The Cosmos Rocks

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The Cosmos Rocks
File:Queen The Cosmos Rocks Album Cover.jpg
Studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers
Released 15 September 2008
Recorded November 2007 – August 2008, The Priory recording studio
Genre
Length 58:46
Label Parlophone / Hollywood
Producer Brian May, Paul Rodgers, Roger Taylor
co-producers:
Joshua J Macrae, Justin Shirley Smith, Kris Fredriksson
Queen + Paul Rodgers chronology
Return of the Champions
(2005)Return of the Champions2005		 The Cosmos Rocks
(2008)		 Live in Ukraine
(2009)Live in Ukraine2009
Queen chronology
Made in Heaven
(1995)		 The Cosmos Rocks
(2008)
Paul Rodgers chronology
Electric
(2000)		 The Cosmos Rocks
(2008)		 The Royal Sessions
(2014)
Singles from The Cosmos Rocks
  1. "Say It's Not True"
    Released: 31 December 2007
  2. "C-lebrity"
    Released: 8 September 2008
  3. "We Believe"
    Released: 8 September 2008 (promo single, Italy only)

The Cosmos Rocks is the only studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers, released on 15 September 2008. It contains 14 new tracks written by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor. This is the first studio album of new material from the two remaining members of Queen since 1995′s Made in Heaven, and is the only studio collaboration to date with Paul Rodgers.[1]

History

The band entered Roger Taylor's Priory studio in late 2006 having completed the American leg of their world tour. Sessions were initially scheduled around Rodgers' other touring commitments. On the previous tour the band had debuted a new song, "Take Love", which did not make the album. Throughout the promotion for his solo tour, Rodgers' also debuted songs such as "Warboys", and "Voodoo". John Deacon's continued retirement meant that bass duties are shared between Rodgers and May. The first single, "Say It's Not True" was released nine months before the album was released. The second single, "C-lebrity" was previewed on Al Murray's Happy Hour in April, five months before the album was released. The album's release came 17 years after the death of Queen's lead singer, Freddie Mercury, in 1991.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Queen + Paul Rodgers. 

No. Title Length
1. "Cosmos Rockin'" (Roger Taylor) 4:10
2. "Time to Shine" (Paul Rodgers) 4:23
3. "Still Burnin'" (Brian May) 4:04
4. "Small" (Taylor) 4:39
5. "Warboys" (Rodgers) 3:18
6. "We Believe" (May) 6:08
7. "Call Me" (Rodgers) 2:59
8. "Voodoo" (Rodgers) 4:27
9. "Some Things That Glitter" (May) 4:03
10. "C-lebrity" (Taylor) 3:38
11. "Through the Night" (Rodgers) 4:54
12. "Say It's Not True" (Taylor) 4:00
13. "Surf's Up... School's Out!" (Taylor) 5:38
14. "Small Reprise" (Taylor) 2:05
15. "Runaway" (Del Shannon/Max Crook, iTunes exclusive bonus track) 5:28

Limited edition bonus DVD (Super Live in Japan – Highlights)

  1. "Reaching Out" (Hill/Black)
  2. "Tie Your Mother Down" (May)
  3. "Fat Bottomed Girls" (May)
  4. "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon)
  5. "Fire and Water" (Rodgers/Andy Fraser)
  6. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury)
  7. "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" (May)
  8. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Queen)
  9. "Radio Ga Ga" (Taylor)
  10. "Can’t Get Enough" (Mick Ralphs)
  11. "I Was Born to Love You" (Mercury)
  12. "All Right Now" (Rodgers/Fraser)
  13. "We Will Rock You" (May)
  14. "We Are the Champions" (Mercury)
  15. "God Save the Queen" (Traditional, arr. May)

Note: The Japanese edition includes a CD audio version instead of the DVD.

Singles

Three singles were released from the album:

  • "Say It's Not True" was the lead single from the album, released in the UK on 31 December 2007; it reached #90 in the British charts although had been available as free download for some time. Its video features many clips of the suffering in South Africa as well as clips from Nelson Mandela's 46664 concerts. The single was released for the 46664 charity, with all proceeds being donated there.
  • "C-lebrity" was released as the album's second single on 8 September 2008, reaching #33 in the UK singles charts. Its B-side was a recording of "Fire and Water" live in Japan.
  • "We Believe" was released as a promo single in Italy, and reached #4 in the Virgin radio charts. It was edited down from its original 6-minute album version to less than 4 minutes.[2]

Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic 2/5 stars link
Classic Rock 8/10 stars[3]
Financial Times 3/5 stars link
Mojo 3/5 stars link (Queen Cuttings)
PopMatters 7/10 stars[4]
Record Collector 4/5 stars[5]
Rolling Stone 2/5 stars link
The Guardian 2/5 stars[6]
Total Guitar 3/5 stars[7]
Uncut 2/10 stars link[8]

Cosmos Rocks received mixed reviews. According to critic review aggregator Metacritic, the album received an average review score of 42/100,[8] which ranks it at 28th place on Metacritic's "worst-reviewed"' albums list.[9] Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave it two out of five stars, stating, "the lyrics were stupid, trite, a bit offensive and bound to have an undermining effect on whatever musical efforts they put behind it".[6] Conversely, PopMatters gave it a 7/10 review, stating, "Paul Rodgers breathes new life into Queen, while still keeping the band's tremendous legacy intact as they soldier forth with new material into the 21st century".[4] Mojo gave it three stars, stating, "Occasionally they stumble, as on the clunky 'Warboys.' But with Rodgers imperious, Queen's second coming is vindicated".[8]

Personnel

  • Brian May – guitar, backing and lead vocals, bass, keyboards, piano
  • Paul Rodgers – lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, piano, harmonica
  • Roger Taylor – drums, backing and lead vocals, percussion, keyboards
  • Taylor Hawkins – backing vocals on "C-lebrity"[10]

Charts

Chart (2008) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] 49
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 11
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 18
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 16
Croatian Foreign Albums (HDU)[15] 22
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[16] 4
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[17] 24
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[18] 8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[19] 15
French Albums (SNEP)[20] 28
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[21] 4
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[22] 15
Irish Albums (IRMA)[23] 47
Italian Albums (FIMI)[24] 6
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 31
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[26] 22
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[27] 25
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[28] 20
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[29] 24
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[30] 5
UK Albums (OCC)[31] 5
US Billboard 200[32] 47

Formats

  • Standard CD
  • Special Edition CD and DVD
  • Tour Edition (Queen Online only)
  • Gatefold Vinyl
  • iTunes Music Store edition

Tour

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Main article: Rock the Cosmos Tour

The "Rock the Cosmos Tour" began in September 2008 to promote the release of this album. The opening date was recorded for a DVD release, and was broadcast across digital video theatres across the United States on 6 November 2008 under the title "Let the Cosmos Rock". The tour included one of the largest open-air concerts in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which garnered 350,000 people. Over the course of the tour, Queen played to just short of a million viewers.

References

  1. ↑ "Queen plot return with new album." BBC, 20 March 2008
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Classic Rock, October 2008.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Record Collector, November 2008.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Total Guitar, October 2008.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ metacritic.com: Bottom 100 Scores: The Worst-Reviewed Albums
  10. ↑ "Foo Fighters Taylor Hawkins Guests On Upcoming Queen + Paul Rodgers Album." Komodo Rock, 3 September 2008
  11. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  12. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Top Stranih [Top Foreign]" (in Croatian). Top Foreign Albums. Hrvatska diskografska udruga. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 200839 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  18. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Queen + Paul Rodgers: The Cosmos Rocks" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  20. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  21. ↑ "Officialcharts.de – Top 100 Longplay". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2008. 38. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track Albums: Week 38, 2008". Chart-Track. IRMA. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  24. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  25. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  26. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  27. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  28. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  29. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  30. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Queen + Paul Rodgers – The Cosmos Rocks". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  31. ↑ September 2008 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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