Screw the bad reviews here in Australia. I dont think anyones heard it. I find it disgraceful, and should be giving Brian, etc. some respect for what they've done over the years and for what direction they're going in.
It did'nt take much for me to get into this album. The only track I find weak on it is "Call me". The big ones are "Time to shine", "We beleive" and "Warboys" (which sounds like Bad Companys "Joe Fabulous"). I say continue on with this new entity of Queen. Does anyone think "Surfs up" sounds a bit like "Coming soon" in parts? Bring on another album in 2/3 years. I'm happy.
Cosmos Rocks is hardly my favourite album in the world. In fact I find it average,
but CHRIST - I am sick of hearing the new AC/DC single on the radio. It's on every five minutes and I'm getting thoroughly bored of it. Can't they just play Highway to Hell instead? That at least had Bon Scott.
Err... where I'm going with that is; if they'll play average tripe from one veteran band, can't they play songs from another one? Or is Q+PR truly so unfashionable outside of this forum?
Yikes!
I've listened to the album in and out. I like it!!! Yes, that simple! It is very good rock, clever, catchy, high-quality, diverse. I haven't enjoyed such good rock for a long time. AC/DC and Metallica are a mish-mash of sound, without any good taste, unlike this album.
Especially i like C-lebrity, Say It's Not True (fantastic!), Some Things That Glitter, Small, Through The Night, and all the rest, excluding maybe Surf's Up and Voodoo.
So Cosmos Rocks is a very-very good album. And now I can only hope and pray they stay together and not fall apart. Please, guys, stay together, you are GREAT!!!!!!!
This album is a classic (oh, yes it is...) and the reviews I've read have been ponderous, not to mention completely hostile. One was even so daft as to say they couldn't imagine Freddie singing any of the songs. LOL. What an eejit. Hey, buddy! Guess what? You'll NEVER hear Freddie singing any new songs, he's quite dead, and oh, p.s., quite irreplaceable... which Paul, Brian, and Roger know quite well. But this new band they comprise has found its voice and is in fine form, set to ignite the world. Can't wait til they make it back to Chicago next year!!!
To all those who feel the need to "compare" this to Mercury-sung releases: why? What anal-retentive obsession drives you immediately compare it to ANYTHING rather than simply sit back, listen, and enjoy it FOR WHAT IT IS? Yes, it's different, good for those of you who noticed. Now listen again, forgetting that what YOU really want is a Freddie Mercury seance. (shudder)
Cosmos Rocks has got so many great Queen trademarks, and each of the guys really shines through in so many of the songs. I am LOVING it. C-lebrity gives me chills it's so good (kind of the way Bicycle Race did for me, back in 1979), while Time to Shine really shows off Paul's vocals. Roger's alternating dark sense of humor and profound humanity permeate several tracks and Brian's guitar bits throughout are as amazing and diverse as ever... the man's a genius.
And yes, I absolutely agree that (Headlong and) Coming Soon are channeled in several tracks... Surfs Up, Schools Out and Cosmos Rockin among them. And if it helps to understand the mood of the tune, I'll add that I hear very tongue-in-cheek influences from Dreamers Ball in the guitar bits from Call Me... wouldn't that be a lovely live medley? :-)
let's face it....we haven't had the opportunity for a new Brian May solo in 10 years
we haven't heard Roger drum so good on an album in 31 years
having Brian and Roger play on new material is great
Paul has a great voice....
it isn't the best work Brian and Roger have ever done....but it certainly beats a variety of Queen tracks and it is better than their solo projects.....it is better than Hot Space, Flash Gordon....right now I would rather listen to this than any Queen album because it's new and refreshing
I hope they make a new album.....I think if Brian spent more time writing for the album as opposed to his thesis, it would have been even better....if anything it lacks some of the heaviness Brian had put into Queen projects (aside from Made In Heaven where heaviness was non-existent)
Better writing from Brian would definately improve the quality, so when this tour is out of the way let's hope they still give a damn to record more stuff together.... because this is not about money none of them need to work again, just look at John still worth 60 Million !
I love the album but what's missing is what made Queen (or anybody for that matter)famous in the first place,If you want to stand out from the crowd you have to do something different - make a song that's totally unique - previous examples are :- Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, You're My Best Friend, Somebody To Love, Don't Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Radio Ga Ga.
April wrote:
I've been told that Say It's Not True was written by Roger Taylor. Is that true???
Yes. The CD-Single credits listed him as the writer, though the album's tracks were all blanket-credited as "Queen + Paul Rodgers" (I was wondering about a similar thing with "Warboys" recently, actually, since it'd been done by Paul live prior to that on his Live in Glasgow album)
Great to see a good review - I'm sick of haters pouring out their guts on these forums. You know, I never thought about it, but there is a HUGE similarity between Surf's Up and Coming Soon! Both of them are (presumably) Roger's songs, so it's not very surprising, though.
Yes, I do agree with many of the observations I read here (at last some 'balanced' opinions).
Cosmos Rocks must be taken as it is: Roger, Brian and Paul playing together and writing together. It is better than some of their solo productions - at least more diverse - and yet much much better of many rock works that have been produced these last few years.
The album is a honest rock album, with some good ideas.. maybe lacking of certain highlights that Queen had given us the privilege to expect from them, but still it stands out from the crowd of many contemporary productions.
In my opinion it is possible that Cosmos Rocks represents a "shakedown", and that the most interesting interactions between the three musicians are yet to come: interactions and balances are never easy to create.
Just a technical note about the sound.. I am not really enjoying such a compressed sound, with very flat dynamics: I wander whether this also depends on the fact that people are listening music more on I-Pods than on good Hi-Fi's, but still, I don't like this technical choice.
So, in the end, let's thank the three musicians for some good, well done rock'n roll.. which is never too much in this world! :-)