Adam Lambert - Velvet

If the name Adam Lambert sounds familiar to you then it might be because you know him through his other day job - being the lead singer in Queen. The flamboyant singer though also has a career as a solo artist and has now released his fourth album.

If you were expecting big Queen guitar style tracks then you might be slightly disappointed, however if you are into funky and soulful songs then you will be pleasantly surprised. There is a lot of Justin Timberlake and Bruno Mars here and a nod too to the Scissor Sisters. If you like Queen around their Another One Bites The Dust period then chances are you will enjoy what Lambert offers on this slightly retro sounding album.

Five of the tracks have already been released as singles and five more were on the "Side A" album last year, so for fans wanting something new then there are only 3 new tracks to discover here.

The album starts with the title track and it is one of the best ones on this funky album. Yes it could be Justin Timberlake or even Mayer Hawthorne but as he sings "I think it's time for a throwback" it is business as usual.

Superpower allows him to show his vocal range; the track is one of those already released, a rock infused groove that has a funky chorus and is one of those most aligned to his Queen career, in fact it could his Another One Bites The Dust.

Loverboy shows off his falsetto vocals though you could be mistaken for thinking you were listening to the Scissor Sisters. Things though began to contrast with the piano driven balled Closer To You.

Roses features Nile Rodgers on guitar as does Superpower and Loverboy though his guitar riffs never overpower the tracks. Loverboy is driven along with a bass line that could have come from 1978 - think Rod Stewart's Da Ya Think I'm Sexy and you see what I mean.

On the Moon sees him dabble with jazz with a groove that even Erykah Badu would be proud of, with the track allowing Lambert to drop a few octaves of his vocal range.

To paraphrase the Queen song, Show Must Go On - for Lambert it certainly does on this retro sounding album that as a whole is majestically satisfying.

I rate the album 3 out of 5