song," "The Millionaire Waltz," or "White Queen." Instead, we are served up the usual Queen fare – "Tie Your Mother Down," "I Want To Break Free," "Radio Ga Ga," "We Are The Champions," etc., plus a few of Rodgers' greatest hits, thrown in as obvious contractual filler.Not that I am complaining. It is an unadulterated joy to once more witness May and Taylor on an electric stage where they so rightfully belong. And with six on-stage vocalists, the lustrous signature Queen harmonies, missing from so much of their live work, breathe with a renewed exuberance.Where Mr. Rodgers' power-chested vocal delivery failed to blitzkrieg were "The Game" songs, "Another One Bites The Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," Freddie channeling Elvis so furiously during that period that he climbed all over those songs in a manner no one could emulate.The acoustic interlude is somewhat tedious, as Roger Taylor, who jokes he has taken center stage to "bring everyone down" – actually does, with an original song about AIDS, Queen's "cause," after Freddie's death. May brightens the proceedings with solo renditions of "'39" and "Love Of My Life" - until the chest-beating "Hammer To Fall" brings back the regal thunder.May's guitar instrumental, "Last Horizon" (from his 1993 solo album, "Back To The Light") is a swoonful exaltation, a "god-moment" for this genius in scintillating Red Special.Arthur C. Clarke wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Queen's signature tune, "Bohemian Rhapsody," artfully and tastefully utilizes technical wizardry to allow Freddie Mercury himself to perform with his living band; in what must have been a technician's nightmare, a live performance of Freddie's piano and vocal tracks is isolated, the visuals from that performance playing on screen, whilst the band follows along live. Only when we reach the hard rock segment does Rodgers take the stage. Then the coda is once again technologically treated, as Freddie's vocal lines are alternated with Rodgers'. It's a kind of magic.For Queen purists who rail against May's and Taylor's alleged greed, disrespect or unprincipled exploitation of Mercury's legacy, Freddie himself poignantly gave them the green light to continue in one of Queen's last recorded pieces, "The Show Must Go On," from 1991's "Innuendo." We have grown inured to the empty palliation: "He would have wanted it that way," whenever the living progress outlandish actions that the dead would NOT have wanted. But by 1991, Freddie knew of his fatal ailment and made it clear in the manner of his idiom on what his pals should ultimately do after his demise: "I can fly - my friends / The show must go on… / On - with the show / I'll top the bill, I'll overkill / I have to find the will to carry on." Clyde may be dead, The Who may be two, but as startling as it sounds, Freddie Mercury is still producing unbounded musical masterpieces with his inimitable band.

It was very interesting that Queen would choose to team up with Paul Rodgers, since his vocal style and range are so different from Freddie Mercury. I agree with reviewers that Rodgers wisely chose to bring his own blues-rock style to Queen songs rather than to parody Mercury. However, on certain songs Rodgers has to strain to hit the high notes which Mercury does with ease. I really missed Freddie on those songs where he belts out the high notes. The standout tracks were the Bad Company /Free songs ("Can't Get Enough", "Feel Like Makin' Love," and "All Right Now"); Rodgers is clearly in his element and Brian May & Queen do a great job of session playing. The guitar solos are right on and stick very closely to the studio-recorded versions by Bad Company and Free. Among the Queen songs, the ones that stood out were "Hammer to Fall" (where Brian May plays and sings with acoustic star before turning to his electric guitar), "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". I liked the songs where May and Rodgers were the main singers. I didn't like the ones where Taylor sings as much ("Radio GaGa", "These Are the Days of Our Lives") because frankly speaking, Taylor should stick to drummming rather than singing. The only song I didn't like was "Bohemian Rhapsody" where they played a video of Freddie Mercury singing for 4 minutes straight. I wouldn't pay big bucks to see a video of Freddie singing the song if I were the audience. Why didn't the band let Rodgers sing the song instead? It felt weird to have the video for most of the song and then to have Rodgers pick it up after the climactic guitar solo. The bonus track "Imagine" was very well-done, with Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Paul Rodgers taking turns to sing the verses. If you like Bad Company and Queen, this is the perfect blend of both bands! If you're a fan of Brian May and great guitar-playing, you got to get this DVD because his playing is just awesome throughout! The sound and picture quality are superb.