Queen and Paul Rodgers-The Cosmos Rocks
October 5th 2008 09:44
Queen-The Cosmos Rocks
Year: 2008
Record Label:
Track Listing:
01. The Cosmos Rocks
02. Time To Shine
03. Still Burnin’
04. Small
05. Warboys
06. We Believe
07. Call Me
08. Voodoo
09. Some Things That Glitter
10. C-Lebrity
11. Through The Night
12. Say It’s Not True
13. Surf’s Up…School’s Out
14. Small (Reprise)
It’s been a long time in between albums for Queen- their last album 1995’s ‘Made In Heaven’. While it’s their first studio album in 13 years, that hasn’t stopped the band from teaming up with the likes of Robbie Williams, 5ive, and George Michael to perform Queen songs live. Nor has it stopped them from releasing a handful of solo albums in between them.
The Cosmos Rocks sees them teaming up with another rock legend, in the form of Paul Rodgers, best known as the lead vocalist of Bad Company.
I’ve got to confess I was pretty excited to hear Paul Rodgers was going to take the helm as Queen's new lead vocalist. With his own musical style, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that you can’t listen to this album as you would any other Queen album, because it’s not.
If Queen enthusiasts are going to listen to this album, they need to do it with an open mind. In some aspects this is more of a marriage between Bad Company and Queen rather than a Queen album. Yes, songs like ‘Still Burnin’ and ‘We Believe’ show many aspects of Queen to them in particular through the riffs. Brian May’s characteristic sound is as much a part of who Queen is, as was Freddie Mercury’s vocal style was. The handclaps on ‘Still Burnin’ that are reminiscent of ‘We Will Rock You’, however the chorus is pure Paul Rodgers’ Bad Company.
Another thing to remember is that while some may not consider this a ‘true’ Queen album because it is so different from Queen’s previous albums; Queen is renown for reinventing themselves on each new album they release. (See ‘Jazz’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Innuendo’ and ‘Hot Space’ for example).
Lyrically, Rodgers’ style of writing is vastly different from May and Taylor’s. While Rodgers
tends to stick to the rock cliches of old, May and Taylor have added a harder edge to their style. Their teaming together has produced some stellar tracks – The title track ‘Cosmos Rockin’ kicks off the album and sees the band in ‘Tie Your Mother Down’ mode, while ‘Time To Shine’ and ‘Say It’s Not True’ are outstanding to say the least. Another winner is ‘C-Lebrity’, which sees the band take a swipe at tabloid culture.
There are also some real bad songs. ‘Call Me’ is a merging of ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing’ and by no means passes the bar. Another real stinker is ‘We Believe’, which seems more filler than substance.
Not due for release until late October, The Cosmos Rock is bound to get much criticism simply for being called a Queen album. In truth, there are only two remaining Queen members on this album-Brian May and Roger Taylor. Flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury died 17 years ago, and bassist John Deacon could not be coaxed out of retirement.
Many may believe that it is a sacrilege to call this band Queen, but the truth is that while Freddie Mercury was the lead singer, he did not make up Queen as a whole. There were 3 other members of the band, just as Paul Rodgers did not solely make up Bad Company or Free.
There’s also bound to be comparison between Mercury and Rodgers. There’s no doubt that both singers are brilliant frontmen, but that’s where the similarities end. Rodgers is a completely different singer to Mercury- where Mercury’s vocals were Flamboyant Rogers’ is bluesy.
One thing to remember is that Rodgers that he is not trying to emulate Mercury, not should he have to. As an entertainer and an experienced lead singer, he has his own vocal style, and is well suited to slip into the role of Queen’s lead singer.
I give this album 4/5
Buy The Cosmos Rocks
Queen's Official Site
Queen and Paul Rodgers
Year: 2008
Record Label:
Track Listing:
01. The Cosmos Rocks
02. Time To Shine
03. Still Burnin’
04. Small
05. Warboys
06. We Believe
07. Call Me
08. Voodoo
09. Some Things That Glitter
10. C-Lebrity
11. Through The Night
12. Say It’s Not True
13. Surf’s Up…School’s Out
14. Small (Reprise)
It’s been a long time in between albums for Queen- their last album 1995’s ‘Made In Heaven’. While it’s their first studio album in 13 years, that hasn’t stopped the band from teaming up with the likes of Robbie Williams, 5ive, and George Michael to perform Queen songs live. Nor has it stopped them from releasing a handful of solo albums in between them.
The Cosmos Rocks sees them teaming up with another rock legend, in the form of Paul Rodgers, best known as the lead vocalist of Bad Company.
I’ve got to confess I was pretty excited to hear Paul Rodgers was going to take the helm as Queen's new lead vocalist. With his own musical style, it doesn’t take a genius to realise that you can’t listen to this album as you would any other Queen album, because it’s not.
If Queen enthusiasts are going to listen to this album, they need to do it with an open mind. In some aspects this is more of a marriage between Bad Company and Queen rather than a Queen album. Yes, songs like ‘Still Burnin’ and ‘We Believe’ show many aspects of Queen to them in particular through the riffs. Brian May’s characteristic sound is as much a part of who Queen is, as was Freddie Mercury’s vocal style was. The handclaps on ‘Still Burnin’ that are reminiscent of ‘We Will Rock You’, however the chorus is pure Paul Rodgers’ Bad Company.
Another thing to remember is that while some may not consider this a ‘true’ Queen album because it is so different from Queen’s previous albums; Queen is renown for reinventing themselves on each new album they release. (See ‘Jazz’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Innuendo’ and ‘Hot Space’ for example).
Lyrically, Rodgers’ style of writing is vastly different from May and Taylor’s. While Rodgers
There are also some real bad songs. ‘Call Me’ is a merging of ‘Can’t Get Enough’ and ‘Crazy Little Thing’ and by no means passes the bar. Another real stinker is ‘We Believe’, which seems more filler than substance.
Not due for release until late October, The Cosmos Rock is bound to get much criticism simply for being called a Queen album. In truth, there are only two remaining Queen members on this album-Brian May and Roger Taylor. Flamboyant frontman Freddie Mercury died 17 years ago, and bassist John Deacon could not be coaxed out of retirement.
Many may believe that it is a sacrilege to call this band Queen, but the truth is that while Freddie Mercury was the lead singer, he did not make up Queen as a whole. There were 3 other members of the band, just as Paul Rodgers did not solely make up Bad Company or Free.
There’s also bound to be comparison between Mercury and Rodgers. There’s no doubt that both singers are brilliant frontmen, but that’s where the similarities end. Rodgers is a completely different singer to Mercury- where Mercury’s vocals were Flamboyant Rogers’ is bluesy.
One thing to remember is that Rodgers that he is not trying to emulate Mercury, not should he have to. As an entertainer and an experienced lead singer, he has his own vocal style, and is well suited to slip into the role of Queen’s lead singer.
I give this album 4/5
Buy The Cosmos Rocks
Queen's Official Site
Queen and Paul Rodgers
| 44 |
| Vote |
