Queen+ Paul Rodgers NEW single & album details
09-11-08, 01:53 PM
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I've listened to the samples and it doesn't impress me.
To be completely honest, the music sounds like a second-rate cover band of Boston, Chicago, and Journey.
And this is coming from someone who saw Queen + Paul Rodgers twice, once at the Hollywood Bowl and the other at the MGM Grand Garden.
To be completely honest, the music sounds like a second-rate cover band of Boston, Chicago, and Journey.
And this is coming from someone who saw Queen + Paul Rodgers twice, once at the Hollywood Bowl and the other at the MGM Grand Garden.
09-13-08, 01:22 PM
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Revived Queen takes on Paul Rodgers and a new name
David Murray
September 13, 2008 12:00am
COURIER, AUSTRALIA
IN a case of do or die, Queen - the band that was a global phenomenon - has re-emerged with a fresh identity.
What's in a name?
Well, when you're one of the biggest bands of all time, quite a lot really. Normally musicians could be expected to have long debates over potential album titles, but for rock icons Queen, the question was slightly different - what to call their band. The addition
of former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers posed a dilemma for the remaining original members of the group, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Were they still just Queen, or were they something else?
Millions of fans, meanwhile, are debating a similar question - are they Queen without the legendary force that was Freddie Mercury?
Answering the same question, the band chose Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Sitting in a London hotel suite, his trademark hair reaching down to his shoulders, May says they could have gone by any random name.
"We could have called it Green Onions we went throandugh all this process," he says. "But if you call it something that's not connected to the past, really you're depriving all the people who are loosely connected with your history from finding you. We'd be dead before people discovered 'oh actually these guys are still there from Queen and this is Paul Rodgers'."
Earlier that day, Rodgers was asked the same question - why not just Queen? His reply also addressed what this combination was all about.
"If I had of done that, if we'd said OK we're going to call it Queen, people would have said 'well you can't call it Queen because it's not Queen, it's something else'," Rodgers says. "So we decided to avoid that and be very clear and up-front from the start. In my mind anyway it was a good idea to be very clear with the public, it's not actually Queen, it's Queen and myself joining forces so expect something different."
May, 61, agrees that this isn't Queen any more, or at least not as the world knew it.
"I feel it's a new band, I really do," he said. "We all bring to it what we have in our histories and what we have in our hearts, but it is a new band."
This week the trio released a first studio album together, The Cosmos Rocks, with 13 new tracks. It is Queen's first studio production in 13 years.
Simultaneously, the band has launched a three-month tour of Britain and Europe that is set to be extended elsewhere, though unlikely to Australia.
Why the new album and tour? It's not like they weren't busy.
May, remarkably, was working on his PhD in astrophysics, which he had abandoned when Queen became successful three decades earlier. He completed it last year, an achievement of which he is rightly proud. It follows a book he co-authored on the history of the universe, while he is now working on a new book about 1850s photographer T.R. Williams.
Perhaps his mental powers were enhanced by his lifelong abstinence from drugs, of which he says: "I felt there was enough going on in my brain anyway and my brain was unstable in a sense, just with the music and my surroundings."
Rodgers was happily on a solo tour.
May says it was a case of there being nothing to lose "It was just like 'let's see what happens'."
So they set aside three weeks and booked into the Priory studio at Roger Taylor's home.
However it wasn't only Freddie Mercury who was absent. Also missing, as he has been for a long time, was Queen's bassist John Deacon, who has opted for a quieter life.
May says: "We send him everything and we invite him to everything. And when he feels like it he will respond."
Had he responded lately, on the album for example?
"No, not really," May said. "But there is a tacit thing, there's an agreement. If he doesn't respond he likes it. If he doesn't like something you hear from him straight away."
And on the business side of things, Deacon was still very much involved.
"He talks to our accountant more than he talks to us. Believe me," says May.
In the first recording session they got a long way into Time to Shine. Another song, Voodoo, was done on the second take. May says they played together every day in the studio.
"That's something I'm proud of," he said."We didn't just go in there and fiddle with machines. We went in there and we played our instruments and worked off each other, you can hear that on the album I think. It's an organic album at its core."
Taylor, 59, wearing a pin-striped suit, his silver hair neatly trimmed, says it was a case of no album, no tour and probably, no more Queen.
"There was no point in carrying on, I think, without new material," he said. "Otherwise you're not a potent ongoing force. If you're just going to recycle old records, old songs, old hits, you sort of become your own tribute band."
The album is dedicated to Freddie, whose death from AIDS-related illness in November 1991 is still mourned. Rodgers is behind half the new tracks and it is abundantly clear he didn't take a back seat, his blues grounding unmistakable.
Rodgers, 58, was successful before Queen, of course. Think of Feel Like Making Love, All Right Now and Shooting Star. In fact, Mercury was known to go to Rodgers' shows and he was one of Queen's early influences, the band says.
So how does he feel about singing another band's songs, as he must do over and over again?
On this tour for example, the two-hour concerts will feature as few as three of the new songs, giving audiences the chance to sing along to the old classics.
"I feel very free in whatever I sing. I don't sing anything that I don't feel comfortable with," says Rodgers, who has been performing with Queen for three years now ("that's actually as long as the time I spent with Free, and this is still a new entity," he says.) "Fortunately so far everything we've done I have been able to reinterpret or step into and make myself comfortable within those songs - and they play my songs so well, I have to say."
Even Rodgers admits, however, to being daunted by the global phenomenon that is Queen, whose hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust and We Will Rock You are anthems known by anyone who has ever turned on a radio, gone to a sporting match or walked into a pub with a jukebox.
Rodgers says: "To step into that from my point of view is a bit like strapping myself on the front of a rocket ship without a safety net."
What of the elephant in the room?
How can he expect to fill those very big, dancing, flamboyant, camp shoes of Freddie Mercury?
Admirably, Rodgers does not try to dodge the issue.
"It had to work on a musical level for me," he says. "I'm a musician. I'm a singer and a songwriter. I have great respect for what Freddie did, he was flamboyant, he was a showman, a great frontman, very entertaining and people loved him, and it was great for magazines too because it was great copy. But you see, that's not who I am. The only way I could do this was to actually just be myself, which is much more down to earth. Sorry. Perhaps I'm a little boring, but I'm just me."
The day before the interviews, with only weeks to go before the start of their tour, the band gave a group of reporters a chance to see them in action in a full dress rehearsal. The session was held at London's Elstree Studios where the UK's Big Brother house is located, ironic given new single C-lebrity is all about talentless fame. It was an experience a Queen fan would give their right arm for, with a set of eight songs starting with Fat Bottomed Girls.
However as Rodgers went through his paces, it was impossible not to wonder what a 62-year-old Freddie would be doing if he was up there on stage The "Freddie factor" had given Rodgers pause for thought before he started down this path.
"I suppose I did say 'can I do this' because there will be a certain amount of people saying it can't be done," he says.
In the end he reasoned that if it feels right, stick with it.
"The reason I came together with Brian and Roger is because it feels good musically and I'll only do it, I will only do this for as long as it feels good," Rodgers says. "We're only committed to the end of this tour and there are no commitments beyond that so it will remain to be seen if we even continue after that."
May, however, doesn't agree with portrayals of Rodgers as a stiff blues man.
"Paul likes to dress up too, let me tell you," May said. "In a slightly different way, but he's a showman.
"He knows that people get to see us two hours on one night, maybe one night in their lives, so you have to give them everything."
It remains to be seen if fans accept the combination and believe they have anything of what made them a phenomenal success.
However band members say they know one person who would have approved.
"I know that if he were sitting there in the corner of the room, Freddie would be loving what Paul's doing. I know that for certain," May says.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUEEN GIVES CHARITY CONCERT IN UKRAINE to 350,00 people!
The set list!!
Intro (Cosmos Rocks)
One Vision
Tie Your Mother Down
The Show Must Go On
Fat Bottomed Girls
Another One Bites The Dust
Hammer To Fall
I Want It A ll
I Want To Break Free
A Kind of Magic
Seagull (Paul solo)
Love Of My Life (Brian solo)
'39 (Brian and Roger then all but paul on B-stage )
Roger electric bass solo on B-stage incl Under Pressure/Another One Bites The Dust
Roger solo on B-stage (during the solo the drum kit got build up - very exciting)
I'm In Love With My Car
Say It's Not True (Roger, Brian and Paul version) still on B-stage
Wishing Well
Shooting Star
Bad Company
Brian guitar solo
Bijou (Freddie on vocals)
Last Horizon
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
C-lebrity
Feel Like Making Love
Radio gaga (paul on vocals)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie on vocals 1st Part)
Encores:
Cosmos Rockin'
All Right Now
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen
David Murray
September 13, 2008 12:00am
COURIER, AUSTRALIA
IN a case of do or die, Queen - the band that was a global phenomenon - has re-emerged with a fresh identity.
What's in a name?
Well, when you're one of the biggest bands of all time, quite a lot really. Normally musicians could be expected to have long debates over potential album titles, but for rock icons Queen, the question was slightly different - what to call their band. The addition
of former Free and Bad Company singer Paul Rodgers posed a dilemma for the remaining original members of the group, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Were they still just Queen, or were they something else?
Millions of fans, meanwhile, are debating a similar question - are they Queen without the legendary force that was Freddie Mercury?
Answering the same question, the band chose Queen + Paul Rodgers.
Sitting in a London hotel suite, his trademark hair reaching down to his shoulders, May says they could have gone by any random name.
"We could have called it Green Onions we went throandugh all this process," he says. "But if you call it something that's not connected to the past, really you're depriving all the people who are loosely connected with your history from finding you. We'd be dead before people discovered 'oh actually these guys are still there from Queen and this is Paul Rodgers'."
Earlier that day, Rodgers was asked the same question - why not just Queen? His reply also addressed what this combination was all about.
"If I had of done that, if we'd said OK we're going to call it Queen, people would have said 'well you can't call it Queen because it's not Queen, it's something else'," Rodgers says. "So we decided to avoid that and be very clear and up-front from the start. In my mind anyway it was a good idea to be very clear with the public, it's not actually Queen, it's Queen and myself joining forces so expect something different."
May, 61, agrees that this isn't Queen any more, or at least not as the world knew it.
"I feel it's a new band, I really do," he said. "We all bring to it what we have in our histories and what we have in our hearts, but it is a new band."
This week the trio released a first studio album together, The Cosmos Rocks, with 13 new tracks. It is Queen's first studio production in 13 years.
Simultaneously, the band has launched a three-month tour of Britain and Europe that is set to be extended elsewhere, though unlikely to Australia.
Why the new album and tour? It's not like they weren't busy.
May, remarkably, was working on his PhD in astrophysics, which he had abandoned when Queen became successful three decades earlier. He completed it last year, an achievement of which he is rightly proud. It follows a book he co-authored on the history of the universe, while he is now working on a new book about 1850s photographer T.R. Williams.
Perhaps his mental powers were enhanced by his lifelong abstinence from drugs, of which he says: "I felt there was enough going on in my brain anyway and my brain was unstable in a sense, just with the music and my surroundings."
Rodgers was happily on a solo tour.
May says it was a case of there being nothing to lose "It was just like 'let's see what happens'."
So they set aside three weeks and booked into the Priory studio at Roger Taylor's home.
However it wasn't only Freddie Mercury who was absent. Also missing, as he has been for a long time, was Queen's bassist John Deacon, who has opted for a quieter life.
May says: "We send him everything and we invite him to everything. And when he feels like it he will respond."
Had he responded lately, on the album for example?
"No, not really," May said. "But there is a tacit thing, there's an agreement. If he doesn't respond he likes it. If he doesn't like something you hear from him straight away."
And on the business side of things, Deacon was still very much involved.
"He talks to our accountant more than he talks to us. Believe me," says May.
In the first recording session they got a long way into Time to Shine. Another song, Voodoo, was done on the second take. May says they played together every day in the studio.
"That's something I'm proud of," he said."We didn't just go in there and fiddle with machines. We went in there and we played our instruments and worked off each other, you can hear that on the album I think. It's an organic album at its core."
Taylor, 59, wearing a pin-striped suit, his silver hair neatly trimmed, says it was a case of no album, no tour and probably, no more Queen.
"There was no point in carrying on, I think, without new material," he said. "Otherwise you're not a potent ongoing force. If you're just going to recycle old records, old songs, old hits, you sort of become your own tribute band."
The album is dedicated to Freddie, whose death from AIDS-related illness in November 1991 is still mourned. Rodgers is behind half the new tracks and it is abundantly clear he didn't take a back seat, his blues grounding unmistakable.
Rodgers, 58, was successful before Queen, of course. Think of Feel Like Making Love, All Right Now and Shooting Star. In fact, Mercury was known to go to Rodgers' shows and he was one of Queen's early influences, the band says.
So how does he feel about singing another band's songs, as he must do over and over again?
On this tour for example, the two-hour concerts will feature as few as three of the new songs, giving audiences the chance to sing along to the old classics.
"I feel very free in whatever I sing. I don't sing anything that I don't feel comfortable with," says Rodgers, who has been performing with Queen for three years now ("that's actually as long as the time I spent with Free, and this is still a new entity," he says.) "Fortunately so far everything we've done I have been able to reinterpret or step into and make myself comfortable within those songs - and they play my songs so well, I have to say."
Even Rodgers admits, however, to being daunted by the global phenomenon that is Queen, whose hits such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites the Dust and We Will Rock You are anthems known by anyone who has ever turned on a radio, gone to a sporting match or walked into a pub with a jukebox.
Rodgers says: "To step into that from my point of view is a bit like strapping myself on the front of a rocket ship without a safety net."
What of the elephant in the room?
How can he expect to fill those very big, dancing, flamboyant, camp shoes of Freddie Mercury?
Admirably, Rodgers does not try to dodge the issue.
"It had to work on a musical level for me," he says. "I'm a musician. I'm a singer and a songwriter. I have great respect for what Freddie did, he was flamboyant, he was a showman, a great frontman, very entertaining and people loved him, and it was great for magazines too because it was great copy. But you see, that's not who I am. The only way I could do this was to actually just be myself, which is much more down to earth. Sorry. Perhaps I'm a little boring, but I'm just me."
The day before the interviews, with only weeks to go before the start of their tour, the band gave a group of reporters a chance to see them in action in a full dress rehearsal. The session was held at London's Elstree Studios where the UK's Big Brother house is located, ironic given new single C-lebrity is all about talentless fame. It was an experience a Queen fan would give their right arm for, with a set of eight songs starting with Fat Bottomed Girls.
However as Rodgers went through his paces, it was impossible not to wonder what a 62-year-old Freddie would be doing if he was up there on stage The "Freddie factor" had given Rodgers pause for thought before he started down this path.
"I suppose I did say 'can I do this' because there will be a certain amount of people saying it can't be done," he says.
In the end he reasoned that if it feels right, stick with it.
"The reason I came together with Brian and Roger is because it feels good musically and I'll only do it, I will only do this for as long as it feels good," Rodgers says. "We're only committed to the end of this tour and there are no commitments beyond that so it will remain to be seen if we even continue after that."
May, however, doesn't agree with portrayals of Rodgers as a stiff blues man.
"Paul likes to dress up too, let me tell you," May said. "In a slightly different way, but he's a showman.
"He knows that people get to see us two hours on one night, maybe one night in their lives, so you have to give them everything."
It remains to be seen if fans accept the combination and believe they have anything of what made them a phenomenal success.
However band members say they know one person who would have approved.
"I know that if he were sitting there in the corner of the room, Freddie would be loving what Paul's doing. I know that for certain," May says.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUEEN GIVES CHARITY CONCERT IN UKRAINE to 350,00 people!
The set list!!
Intro (Cosmos Rocks)
One Vision
Tie Your Mother Down
The Show Must Go On
Fat Bottomed Girls
Another One Bites The Dust
Hammer To Fall
I Want It A ll
I Want To Break Free
A Kind of Magic
Seagull (Paul solo)
Love Of My Life (Brian solo)
'39 (Brian and Roger then all but paul on B-stage )
Roger electric bass solo on B-stage incl Under Pressure/Another One Bites The Dust
Roger solo on B-stage (during the solo the drum kit got build up - very exciting)
I'm In Love With My Car
Say It's Not True (Roger, Brian and Paul version) still on B-stage
Wishing Well
Shooting Star
Bad Company
Brian guitar solo
Bijou (Freddie on vocals)
Last Horizon
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
C-lebrity
Feel Like Making Love
Radio gaga (paul on vocals)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Freddie on vocals 1st Part)
Encores:
Cosmos Rockin'
All Right Now
We Will Rock You
We Are The Champions
God Save The Queen
09-14-08, 12:51 AM
#29
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09-16-08, 01:19 PM
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Queen+ Paul's Ukraine concert is available on youtube now. While most of the set list was predictable the highlights for me were "Bad Company" (and with apologies to Bad Company the band, Brian and Roger elevate those songs to a new level,) "Bijou" which Brian does as part of his usual guitar solos and they of course use Freddie's vocals from the "Innuendo" album as part of the performance, "Say It's Not True" is performed as the album version now not the simple accoustic version. Roger's singing at the start was a bit weak but it picks up quite a bit as it goes along. "39" was pretty good now that they're doing the whole song and the entire band is joining in. "C-lebrity" wasn't good, the backing vocals were downright awful! "Cosmos Rockin" reminded me of Queen doing "Jailhouse Rock" back in the 80s, very high energy stuff.
I got the "C-lebrity" CD single and 7" picture disc the other day. The CD single comes in a cheap cardboard sleeve. The single debuted at #33 on the UK charts by the way.
Ok, I've listened to "The Cosmos Rocks" several times now since Sunday, my brief thoughts follow:
"Cosmos Rockin" is a bit of a throwback to a 50s kinda feel of a good time rocker, the lyrics are throw-away material but it's a fun track and much like the live performance, the old guys show a lot of energy.
"Time To Shine" can, at times, be repetitive but Paul's vocals soar and Brian seems to be channeling The Edge.
"Still Burnin" is the kind of riff heavy rock track I was hoping for since I first heard them perform Free's "Fire and Water." The Red Special is oh so present in that patented orchestral way, love the solid backing vocals. I still don't care much for the sample of "We Will Rock You," it was jarring when I first heard it but upon further listens it's easier to ignore.
"Small" is a quiet, Free-esque track but definitely an uplifting song that I can see turning into the hand waving, audience participation material we've come to expect.
"Warboys" is easily my favorite song off the album. The most overtly political track here but the lyrics flow very well and the backing vocals blow away "Still Burnin," makes it very catchy but there's a menace to them as well. Paul's singing has a lot of passion here. Love it.
The next three tracks, "We Believe," "Call Me" and "Voodoo" I don't like at all. Period. I skip past them each time. "We Believe" is a cliche ridden spiritual song, "Call Me" is like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" if you remove the boppy fun and "Voodoo" reminds me too much of Santana which just bores me to tears.
"Some Things That Glitter" is a bit forgettable to be honest. Granted it's quite pretty but it does come off as album filler.
"C-lebrity" is a fun pop rock song but as I've talked about this before (and "Say It's Not True" as well) I don't feel the need to discuss them again. I dig both songs.
"Through the Night" is my second favorite song off the album. You'd be forgiven if you thought that this was a brand new Bad Company song (though with FAR better guitar work!) and it has that dreamy somewhat ethereal feel to it that kinda takes you to a different place. Very moody and atmospheric.
"Surf's Up....School's Out" is awful. Besides the dopey title (which reminds me of the cringe worthy "Radio Ga Ga"....but "Ga Ga" was a good song so that more than made up for it) there is this stomach churning "YEEEAHHHHHHH!" at various points which makes me wanna smack a random stranger. I understand that this is supposed to be a "fun summer" song and that I shouldn't take it too seriously but c'mon, this shouldn't have been on the album at all. It's maybe B-side quality.
"Small (reprise)" is just a re-introduction of the main song and is a quiet, peaceful ending to the album which, frankly, made me feel happy and content. Maybe that sounds odd, I dunno.
Anyway, I had hoped "The Cosmos Rocks" would offer something decent but I kept my expectations low not knowing just what this combination would offer. Overall "TCR" was far more solid than I thought it'd be, out of the 14 tracks, 4 were complete crap and I don't ever plan on listening to them again but the rest were pretty damn good.
Out of *****, "The Cosmos Rocks" gets *** and a half.
I got the "C-lebrity" CD single and 7" picture disc the other day. The CD single comes in a cheap cardboard sleeve. The single debuted at #33 on the UK charts by the way.
Ok, I've listened to "The Cosmos Rocks" several times now since Sunday, my brief thoughts follow:
"Cosmos Rockin" is a bit of a throwback to a 50s kinda feel of a good time rocker, the lyrics are throw-away material but it's a fun track and much like the live performance, the old guys show a lot of energy.
"Time To Shine" can, at times, be repetitive but Paul's vocals soar and Brian seems to be channeling The Edge.
"Still Burnin" is the kind of riff heavy rock track I was hoping for since I first heard them perform Free's "Fire and Water." The Red Special is oh so present in that patented orchestral way, love the solid backing vocals. I still don't care much for the sample of "We Will Rock You," it was jarring when I first heard it but upon further listens it's easier to ignore.
"Small" is a quiet, Free-esque track but definitely an uplifting song that I can see turning into the hand waving, audience participation material we've come to expect.
"Warboys" is easily my favorite song off the album. The most overtly political track here but the lyrics flow very well and the backing vocals blow away "Still Burnin," makes it very catchy but there's a menace to them as well. Paul's singing has a lot of passion here. Love it.
The next three tracks, "We Believe," "Call Me" and "Voodoo" I don't like at all. Period. I skip past them each time. "We Believe" is a cliche ridden spiritual song, "Call Me" is like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" if you remove the boppy fun and "Voodoo" reminds me too much of Santana which just bores me to tears.
"Some Things That Glitter" is a bit forgettable to be honest. Granted it's quite pretty but it does come off as album filler.
"C-lebrity" is a fun pop rock song but as I've talked about this before (and "Say It's Not True" as well) I don't feel the need to discuss them again. I dig both songs.
"Through the Night" is my second favorite song off the album. You'd be forgiven if you thought that this was a brand new Bad Company song (though with FAR better guitar work!) and it has that dreamy somewhat ethereal feel to it that kinda takes you to a different place. Very moody and atmospheric.
"Surf's Up....School's Out" is awful. Besides the dopey title (which reminds me of the cringe worthy "Radio Ga Ga"....but "Ga Ga" was a good song so that more than made up for it) there is this stomach churning "YEEEAHHHHHHH!" at various points which makes me wanna smack a random stranger. I understand that this is supposed to be a "fun summer" song and that I shouldn't take it too seriously but c'mon, this shouldn't have been on the album at all. It's maybe B-side quality.
"Small (reprise)" is just a re-introduction of the main song and is a quiet, peaceful ending to the album which, frankly, made me feel happy and content. Maybe that sounds odd, I dunno.
Anyway, I had hoped "The Cosmos Rocks" would offer something decent but I kept my expectations low not knowing just what this combination would offer. Overall "TCR" was far more solid than I thought it'd be, out of the 14 tracks, 4 were complete crap and I don't ever plan on listening to them again but the rest were pretty damn good.
Out of *****, "The Cosmos Rocks" gets *** and a half.
09-19-08, 12:38 AM
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Finally heard "Runaway" tonight. Actually it's not half bad, quite a bit longer than Del Shannon's original. Woulda rather had this on the album than that POS "Surf's Up" song.
09-20-08, 02:32 AM
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I gave the album a few listens but honestly couldn't warm up to it (whereas I am totally in love with the new Brian Wilson). I commend these guys for continuing to truck, but I guess the fact I'm not big on Bad Company didn't help matters.
09-20-08, 06:51 AM
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Queen+ Paul's Ukraine concert is available on youtube now. While most of the set list was predictable the highlights for me were "Bad Company" (and with apologies to Bad Company the band, Brian and Roger elevate those songs to a new level,) "Bijou" which Brian does as part of his usual guitar solos and they of course use Freddie's vocals from the "Innuendo" album as part of the performance, "Say It's Not True" is performed as the album version now not the simple accoustic version. Roger's singing at the start was a bit weak but it picks up quite a bit as it goes along. "39" was pretty good now that they're doing the whole song and the entire band is joining in. "C-lebrity" wasn't good, the backing vocals were downright awful! "Cosmos Rockin" reminded me of Queen doing "Jailhouse Rock" back in the 80s, very high energy stuff.
I got the "C-lebrity" CD single and 7" picture disc the other day. The CD single comes in a cheap cardboard sleeve. The single debuted at #33 on the UK charts by the way.
Ok, I've listened to "The Cosmos Rocks" several times now since Sunday, my brief thoughts follow:
"Cosmos Rockin" is a bit of a throwback to a 50s kinda feel of a good time rocker, the lyrics are throw-away material but it's a fun track and much like the live performance, the old guys show a lot of energy.
"Time To Shine" can, at times, be repetitive but Paul's vocals soar and Brian seems to be channeling The Edge.
"Still Burnin" is the kind of riff heavy rock track I was hoping for since I first heard them perform Free's "Fire and Water." The Red Special is oh so present in that patented orchestral way, love the solid backing vocals. I still don't care much for the sample of "We Will Rock You," it was jarring when I first heard it but upon further listens it's easier to ignore.
"Small" is a quiet, Free-esque track but definitely an uplifting song that I can see turning into the hand waving, audience participation material we've come to expect.
"Warboys" is easily my favorite song off the album. The most overtly political track here but the lyrics flow very well and the backing vocals blow away "Still Burnin," makes it very catchy but there's a menace to them as well. Paul's singing has a lot of passion here. Love it.
The next three tracks, "We Believe," "Call Me" and "Voodoo" I don't like at all. Period. I skip past them each time. "We Believe" is a cliche ridden spiritual song, "Call Me" is like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" if you remove the boppy fun and "Voodoo" reminds me too much of Santana which just bores me to tears.
"Some Things That Glitter" is a bit forgettable to be honest. Granted it's quite pretty but it does come off as album filler.
"C-lebrity" is a fun pop rock song but as I've talked about this before (and "Say It's Not True" as well) I don't feel the need to discuss them again. I dig both songs.
"Through the Night" is my second favorite song off the album. You'd be forgiven if you thought that this was a brand new Bad Company song (though with FAR better guitar work!) and it has that dreamy somewhat ethereal feel to it that kinda takes you to a different place. Very moody and atmospheric.
"Surf's Up....School's Out" is awful. Besides the dopey title (which reminds me of the cringe worthy "Radio Ga Ga"....but "Ga Ga" was a good song so that more than made up for it) there is this stomach churning "YEEEAHHHHHHH!" at various points which makes me wanna smack a random stranger. I understand that this is supposed to be a "fun summer" song and that I shouldn't take it too seriously but c'mon, this shouldn't have been on the album at all. It's maybe B-side quality.
"Small (reprise)" is just a re-introduction of the main song and is a quiet, peaceful ending to the album which, frankly, made me feel happy and content. Maybe that sounds odd, I dunno.
Anyway, I had hoped "The Cosmos Rocks" would offer something decent but I kept my expectations low not knowing just what this combination would offer. Overall "TCR" was far more solid than I thought it'd be, out of the 14 tracks, 4 were complete crap and I don't ever plan on listening to them again but the rest were pretty damn good.
Out of *****, "The Cosmos Rocks" gets *** and a half.
I got the "C-lebrity" CD single and 7" picture disc the other day. The CD single comes in a cheap cardboard sleeve. The single debuted at #33 on the UK charts by the way.
Ok, I've listened to "The Cosmos Rocks" several times now since Sunday, my brief thoughts follow:
"Cosmos Rockin" is a bit of a throwback to a 50s kinda feel of a good time rocker, the lyrics are throw-away material but it's a fun track and much like the live performance, the old guys show a lot of energy.
"Time To Shine" can, at times, be repetitive but Paul's vocals soar and Brian seems to be channeling The Edge.
"Still Burnin" is the kind of riff heavy rock track I was hoping for since I first heard them perform Free's "Fire and Water." The Red Special is oh so present in that patented orchestral way, love the solid backing vocals. I still don't care much for the sample of "We Will Rock You," it was jarring when I first heard it but upon further listens it's easier to ignore.
"Small" is a quiet, Free-esque track but definitely an uplifting song that I can see turning into the hand waving, audience participation material we've come to expect.
"Warboys" is easily my favorite song off the album. The most overtly political track here but the lyrics flow very well and the backing vocals blow away "Still Burnin," makes it very catchy but there's a menace to them as well. Paul's singing has a lot of passion here. Love it.
The next three tracks, "We Believe," "Call Me" and "Voodoo" I don't like at all. Period. I skip past them each time. "We Believe" is a cliche ridden spiritual song, "Call Me" is like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" if you remove the boppy fun and "Voodoo" reminds me too much of Santana which just bores me to tears.
"Some Things That Glitter" is a bit forgettable to be honest. Granted it's quite pretty but it does come off as album filler.
"C-lebrity" is a fun pop rock song but as I've talked about this before (and "Say It's Not True" as well) I don't feel the need to discuss them again. I dig both songs.
"Through the Night" is my second favorite song off the album. You'd be forgiven if you thought that this was a brand new Bad Company song (though with FAR better guitar work!) and it has that dreamy somewhat ethereal feel to it that kinda takes you to a different place. Very moody and atmospheric.
"Surf's Up....School's Out" is awful. Besides the dopey title (which reminds me of the cringe worthy "Radio Ga Ga"....but "Ga Ga" was a good song so that more than made up for it) there is this stomach churning "YEEEAHHHHHHH!" at various points which makes me wanna smack a random stranger. I understand that this is supposed to be a "fun summer" song and that I shouldn't take it too seriously but c'mon, this shouldn't have been on the album at all. It's maybe B-side quality.
"Small (reprise)" is just a re-introduction of the main song and is a quiet, peaceful ending to the album which, frankly, made me feel happy and content. Maybe that sounds odd, I dunno.
Anyway, I had hoped "The Cosmos Rocks" would offer something decent but I kept my expectations low not knowing just what this combination would offer. Overall "TCR" was far more solid than I thought it'd be, out of the 14 tracks, 4 were complete crap and I don't ever plan on listening to them again but the rest were pretty damn good.
Out of *****, "The Cosmos Rocks" gets *** and a half.
WOW....... give We Believe another listen!
09-20-08, 02:50 PM
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The latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine (with Metallica on the cover) Queen+ Paul Rodgers get two mentions.
The new album is included in the fall music preview section along with a little write-up. No big deal? Well considering other artists like Oasis, Pink, Beyonce and Nickelback only managed to get in the "also released" section (with just an album title and release date) I'd say this is pretty good.
Then in the music reviews portion, they (gasp!) reviewed "C-lebrity" giving it a shocking 3 and a half stars (out of 5) calling the song "tough, macho gut-bust rock propelled by synthy fills - cool!"
The new album is included in the fall music preview section along with a little write-up. No big deal? Well considering other artists like Oasis, Pink, Beyonce and Nickelback only managed to get in the "also released" section (with just an album title and release date) I'd say this is pretty good.
Then in the music reviews portion, they (gasp!) reviewed "C-lebrity" giving it a shocking 3 and a half stars (out of 5) calling the song "tough, macho gut-bust rock propelled by synthy fills - cool!"
09-23-08, 05:12 AM
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A few thoughts on the Album.........
Its way more Paul Rodgers(bad company) then Queen. gone are the big over the top harmonies.... still their however is Brians red special guitar riffs. although Roger sings on say its not true it would have been nice for another Roger track.
some highlights for me.
time to shine-
small
warboys-
we believe-
call me-
some things the glitter-
Its way more Paul Rodgers(bad company) then Queen. gone are the big over the top harmonies.... still their however is Brians red special guitar riffs. although Roger sings on say its not true it would have been nice for another Roger track.
some highlights for me.
time to shine-
small
warboys-
we believe-
call me-
some things the glitter-
09-23-08, 10:43 PM
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11-07-08, 03:43 PM
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A few thoughts on the Album.........
Its way more Paul Rodgers(bad company) then Queen. gone are the big over the top harmonies.... still their however is Brians red special guitar riffs. although Roger sings on say its not true it would have been nice for another Roger track.
some highlights for me.
time to shine-
small
warboys-
we believe-
call me-
some things the glitter-
Its way more Paul Rodgers(bad company) then Queen. gone are the big over the top harmonies.... still their however is Brians red special guitar riffs. although Roger sings on say its not true it would have been nice for another Roger track.
some highlights for me.
time to shine-
small
warboys-
we believe-
call me-
some things the glitter-
Perhaps the *campy* harmonies are missing but "Warboys" had some strong backing vox.
Anyway, the album debuted at #47 on the Billboard charts, a shock considering how little promotion it got in the US and a higher debut than the Freddie-fied "Made in Heaven" album in 1995.
I went to see the Ukraine concert at the movie theater last night (not sure if anyone knew it was playing in a few hundred theaters nationwide or not.) They cut out about 5 songs for some reason and the surround sound was awful, couldn't hear the backing vocals at all and the bass? Well, what bass? Pretty disappointing from a technical standpoint and apparently this happened at many other showings in the country.
12-08-08, 02:15 PM
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As expected this new album for me had no staying power. I listened and somewhat enjoyed for about 3 weeks.
oh well, back to Sheer Heart Attack which iv enjoyed for 30+ years....
oh well, back to Sheer Heart Attack which iv enjoyed for 30+ years....
02-14-09, 10:43 AM
#43
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Re: Queen+ Paul Rodgers NEW single & album details
I finally picked this up. I had been meaning to buy it for a long time, but just kept forgetting.
So was it worth the wait?
My assessment:
1. Cosmos Rockin' - A slightly 50's flavored rockin' track. Good song, but not great - it made me wonder why they couldn't come up with a stronger opening track.
2. Time to Shine - Now this is a great song. A moody, atmospheric song that does have some U2isms to it, but also brings to mind The Firm (as do a couple other tracks).
3. Still Burnin' - Bad Company Returns! You could easily be forgiven if you thought this WAS a new Bad Company track - up until the chorus, which sounds like classic Queen thanks to Roger and Brian's trademarked backing vocals. Good, good stuff. A solid album cut that I'll be listening to years from now.
4. Small - A mellowish acoustic flavored song with strong melodies. There are some more U2isms here and there, but also some Tom Petty sounding parts as well. A good song, but not great. (Although the guitar solo is.)
5. Warboys - A great rocking track, but perhaps one marred by a political message that will date the song much like some Viet Nam era anti-war songs have been.
6. We Believe - Another song that is overtly political, this one a mellow one. There are some solid melodies, but the first line of the song can be completely off-putting if you don't agree with the political view of the song. ("I believe there's no evil out there we didn't have a hand in." Really? You don't think there are some inherently bad people, Paul? Way to turn off about half your audience.
) In the end this song comes across as pure fluff that should have been left as a single "B-side."
7. Call Me - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," part II. Like many sequels this one isn't as good as the original. It's got a more laid back mid 70's acoustic rock vibe than the Rockabilly energy that, "Crazy Thing," had in spades. Not a bad song, but upping the tempo about 4-6 beats per minute might have breathed some life into this thing. (I may copy this one on to my computer to do some time compression to do just that.)
8. Voodoo - Some really bluesy, Santana inspired stuff here. This is a great song, even if completely unoriginal. Let's face it - since when was the Blues about originality? Laid back, but very compelling. A highlight of The Cosmos Rocks.
9. Some Things That Glitter - As soon as the mellow piano intro started I knew this song was in trouble. When Paul sings the first line, "Once I loved a butterfly," the song is dead in it's tracks. Dead Song Singing. Fluff. Boring, insipid fluff. Even as I am only a few weeks away from turning 41 I have absolutely no patience for this kind of stuff. I dont think I'll ever feel old enough to appreciate a song like this, even if I live to be 99.
10. C-lebrity - A great rocker. More of the album should have been like this. This is what these guys do best. C-lebrity, Still Burnin', Warboys - that's where Queen + Paul Rodgers shines brightest.
11. Through the Night - Bad Company returns in this mellowish song. Not bad, not great. 20 years ago it would have been called a, "Power Ballad," but it's a cut above most of those songs. In the end it's a decent album track.
12. Say It's Not True - Roger Taylor takes the lead vocal duties on the first part of this mellow, sentimental song (before the drums kick in and take it to Power Ballad territory, when Paul takes over the vocals), and that's a shame. Not because he does a bad job, but because he can sing kick ass rocking tracks so well, but doesn't get to do so on The Cosmos Rocks. This song starts off another piece of fluff before becoming a bombastic Power Ballad. I know I'll skip this one (or simply not burn it on to a compliation CD) on future listenings.
13. Surf's Up... School's Out! - Fits in the late 80's Queen repertoire perfectly. Except for that near blood curdling, "YEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH," that shows up intermittently. A lot of people seem to hate this one. I don't. It's a goofy, fun song that sounds like something from The Miracle. It's not a great song, but it's fun anyway. (Even if it is a bit on the stupid side lyrically - but then again, how many great Rock and Roll songs have less than brilliant lyrics? A lot...)
14. small reprise - Ending the album on a quiet mellow note. I don't much see the point. It's less than 2 minuts, so it's just a, "small" coda.
Overall? A good album that could have been (and should have been) better. A couple more rockers (replacing the fluffiest mellow filler numbers) might have turned this into a very good if not great album.
Some bands defy their age. Some don't. With these guys their age doesn't hurt the quality of their songwriting, but it does show in the quantity of mellow songs and ballads on the album. The album loses steam from tracks 6 through 9, and that really hurts the flow of the thing.
I'd grade the thing out as a *** out of ***** or a C+.
So was it worth the wait?
My assessment:
1. Cosmos Rockin' - A slightly 50's flavored rockin' track. Good song, but not great - it made me wonder why they couldn't come up with a stronger opening track.
2. Time to Shine - Now this is a great song. A moody, atmospheric song that does have some U2isms to it, but also brings to mind The Firm (as do a couple other tracks).
3. Still Burnin' - Bad Company Returns! You could easily be forgiven if you thought this WAS a new Bad Company track - up until the chorus, which sounds like classic Queen thanks to Roger and Brian's trademarked backing vocals. Good, good stuff. A solid album cut that I'll be listening to years from now.
4. Small - A mellowish acoustic flavored song with strong melodies. There are some more U2isms here and there, but also some Tom Petty sounding parts as well. A good song, but not great. (Although the guitar solo is.)
5. Warboys - A great rocking track, but perhaps one marred by a political message that will date the song much like some Viet Nam era anti-war songs have been.
6. We Believe - Another song that is overtly political, this one a mellow one. There are some solid melodies, but the first line of the song can be completely off-putting if you don't agree with the political view of the song. ("I believe there's no evil out there we didn't have a hand in." Really? You don't think there are some inherently bad people, Paul? Way to turn off about half your audience.
) In the end this song comes across as pure fluff that should have been left as a single "B-side."7. Call Me - "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," part II. Like many sequels this one isn't as good as the original. It's got a more laid back mid 70's acoustic rock vibe than the Rockabilly energy that, "Crazy Thing," had in spades. Not a bad song, but upping the tempo about 4-6 beats per minute might have breathed some life into this thing. (I may copy this one on to my computer to do some time compression to do just that.)
8. Voodoo - Some really bluesy, Santana inspired stuff here. This is a great song, even if completely unoriginal. Let's face it - since when was the Blues about originality? Laid back, but very compelling. A highlight of The Cosmos Rocks.
9. Some Things That Glitter - As soon as the mellow piano intro started I knew this song was in trouble. When Paul sings the first line, "Once I loved a butterfly," the song is dead in it's tracks. Dead Song Singing. Fluff. Boring, insipid fluff. Even as I am only a few weeks away from turning 41 I have absolutely no patience for this kind of stuff. I dont think I'll ever feel old enough to appreciate a song like this, even if I live to be 99.
10. C-lebrity - A great rocker. More of the album should have been like this. This is what these guys do best. C-lebrity, Still Burnin', Warboys - that's where Queen + Paul Rodgers shines brightest.
11. Through the Night - Bad Company returns in this mellowish song. Not bad, not great. 20 years ago it would have been called a, "Power Ballad," but it's a cut above most of those songs. In the end it's a decent album track.
12. Say It's Not True - Roger Taylor takes the lead vocal duties on the first part of this mellow, sentimental song (before the drums kick in and take it to Power Ballad territory, when Paul takes over the vocals), and that's a shame. Not because he does a bad job, but because he can sing kick ass rocking tracks so well, but doesn't get to do so on The Cosmos Rocks. This song starts off another piece of fluff before becoming a bombastic Power Ballad. I know I'll skip this one (or simply not burn it on to a compliation CD) on future listenings.
13. Surf's Up... School's Out! - Fits in the late 80's Queen repertoire perfectly. Except for that near blood curdling, "YEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHH," that shows up intermittently. A lot of people seem to hate this one. I don't. It's a goofy, fun song that sounds like something from The Miracle. It's not a great song, but it's fun anyway. (Even if it is a bit on the stupid side lyrically - but then again, how many great Rock and Roll songs have less than brilliant lyrics? A lot...)
14. small reprise - Ending the album on a quiet mellow note. I don't much see the point. It's less than 2 minuts, so it's just a, "small" coda.
Overall? A good album that could have been (and should have been) better. A couple more rockers (replacing the fluffiest mellow filler numbers) might have turned this into a very good if not great album.
Some bands defy their age. Some don't. With these guys their age doesn't hurt the quality of their songwriting, but it does show in the quantity of mellow songs and ballads on the album. The album loses steam from tracks 6 through 9, and that really hurts the flow of the thing.
I'd grade the thing out as a *** out of ***** or a C+.
05-02-09, 08:08 AM
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Re: Queen+ Paul Rodgers NEW single & album details
Looks like the Rodgers/Queen collaboration is officially over:
PAUL RODGERS: DONE WITH QUEEN, NOT AFRAID OF SWINE FLU
As reported by VH1 Classic Radio News:
1 May 09
Next month, Paul Rodgers and the rest of Bad Company will reunite for a tour. The trek, however, is just ten dates, leading many to question why it is so short. Is Paul afraid to travel for fear of catching the Swine Flu? He explained the real reason behind the smaller trek.
“Well, you know, I’ve travelled and I’m not worried about stuff like that. I usually find, to be honest with you, that most of those things are exaggerated way out of proportion. You know, I’m not afraid to travel, it’s just I want to be able to focus more on waking up in one place and working on music, I think really, and that’s really the reason. I think next year I’ll probably be touring my brains out.”
The next time Rodgers tours, it probably won’t be with Queen. After spending a lot of time with them the past couple years, it seems he’s amicable parted ways with the legendary group.
“Well, you know, we did a world tour, we did a second tour of Europe and the Far East and Eastern Europe and we did a studio album and I think we’re kind of leaving it there gently. It’s out there for us to do things in the future if there’s something, a huge charity say like Nelson Mandela, I’m always open to that, but I think we are pretty much done.”
PAUL RODGERS: DONE WITH QUEEN, NOT AFRAID OF SWINE FLU
As reported by VH1 Classic Radio News:
1 May 09
Next month, Paul Rodgers and the rest of Bad Company will reunite for a tour. The trek, however, is just ten dates, leading many to question why it is so short. Is Paul afraid to travel for fear of catching the Swine Flu? He explained the real reason behind the smaller trek.
“Well, you know, I’ve travelled and I’m not worried about stuff like that. I usually find, to be honest with you, that most of those things are exaggerated way out of proportion. You know, I’m not afraid to travel, it’s just I want to be able to focus more on waking up in one place and working on music, I think really, and that’s really the reason. I think next year I’ll probably be touring my brains out.”
The next time Rodgers tours, it probably won’t be with Queen. After spending a lot of time with them the past couple years, it seems he’s amicable parted ways with the legendary group.
“Well, you know, we did a world tour, we did a second tour of Europe and the Far East and Eastern Europe and we did a studio album and I think we’re kind of leaving it there gently. It’s out there for us to do things in the future if there’s something, a huge charity say like Nelson Mandela, I’m always open to that, but I think we are pretty much done.”
05-02-09, 08:14 AM
#45
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Re: Queen+ Paul Rodgers NEW single & album details
Excellent news. Maybe Roger & Brian will finally let Queen die with some dignity...something they have been struggling with since Freddie died.
05-02-09, 10:41 AM
#46
05-02-09, 08:21 PM
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