Recensioni "The Cosmos Rocks"

Miss Bad Guy, 19/09/2008 14.23:

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Il primo album dei Queen registrato in studio dopo 13 anni segna il conseguimento di Paul Rodgers come membro neo-acquisito della band. Da quando si è unito a Brian May e Roger Taylor, sempre ha calzato – con un certo stile – le scarpe del prediletto frontman Freddie Mercury (morto nel 1991). Ora, tutte i crediti delle composizioni sono da dividere in tre.
Innanzitutto, sembra che tutto stia funzionando magnificamente. La canzone col titolo omonimo li vede con grande impeto come in Tie Your Mother Down; Time To Shine ha dei momenti elevati e Still Burnin’ ha un ritmo sincopato unito a un gusto irresistibile. Ma questo impeto grintoso e blueseggiante sparisce presto per lasciare posto alla sdolcinata Small, alla sciossa Warboys, e a una generale mancanza di vigore melodico. E poi, improvvisamente ricordi Freddie: lui, sì, che sapeva come improvvisare un motivo. Alla fine, è il suo carisma alla Noel Coward – sia musicale che personale – che manca di più in questo lavoro ispirato di tanto in tanto, suonato impeccabilmente, ma un leggermente triste.

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ecco questa l'accetto, sottolinea i momenti belli e quelli brutti dell'album...

Comprato e ascoltato il nuovo album ! ! !. Le critiche che ho letto sono state veramente esagerate e poche andavano ad analizzare il cd prendendolo come una cosa a se. Ma si sa, i Queen hanno sempre avuto critiche, spesso negative al loro tempo, con gente che dava una rapida ascoltata e sparava a 0. Mi fa ridere il fatto che critichino questi testi quando una volta Freddie voleva pubblicare F***ing Power al posto di Staying Power!

Per essere il primo album che hanno fatto (e ricordiamoci che è il primo!!!) Devo dire che trovo delle canzoni molto interessanti, soprattutto quelle un pò più "ritmate" e altre un pò meno, tra le lente.
Non mi aspettavo l'album del secolo, ero partito con questo presupposto e, si, avevo un pò di timori. Ma, ascoltando alcune di queste canzoni, sono contento che questo album sia stato fatto.
C'è una cosa che non capisco: perchè l'album sia stato dedicato a Freddie.

Un saluto

Dal sito di Brian
Questa è già più di parte, ecco perchè è pubblicata sul sito di Bri

QUEEN + PR 'COSMOS ROCKS' REVIEW

GRTR!
19 Sep 08
Jason Ritchie

QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS ‘The Cosmos Rocks’ EMI (2008)

The first all new Queen album in over thirteen years and of course the first without the late, great Freddie Mercury on vocals. Free/Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers is one of my all time favourite vocalists after Freddie so I do have high expectations for this album. Having seen them live I know the band still have the magic and happily they still have it in the studio…

The rock ‘n’ roll fun of ‘Cosmos Rockin’ gets the album of to a flying start with all three band members in fine form, particularly Brian May’s heavy guitar playing – a sheer delight to listen to. The lyric to ‘Still Burnin’ looks at how the band still have the desire and passion to make music and the song even features a snippet of ‘We Will Rock’ styled drums/handclaps. ‘Time To Shine’ and ‘We Believe’ are slower numbers that in the case of the latter build nicely to a crescendo come the chorus. ‘Surf’s Up . . . School’s Out!’ is an instant classic and sure to be played live – a real Queen stadium anthem. ‘Time To Burn’ really does sound like a mellower Bad Company/Free song and even Brian May’s guitar playing takes on a Bad Company sound. ‘Say It Isn’t So’ [sic 'Say It's Not True'] is slightly re-jigged on here having first been released to help the Mandela AIDS charity. Go onto iTunes and you can download a bonus song, a cover of Del Shannon’s ‘Runaway’ complete with high range backing vocals from Taylor/May.

There are a couple of let downs though in ‘Warboys’ (which Paul Rodgers played on his last solo tour) which never seems to get going and ‘Call Me’ which just sounds like a decent tune in search of a decent lyric! However I have warmed more to the single ‘C-Lebrity’ which does sound like classic Queen the more you hear it.

The overall sound is one of Queen with Paul Rodgers on vocals which it is meant to be, not Queen with a new vocalist replacing Freddie Mercury and if you approach it from this angle even the most die hard ‘its not Queen without Freddie’ fan will enjoy this album. Everything you love about the Queen sound is still present like the distinctive Brian May guitar orchestra, those layered harmonies and Roger Taylor belting seven shades of the proverbial out of his drum kit (with plenty of cymbals just the way we like it!). The only thing this album lacks is that OTT camp sound that Freddie Mercury adds to Queen but I for one am glad that Brian May and Roger Taylor are keeping the band alive and with such a great vocalist. Ignore those broadsheet and ‘NME’ reviews as they have never liked Queen and like my other great musical love ELO, it may never be hip to like Queen but when the music is this good who cares?

can you translate please?

ho una passiono comune alla vostra!
solo che non voglio piangere ogni due minuti il piu grande cantente di sempre! è morto, per sbagli sua o meno non mi interessa, si deve andare avanti e il nuovo album lo adoro finalmente i queen sono tornati mi interessa solo quello!

Pregherei tutti gli utenti di non rispondere più ai messaggi del signor Flick Of The Wrist, in attesa che i moderatori ed amministratori decidano cosa fare a riguardo.

Tranquilli tanto non tornerò piu, perchè si fanno sempre i soliti discorsi.
vi saluto, siete stati il mio primo forum dei queen e vi ringrazio, ma sietre troppo legati al passato. buona continuazione.

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Dico solo una cosa, prima di ritirarmi quasi del tutto dai forum dei queen, per dedicarmi ad altri forum.
allora: a me l'album piace, e smettetela con sto ***** si freddie mercury!! è stato il piu grande, lo sappiamo tutti, ma è mortooooooooooo è andatoooooooooooooooooooooo, ora fate continuare gli altri, fategli cantare che ***** vogliono e non confrontate sempre con freddie!!!
lui vorrebbe che noi apprezzassimo il lavoro di paul roger e brian.
punto.
morto freddie, arriva paul. accettiamolo e basta.
sperando che paul non si faccia prendere da qualche virus in maniera stupida....

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lo so, ma con le parole "pacate" non arrivava il messaggio.
io non la posso piu dei fan, che dicono "freddie ere un dio"
Freddie non ******** mai, freddie non faceva mai errori, paul non va bene, paul vuole offuscare freddie.
ma basta. freddie vorrebbe che i queen continuassero a vivere anche senza di lui.
e con questo vi saluto ciao
w i queen
e non w freddie
bye

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Sono senza parole. Un comportamento così non è qualificabile. In ciò che scrivi ci sarebbe talmente tanto da questionare, che preferisco lasciarti andare. Tanto mi pare che il dialogo non esista. Non ho mai ricevuto una mail da parte tua, non un commento.. E ora esordisci così? Mi dispiace, ma non ci siamo, gran calma ragazzo.
Che c'è, volevi andartene sbattendo rumorosamente la porta? Beh, caro Flick Of The Wrist, ci sei riuscito. Prego, l'uscita è da quella parte.
Non credo sinceramente che questo forum sia "troppo legato al passato", credo invece che ogni utente abbia le proprie idee e preferenze, e che sia giusto rispettarle.

Piuttosto di apportare qualcosa di nuovo, si preferisce andarsene in malo modo, come cambiando un canale TV.
Poi quando c'è qualcosa di interessante da depredare si torna come avvoltoi.

Auguro buona fortuna al prossimo forum che esplorerai, sperando che possa fornirti le parole di cui hai bisogno. Finché non ti stancherai pure di quello.

Grazie comunque per le cose che hai portato qui, prima di andartene.

Le condizioni per il dialogo, da parte tua, mancano decisamente.

Buona fortuna. Addio.

elbrabus

ciao ragazzi trovo l'albun molto bello con sonorita molto diverse dal passato ma me lo aspettavo cosi d'altronde pur avendo tenuto il nome queen è un alro gruppo e a chi dice che non ha lo stile dei queen ha ragione ma non avrebbero potuto essere neanche se ci fosse stato john deacon assieme a may e a taylor e a rodgers perchè a creare lo stile queen era freddie che con la sua voce permetteva a i tre e sopratutto a brian di suonare con quello stile di assoli era logico che in questo albun non poteva essere cosi. hanno scritto delle canzoni semplici alla portata della voce di paul.

baffonemercury, 19/09/2008 15.53:

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la comune band da pub...

qualche classico rock...

i gornali hanno passato la loro vita ad odiare freddie perchè non accettavano che una così grande band avesse un nome così ed avesse un cantante gay, adesso dicono che non si avvicinano per nulla ai veri queen, un pò di coerenza signori...

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BRAVO!!! è quello che ho pensato anche io... ma come? Quando Freddie era in vita gli sputavano addosso e adesso è insostituibile???
mah lo dico sempre che i giornalisti sono una brutta e strana razza...
Comunque l'album a me piace, questo è quello che conta, che piaccia o meno a noi... non ai critici (devo dire che in generale quando la critica stronca qualcosa, un film, una canzone... qualsiasi cosa, io lo trovo stupendo al contrario quando lo elogia mi fa schifo... sarà un caso? forse non potrò mai fare la critica )

TCR REVIEW FROM ITALIAN RADIO 'LIGACHANNEL'

From: LIGACHANNEL
(Luciano Ligabue's radio station and website)

QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS "The Cosmos Rocks"

It's not easy to talk about a Queen album, released in 2008, 17 years after the loss of Freddie Mercury, or let's put it this way, it is easy if you're already totally prejudiced and, maybe, you start criticizing it without even having listened to one single track of "The Cosmos Rocks".

This is the first album with unpublished works ever to be released without the memorable, charismatic, histrionic and, above all, excellent Freddie who died back in 1991.

Queen are Brian May and Roger Taylor. Paul Rodgers is the voice (and what a voice!) playing as lead singer. The 14 tracks are not all following the typical "Queen style", but most of the songs wink more at a classic rock rather than at an epic one. Sure, there are many powerful and emotional charges so peculiar to this historic band. However, May and Taylor must have realized that Rodgers, as he did with Free and Bad Company, would be better off performing blues and rock'n'roll.

It 's not by pure coincidence that the opening song (Cosmos Rockin') reminds of Status Quo's "Rocking All Over the Years" to a certain extent and that "Still Burning" together with "Call Me" and "Voodoo" share some common traits of blues and country-folk which were so distinctive of the old Bad Company's sound.

All the rest is a perfect example of how skilled musicians in their early 60s can play extraordinarily well putting all their experience in it as well as a great deal of "heart" ! (for instance, the ballad "Small" will probably thump in all radio stations next winter).

What about the epoch-making stuff? Where do we find it? Obviously here in "The Cosmos Rocks" .

And we must praise Queen also on this point. We must give them credit for the way they selected the tracklist. One by one, one track after the other which first surprises you and soon afterwards it reassures you with sounds reminding us of those unforgettable songs which made Queen great: "We Believe" is probably the track which is closest to Freddie's style, whereas that precious jewel of "Some Things That Glitter" , although it's not easy to compare, bears some strong similarities with "Bohemian Rhapsody"...

It' s a bit strange the choice of the first single "C-lebrity".

One might think it was a strategic decision took on purpose with the intent not to give immediately the best to people and not to feed all those useless comparisons with the past.

Queen are still there. Fans trust the good faith of those who were left to carry on and who, waited for 17 years before releasing a new album. This shows it has not been easy to take such an important decision.

FONTE:brianmay.com

sul sito di ligabue non l'ho trovata...

trovata!

Parlare di un disco dei Queen nel 2008, a 17 anni dalla scomparsa di Freddie Mercury non è semplice, o meglio, lo è nel momento in cui si parte totalmente prevenuti e si comincia a criticare superficialmente senza aver magari neppure ascoltato una traccia di "The Cosmos Rocks", primo album di inediti senza lo storico, carismatico, istrionico ma soprattutto bravissimo Freddie scomparso nel 1991.
I Queen sono Bryan May e Roger Taylor. Paul Rodgers è la voce (e che voce!) chiamata a cantare 14 brani non tutti "alla Queen" ma per la maggior parte delle canzoni si nota un rock che strizza l'occhio più al classico che all'epico. Certo, non mancano le caricate di molla tipiche della storica band ma certo, May e Taylor hanno capito che a Rodgers, avendo fatto parte di Free e Bad Company, fa piacere interpretare blues e rock and roll. Non è un caso che la canzone di apertura (Cosmos Rockin') arrivi addirittura a ricordare gli Status Quo di "Rocking All Over The Years" e che "Still Burnin'" insieme a "Call Me" e "Voodoo" abbiano dentro ora il blues, ora il country-folk che tanto ha caratterizzato i suoni passati della Bad Company.
Il resto è un perfetto esempio di come musicisti 60enni riescano a suonare straordinariamente bene mettendoci tanto mestiere ma pure un'ottima dose di cuore (la ballata "Small" martellerà probabilmente le radio per tutto l'inverno). E la roba epocale? Dove la inseriamo? Ovviamente in "The Cosmos Rocks". E anche qui va dato merito di come i Queen hanno scalettato i brani uno ad uno perchè si rimane sorpresi e subito dopo quasi rassicurati da suoni che ci rimandano a canzoni indimenicabili che hanno reso grandi "La Regina": "We Believe" è la più vicina allo stile di Freddie, mentre quel piccolo gioiello di "Some Things That Glitter", seppur imparagonabile, ha forti caratteristiche di Rapsodia Bohemien... Strana la scelta del primo singolo "C-lebrity". Lascia pensare ad una scelta strategicamente studiata per non dare in pasto il meglio subito e alimentare in quel modo gli ovvii e inutili paragoni col passato. I Queen ci sono. I fan non tradiscono la buona fede di chi è rimasto che comunque, prima di realizzare un nuovo disco ha impiegato 17 anni, segno che non è stato sicuramente facile prendere una decisione così importante.

inoltre le date sono segnalate anche nel sito...

Ecco il link http://www.ligachannel.com/?q=node/1992

COSMOS ROCKS RECORD COLLECTOR REVIEW

RECORD COLLECTOR, NOVEMBER 2008, p98
QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS
The Cosmos Rocks
Rating: **** (Excellent)
EMI 237 02512
Bad Company versus Queen - kind of

The 14 tracks from the first full studio collaboration between Bad Company's Paul Rodgers and Queen are pleasing, if not mindblowing - a grower rather than an instant hit. Proceedings kick off rather bewilderingly with the Status Quo-do-Queen of Cosmos rockin', while Still Burnin' veers more towards Rodgers' past, albeit with a Will Rock You-esque rhythm base. Small then showcases Brian May's electric prowess, while Battlefield effects populate the thoughtfull Warboys. We Believe has a martial tone too, albeit in a latterday BJH, radio-riendly kind of way, but 70s glam runs through Call Me, before the slow blues of Voodoo, and Some Things That Glitter, which puts the spotlight on Rodgers at the piano.

It's not until track 12 that the epic Say It's Not True rekindles the pomp of Queen of old, followed bythe harmony-rich Surf's up... School's Out. Ending on a high note, then, but it may take some plays to get used to the idea that QPR is very much a meeting of equals.

FONTE:brianmay.com

Prime recensioni dagli USA

'THE COSMOS ROCKS' USA - REVIEWS

As the new album releases in America this week - the inevitable reviews...B

BUFFALO NEWS

GOD SAVED THE QUEEN: BAND RELEASES FIRST ALBUM MINUS THE ICONIC MERCURY
By Jeff Miers

NEWS POP MUSIC CRITIC
0/27/08 02:26 PM

Like so many significant stories in the world of post-’60s rock, this one begins with the Beatles. More specifically, it begins with the 1968 double-album released simply as “The Beatles,” but known as “The White Album.” Across the span of two vinyl discs, the Fab Four delved into nearly every musical style imaginable, from the old-school rock ’n’ roll of “Back in the USSR” to the proto-heavy metal squall of “Helter Skelter;” the folksy country stroll of “Rocky Raccoon” to the trippy psychedelia of “Dear Prudence;” and from the pure music hall charm of “Martha My Dear” to the avant-garde soul of “Why Don’t We Do It in the Road?”
Already the most successful band in the world, the Beatles employed that fame as a license to split into four separate bands with four separate songwriters, and further, to fully indulge every whim of personal taste. In the process, the band created — wittingly or otherwise –what would come to be known as progressive rock.
Though it was forged in the fiery furnace of David Bowie’s gender-bending glam-rock, British quartet Queen built its career on –and employed as bedrock for its musical philosophy –the sprawling “White Album.”
It would add to the multi-idiomatic melange the Beatles presented with their masterpiece, bringing in an estimable amount of camp, show-tune grandiosity, the Sturm und Drang of opera, and ultimately, the anthemic qualities of arena-sized “big rock.” Along the way, the group would sell in excess of 150 million albums worldwide, making it one of the most successful bands in history.
Indelibly ambitious, deeply musical and fearlessly flamboyant, Queen meant many things to many people.
Singer, pianist, songwriter and one-of-a-kind frontman Freddie Mercury possessed an operatic tenor and an uncanny ability to carry off hard rock histrionics, white man’s soul, and fey Tin Pan Alley pop craftsmanship with equal aplomb and readily apparent conviction.
In Brian May, Queen boasted a genuine guitar hero, a musician whose larger-than-life solos and keen ear for orchestrated guitar harmonies gave the band much of its regal air and musical street-cred.
Drummer Roger Taylor sang like Rod Stewart and played like Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham. Bassist John Deacon was the quiet one, but his melodic lines and deep, guttural thump anchored the group, and he would prove to be perhaps the most pop-savvy of the Queen composers.
All four of them could write, all four of them were virtuosos, and most significantly, all four of them could sing. The ability to move with ease between musical styles became a Queen trademark, but it was the massive, neooperatic layering of the band’s harmony vocals that made it wholly unique within the rock landscape of the ’70s. This recipe informed all of the band’s hits, whether the song in question be the iconic mini-opera “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the arena-sized (English) football chant heroics of “We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions,” or the shameless disco-funk appropriation “Another One Bites the Dust.”
When, in 1991, Freddie Mercury succumbed to a lengthy battle with AIDS-related illnesses at the age of 45, Queen died along with him. The eccentric Mercury was not just another singer, and thus, was not replaceable. The surving members called it a day, after releasing one posthumous Mercury-based album, 1995’s “Made in Heaven.” That seemed to be that.
May, Taylor and Deacon kept a low profile, while the band’s enduring influence became readily apparent in the work of a new generation of bands, and its catalog continued to sell to a generation of listeners not even born when Queen scored most of its biggest hits.
In 2004, however, May and Taylor –Deacon was firm in his commitment to retirement – played a one-off gig at an English industry awards show with former Free/Bad Company/ the Firm singer Paul Rodgers. The magic, it seemed, had not wholly abandoned them. Soon enough, the trio –with the help of a few backing musicians –had rehearsed a program of Queen songs, peppered with a few of the various hits Rodgers had accrued over the years. (Between his efforts with the various bands he fronted, Rodgers has accrued nearly 150 million worldwide album sales himself.)“
Paul is not really replacing Freddie, because no man can,” Taylor said to The Buffalo News prior to a Queen + Paul Rodgers Buffalo tour stop in 2006. “He is completely his own man, and he brings a sound, style and approach that is wholly his own to the table. That’s why we can feel good about carrying on –it doesn’t at all feel like we’ve replaced Freddie. It’s more like we’ve formed a new band to play this repertoire of music that, I must say, still retains an awful lot of power.”
At the time of the Buffalo concert, Taylor was noncommittal about writing and recording plans for this new band. “We’re committed to this tour, but we have no plans beyond that,” the drummer said.
Now, however, the first album of new Queen material to be released sans the towering vocals and considerable songwriting acumen of Mercury is poised to hit the streets. Concurrently, the influence of Queen’s large-screen, grandiose vision of rock music is more pervasive than ever. It’s both interesting and ironic that Queen, the very band so many among the first generation of British punk rockers claimed to be rebelling against as bloated and irrelevant, has in fact had a broader influence than most of those angry young neo-anarchists. “God save the Queen,” indeed.

Link

© brianmay.com

ADVANCE TITAN, Wisconsin

MUSIC REVIEW: QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS - THE COSMOS ROCKS

by Colin Anderle

Queen is one of the first classic rock bands that I enjoyed as a kid. “Night at the Opera” was on high rotation in my CD player and the volume of “Bohemian Rhapsody” was cranked up.
When I heard a few years ago that Brian May and Roger Taylor had teamed up with a guy named Paul Rodgers as “Queen + Paul Rodgers,” I thought ‘I want to see them.’ I understand that Freddy Mercury isn’t around anymore and that Queen isn’t the same without him, but seeing Brian May and Roger Taylor perform Queen songs is as close as I can get to the real thing. Besides, who wouldn’t want to see one of the best guitarists in rock and the former singer of Bad Company?
After some listening, I was so impressed with Paul Rodgers that I had to check out what he had done. Rodgers was also the front-man for the blues-rock band Free (“All Right Now”) and the short-lived band with Jimmy Page, The Firm.
Then I heard May, Taylor and Rodgers were going to release a new album under the Queen & Paul Rodgers moniker. I couldn’t wait to hear it and figured it would sound something like Queen meets Bad Company (and I see no problem with that, since I like both). “The Cosmos Rocks” isn’t perfect, nor does it sound exactly like the Queen of old, but it’s a fun rock ‘n’ roll album nonetheless. It has classic Brian May guitar riffs and Queen harmonies along with Rodgers, a powerful singer in his own right. The disc has a variety of rockers, bluesy numbers, and ballads – something for almost everyone.
The first track “Cosmos Rockin’” starts off with stuttering guitars and a robotic voice asking “What planet is this? Let there be rock ‘n’ roll,” before building up into a catchy track. This is a great way to start an album off.
“Time to Shine” almost veers into ‘80s U2 but Rodgers saves it. “Still Burnin’” is Rodgers sounding as good as his Bad Company days, with great guitar work, as always, and features the classic drum beat of “We Will Rock You” at one point.
“Warboys” is a Rodgers-written song, whichcompared to his solo version is epic with the harmonies and the urgent, driving guitars. May simply shreds on this. “Call Me” sounds like a good blend of ‘70s Queen and Bad Company. I liked the fun little songs like “Good Company” on “Night at the Opera” and this is kind of in that vein also.
“C-lebrity,” their first single, is a fun rocking song that sounds like Bad Company with Queen harmonies and guitars, or close to it. “Voodoo” recalls Rogers’ Free days with a bluesy rocker. “Say It’s Not True,” a song released earlier in the year for an AIDS benefit, is the one track on which Taylor takes over vocals for part of the song, and is clearly directed at Mercury. It’s part acoustic and part rock, with Rodgers taking over when the rocking begins.
“Small” and “Some Things that Glitter” showcase a common feature to both camps – the ballad. Rodgers voice is as brilliant and intimate here as it has in the past.
“Surfs Up…School’s Out” offers something a little different from the rest with a surf rock feel, accompanied with a brilliant piano and guitar intro. “You got to follow that dream,” Rodgers sings, and I can’t help reminicing about Elvis’s movie “Follow that Dream.”
The talk of purity, that this isn’t Queen without Mercury and John Deacon, should stop and this disc should be given a chance. “Queen + Paul Rodgers” is a new band. “The Cosmos Rocks” shows three guys having fun making music.

Link

© brianmay.com

Raccolta di varie recensioni sul nuovo album!

The Cosmos Rocks by Queen + Paul Rodgers

The debut album for Paul Rogers as the lead singer is Queen's first album of new material in more than 10 years.
LABEL: Hollywood

RELEASE DATE: 28 October 2008
DISCS: 1 disc
GENRE(S): Rock

What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. .

60
Mojo
Occasionally they stumble, as on the clunky 'Warboys.' But with Rogers imperious, Queen's second coming is vindicated. [Oct 2008, p.100]
40

Uncut
This ill-fitting rebirth, fronted by the defiantly ungay, unIndian and uneccentric Paul Rodgers, can be seen as an attempt to ditch the Mercury-inspired absurdity and bolster Queen’s hard 'rawkin’credentials.


40
The Guardian
As with a lot of The Cosmos Rocks, you listen to Warboys boggling that Queen--famously intelligent men--didn't at any point notice that the lyrics were stupid, trite, a bit offensive and bound to have an undermining effect on whatever musical efforts they put behind it.

40
All Music Guide
Certainly, it's not the embarrassment of the live album, but it has its own internal logic that keeps it humming along, and that's good enough for a listen and to get the band out on tour again, even it's not good enough for a second spin.

20
Observer Music Monthly
What an astronomically bad parallel universe. Queen's star is dead.

20
Hot Press
Freddie-less queen fail to recall old glories.

20
Blender
This mismatched combo brings out the best in each other only on the refreshingly lightweight 'Call Me.' [Nov 2008, p.76]

FONTE:queenzone.com

CD reviews: Queen emerges again

Queen+Paul Rodgers: The Cosmos Rocks
*** out of *****

Queen has finally nudged its way back into the limelight with its 16th studio album, The Cosmos Rocks, after more than 13 years of fans wondering what the arena-rock legends would do next. It is evident that Queen is trying to keep that classic persona alive with this new album, but it is hard to say if the group is successful at actually pulling it off.
Initially, the group was unsure if it could even move on to new career ventures, especially following the tragic death of original frontman Freddie Mercury, who died following complications from HIV in 1991. Guitarist Brian May was particularly reluctant to continue with the band without Mercury. In 2004, current lead singer Paul Rodgers was invited to join the lineup. May, Rodgers, and drummer Roger Taylor complete what is now called Queen + Paul Rodgers, so as not to "replace" the memory of the late Mercury.
The album opens with "Cosmos Rockin," a true Queen track in its energy, featuring the tight vocal harmonies that the band has become known for through the years. This track, along with several others, are reminiscent of the classic Queen sound. "Cosmos Rockin'" and "Still Burnin," for instance, present a stomp/clap type of percussion, in addition to the drums, that are immediately recognizable and attributable to Queen.
There is a great sense of variety throughout this album. While there are more slow songs than anticipated, there are more than enough arena-ready ballads and rockers, such as "We Believe" and "C-Lebrity," to balance out the more mellow moments, highlighted by more acoustic-based tracks like "Small."
Queen is known as a glam-rock band with a harder edge, and this aspect of its musicianship is brought to life in "Time to Shine." The song is appropriately titled, and the sounds produced by Brian May's guitar playing seem to almost glimmer on top of this triumphant, uplifting track. The journey closes with the song "Surf's Up … School's Out!" Sure, the title may seem strange for a group with members well into their 50s, yet the substance is everything you'd expect from the band - there is even a riff present throughout the song that is almost a carbon copy of that featured in 1975's "Now I'm Here."
The Cosmos Rocks marks Rodgers' first official album with Queen, and with that will surely come a bit of hesitation from Queen fans so used to the iconic voice and stage craft of Mercury. Just the same, people first familiarizing themselves with Queen must look at both "versions" of the group openly, because there are sure to be great differences. While not what many are used to, Rodgers has a great track record in classic rock with groups such as Free and Bad Company, so don't dismiss him just yet. Queen has put forth a great effort to push itself into a new era, a trial period that will ultimately prove if it has made the right decision.
Rebecca's Picks: "Still Burnin'," "C-Lebrity," "Surf's Up … School's Out!"
- by Rebecca Koons

FONTE:queenzone.com