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BookPrices.net - The Cosmos Rocks
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List Price: $13.98
Our Price: $7.80
Your Save: $ 6.18 ( 44% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Hollywood Records
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0050087128715
Format: Enhanced
Label: Hollywood Records
Manufacturer: Hollywood Records
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Hollywood Records
Release Date: 2008-10-28
Studio: Hollywood Records
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Yes it does, thanks to these excellent musicians
Comment: I approached this CD the wrong way round, so to speak - seeing that the band was to play at the new O2 Stadium in Prague in the Czech Republic on 31st October 2008, I decided that the whole family should go in my continuing campaign to get my kids to see as many great musicians as possible before it's too late, as well as people they like. So far this has included B B King, Paul McCartney, Stevie Winwood, Eric Clapton, Cream,Procol Harum, Genesis, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, Andy Sheppard, Tommy Smith, Joe Lovano, Meat Loaf (great band - voice vanished sadly), Eric Bell, Buddy Guy, Bryan Adams and even Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky Mick and Tich who were fab. In turn I have seen McFly, Fall Out Boy, Bowling for Soup, Kelly Clarkson (really really good)and many many other newer bands and performers. Kids, eh?
Having met a really nice guy from the Tourist Office in a previous visit, I asked him to let me know if any good shows were coming up. So he kindly e-mailed me in April to say that Queen and Paul Rodgers were on their way so I bought tickets then and there. They were sold out a few minutes later but at £39 each they seemed pretty good value. Then I booked flights from Bristol to Prague on EasyJet at £30 each return, and a hotel near the Stadium for about £50 each. A great weekend promised.
Arriving in Prague with its fantastic public transport and underground system, I was really surprised to see no posters, no advertising, no anything. So off I went to the tourist office and asked Marek if they were still playing. "Why should they not be?" he replied, "The tickets sold out in a few hours and everybody knows about it. We do not need to further promote a sell-out concert." Well, that put me in my place.
We arrived at this fantastic new stadium and after a short wait the band appeared, and the first sound of Paul Rodgers' brilliant voice, one of my favourite of all time, took me back to seeing Free in the old days. Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor were on fire, as were their superlative back-up players Spike Edney, Danny Mirando and Jamie Moses. Starting with a boiling "Tie your mother Down", they trawled through a huge selection of Queen numbers old and new, and, of course, The Cosmos Rocks. Sometimes it's hard to appreciate new songs on first hearing, but such was the musicianship, the good humour and the vast amount of styles they tackled that it was impossible not to be involved. This is not "the New Queen" in any way. The adorable Freddie M was a completely different front man, sparkling with brilliance but often in a very staccato way. Rodgers, from the blues tradition, is a much more relaxed and rhythmic performer, able to sing around the beat and to put his own stamp on everything. Honestly, it was a brilliant show, the acoustics were impeccable and Paul Rodgers a revelation. The respect and good humour with which they treated their material was a joy to behold. The Tears In The Eye bit came with We are the Champions, which PR sung perfectly and hit all the notes in his husky burred voice, and a rendition of All Right Now, with Dr May having the good taste to play Paul Kossoff's immaculate solo note perfectly.
Anyway, I bought myself the CD for Christmas and it's a great little artefact, weearing its background and influences quite openly on its sleeve. Cosmos Rockin', the opener, roars along at a heck of a pace with Brian retreading his Chuck Berry/Now I'm here riffing to great effect. To pick out some highlights, Call Me is a great little almost rockabilly track with an offset rhythmn and the tune from "Au Claire De La Lune, Mon Ami Pierrot..", incredbly like Cheryl Crow's last single. A great little four-tracked solo has Paul pleading "Have Mercy," a great touch and really funny. "We Believe", which is a charter for tolerance and understanding, is just lovely, with great harmonies and Paul's tuneful blues voice just out of this world - and it has more than a touch of "You're The Voice" by John Farnham. On Voodoo and on Through the Night (especially), Brian pays a lovely and touching tribute to Rory Gallagher, as he does elsewhere on the CD. This song is a near lift from "Fly off the Handle" from Top Priority, and the guitar tone here and elsewhere is that of Rory on Irish Tour 74 (especially "A Million Miles Away") and Calling Card, especially the tone on "Do you Read Me?" and "Calling Card" itself. Brian even does the liitle bit on the guitar where Rory sings "my cat don't scratch" on "Fly off the Handle". Brian is very public about his respect for Rory and attributes his guitar tone to him. This is a very respectful and touching way of saying thanks.
Say It's not True, not unlike Say it ain't So Joe (The Gary Brooker Version) shows Rodgers in top voice, getting high notes that Freddie would have been proud of while not resorting to falsetto. Some Things that Glitter is just a lovely song and it would have been sung by anybody - but Paul's timing is great and it's a touching tribute, I would guess, to Mrs Rodgers. Surf's Up is just plain funny and a great little rocker. For me the weakest track is C-lebrity, not much in there at all, with a chorus lifted from a million psychdelic songs.
All in all, a smashing little disc, full of good humour and great playing and singing. Even Roger Taylor, who can be a bit plodding, really comes to life and shows who had the technically best voice in Queen, as he did on stage in Prague.
A very worthy four stars from a great new band. See them live too - just brilliant and captivating. By the way, the children were blown away, as was I.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Worth a listen
Comment: I was all set to review this CD after hearing it once, then decided to listen again. My initial review would have been three stars, but I feel four is more appropriate.
The title track is perhaps my least favorite on the CD. My favorites are: 'Small' (which sounds as if it could have come off the past Queen album 'The Game"); 'We Believe', which has a great Brain May guitar; 'Some Things That Glitter' and 'C-Lebrity' (Which, along with 'Call Me' I could imagine Freddie singing.)
There are a couple more bluesy tracks, especially 'Through the Night', and while maybe not a great song, 'Surf's Up...' is a lot of fun.
I had hoped for more Queen-like harmonies and Brian May guitar solos, but if you take this as a collaboration of May/Taylor/Rodgers and not a continuation of old Queen, I think you'll really enjoy it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Rodgers Taylor May Project
Comment: As many reviews here accurately point out - this is not "Queen" in the classical sense. This is the DNA of two band members + 1 blues rock singer and the results are interesting enough.
When you think of Queen, you think of Freddie Mercury and even bassist John Deacon, and you realise how vital each one of them was to the Queen sound. But this album is more like the Paul Rodgers meets Roger Taylor and Brian May album project (arrange names in any order you like). In that sense, only a few songs relate to Queen's legacy. In actuality, this feels more like a Paul Rodgers album which his fans will be absolutely delighted with. By Queen's standards, it has just enough material that reminds you of the glorious past, but just barely.
The three chord rockers of "The Cosmos Rocks" are really jams in comparison to the esoteric, anthemic, romantic, grandiose epics of Queen past - which is why no one can quite place the Queen sound here. Freddie and Paul's singing styles are so vastly different that one does miss Mercury, the inventive, crazy performer who now has Paul Rodgers, the belter, the bluesman, the rocker in his corner. In terms of their live concerts, these tracks are going to rock quite well in between the old standards. But for those who miss Freddie Mercury, this will not fill the hole in the soul.
This is by no means a great album nor a bad album. It will likely grow on you with more listens. Unlike the bombastic approach of the old Queen where one could count on a dramatic anthem to power up the listener, followed by ballads followed by ditties, The Cosmos Rocks will not reveal any soaring vocals or leaping Innuendo turns. Every Queen album is a tough act to follow, so this album succeeds in that it does not try to compete with the past. Nonetheless, we Queen fans will compare whatever's served to us.
I felt The Cosmos Rocks really heading into Queen territory only by the last few tracks with the refreshing C-lebrity and Say It's Not True (the most Queen song on the album with Roger Taylor on vocals - the second voice of Queen). Queen has always been an album band, and I felt settled once the boys had found their groove. A few songs hint at the progressive edge that Queen has always had.
So don't get this because you miss Mercury. Get it to revisit some old friends. You may find it well worthwhile. 3.5 stars.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Un disco que vale mucho la pena escuchar
Comment: Este disco es un claro ejemplo que no existe una relación proporcional entre calidad y volumen de ventas, además de dejar presente que los crÃticos musicales profesionales son unos ladrones de gallinas.
Las trece composiciones originales del disco van de lo bueno a lo sublime (destaco sobre todo Voodoo, We Believe y Warboys), siendo un trabajo que mezcla seriedad lÃrica con inmadurez irreverente (cosa que disfruto cada vez más al creer cada vez menos en el contenido social de las letras de la mayorÃa de las bandas que componen el mainstream del negocio musical).
Que puedo decir que no se haya dicho de Roger Taylor y Brian May? Me limito a decir que creo que van a pasar muchos años antes de que se repita un tandem similar de tan notables cualidades, mientras que Paul Rodgers tiene una voz realmente de PUTA MADRE. Ese señor tiene un don vocal que hace ridÃculas las crÃticas recibidas en los últimos meses.
En definitiva, si tenés ganas de escuchar algo de primera (cosa que sale cada 25 millones de años), comprá este disco y hacé que la crÃtica se vaya a tomar por culo.
P.D. - No le puse 5 estrellas, porque se las dejo reservadas a los clásicos, con lo que me refiero a obras con por lo menos 5 años en plaza que han logrado pasar la barrera de la inmediatez.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Good album, but not the specific "Queen sound"
Comment: I'ts a good rock album. The sound is great and the songs are good.
The only thing missing is the "Queen Sound". I Can't recognize the specific guitar sound of Brian May.
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Editorial Reviews:
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Tracks on the new Queen + Paul Rodgers album are all newly written by May, Taylor and Rodgers during the late 2007/ early 2008 recording sessions. `Say It's Not True', previously released at the end of last year by Queen + Paul Rodgers as a special World Aids Day download for Nelson Mandela's 46664 HIV AIDS charity will be included, plus a `first' for a Queen album - a cover version.
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