Track Listing

1. Cosmos Rockin'
2. Time To Shine
3. Still Burnin'
4. Small
5. Warboys
6. We Believe
7. Call Me
8. Voodoo
9. 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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7847 in Music
• Released on: 2008-09-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Enhanced

Amazon.co.uk Review
The idea of Free/Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers taking the place of Freddie Mercury for a new Queen album is an odd one indeed. Where Mercury was flamboyant and knowing, Rodgers--who toured with Brian May and Roger Taylor in 2005--is way more weighty and grizzled. The resultant album, The Cosmos Rocks, sounds literally like Queen's gregarious musicality has been filtered through the wide-holed sieve of Bad Company's own blues-rock schtick. That said, the soundtrack brims with multi-tracked guitar riffs and foams with layered vocal harmonies, and gets off to a rockin' start with "Cosmos Rockin'", a song that seems to be more a parody of, than a tribute to, one of the UK's most celebrated glam-rock bands. As the record moves through the soaring "Time to Shine", the bluesy "Still Burnin'" and the ballad "Small", it becomes clear that this is an album monumental only in its relative lack of imagination and meaningful lyrical content. It's buoyed sporadically by captivating ditties like "Call Me If You Need My Love" (vaguely reminiscent of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love") and the Freddie tribute "Some Things That Glitter", but these rarities are not quite enough to save The Cosmos Rocks from being an exercise in dire rock cliché. --Danny McKenna

CD Description
The prospect of the first new material since 1995 from two of the remaining members of pomp-rock legends Queen was bound to whet the appetite of enthusiasts, and 'The Cosmos Rocks' sees the new line-up of the band deliver on that potential. Joined by vocalist Paul Rodgers of Free (in the absence ofsinger/songwriter Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon),the ensemble on this release is one still unafraid to poke fun at the establishment. Lead single 'C-Lebrity', for example, is drummer Roger Taylor's musing on modern fascinations with stardom without talent. Elsewhere, songs take a typicalQueen aesthetic, mixing the epic with the throwaway, but with a keen eye for harmony and Brian May's inimitable guitar sound.

Customer Reviews

A review from someone who has heard it
I receive a lot of promos, but this one had some weight on it - the first new Queen album since `Made In Heaven', and the first one to not feature iconic frontman, Freddie Mercury. A tall order... for some people, but not for the three talented musicians who've put together a belting record.
The first thing that you need to know is this is not an attempt to pick up where Queen left off - this is three musicians of extreme talent making a record after discovering they had a chemistry. Paul Rodgers, Brian May and Roger Taylor play everything on this record and all the songs are credited as a three way co-write - so don't be expecting `A Night At The Opera'. So, what should you expect?
First up, I thought perhaps Brian and Roger would handle some more of the lead vocals like on the old Queen records from the seventies, but not so - Paul sings lead on everything with the exception of `Say It's Not True' which is a souped up version of the acoustic tune that Roger Taylor sang lead on, which appeared on `Return Of The Champions'. The new version features each member singing a section each, and it far rockier than the original incarnation. Personally I prefer Roger's softer rendition, but this is still very cool.
`Cosmos Rockin'' kicks the album off and is a great party rocker, with an infectious rhythm and a great vocal from Paul. `Time to Shine' is moodier and leads on neatly to `Still Burnin''. `Small' is a breezy ballad superbly delivered by Rodgers, before things pick up again with `Warboys'. You may have heard Paul play this song on his `Live In Glasgow' release, but you haven't heard this version. Roger and Brian have really given it some power, much like they did with Freddie's `Made in Heaven' and `I Was Born To Love You' on the last Queen album.
The idealistic `We Believe' is a pleasant song with a Lennon vibe, but one of my personal favourites is `Call Me', a lazy acoustic funfest with a real vintage solo from Brian and some fantastic harmony singing.
While `Call Me' had that Queen touch and `Still Burnin'' had a cheeky excerpt from `We Will Rock You', equally `Voodoo', `Some Things That Glitter' and `Through The Night' are more like the blues based Bad Company material Paul is famous for. However, this album doesn't sound like Queen or Bad Company, it sounds... well, it just sounds good!
`C-Lebrity' is a superb rocker about talentless attention seekers which you may have heard on the radio, and `Surf's Up...School's Out' keeps the energy high before `Say It's Not True' and a reprise of `Small'. I needed one listen because I didn't know what to expect, then another to become familiar with the songs, and I was sold. This album is brilliant.

James Gaden - Fireworks Magazine

Entertaining rock album 3.5 stars
The mistake is, I think, to assume this is going to be a Queen album. Freddie's vocals were so distinctive, that expectations were almost certainly going to drive disappointment.
In The Cosmos rocks there are echoes of Queen, mainly in May's unique guitar work, but this was more of a rock album featuring some members of Queen. Paul Rodgers has his own style and his vocals are nothing like Mercury's but they still work and he belts out some good numbers.
While one or two tracks could, at a pinch, be considered `Queen Like', this should just be listened to as a competent rock album without seeking a mythical link to the Queen of old. It's entertaining enough and does grow on you a bit after a few listens, with more then a few stand out songs, including C-lebrity.
So not an all time classic, but a solid and entertaining rock album.

Better than i thought it would be...
Ive been a Queen fan for 24 years and IMO Queen haven't produced a truly stunning record since News of The World. Granted, The Game and Jazz are very good records (but not truly stunning) and The Works and Innuendo have their moments. Overall though, the later output is patchy (Magic, Miracle, Heaven do not stand up to the 70's stuff). Thought i'd get that out of the way before i comment as I wanted to demonstrate that I do not view Queen's back catalogue as by any means flawless.

I have only heard The Cosmos Rocks once so far and i am pleasantly surprised. Roger and Brian and are on great form and the music is very good. The lyrics are a bit patchy and sometimes pretty sub standard but overlooking that (as i have on a lot of Queen's 80's output) it more than stands up to a lot of Queen's later stuff.

Paul Rogers voice isn't anywhere near as good as Freddie Mercury's but he puts in a competent shift and gets the best out of Brian and Roger. Deacon and Mercury are missed especially as the record doesn't have the eclectic mix of styles that Queen fans are used to - Rock and Blues are the order of the day here.

In summary, if you like the musicianship of Queen (well Brian and Roger but lets not get into that here...), there is a lot here for you to enjoy. If you can't look past the often sub-standard lyrics, you probably wont enjoy this record. If you can look past the lyrics and you don't mind Mr Rogers voice, there are lot of pleasant rewards awaiting you here.

It isn't Queen but it's a chance to hear 2 members of Queen strutting their stuff together once again and doing it very well indeed.

Also the production of this record is brilliant - crystal clear but not over produced - it sounds real.

Going to listen again right now (never thought i'd say that as I feared the worst for this record...)