It's actually not bad.
It's bluesy


[Edited 9/21/08 14:09pm]

Hmm, well... I think it kinda sucks! Still looking forward though to see them in 1 week!

'The Cosmos Rocks' is actually ok IMO. There's two or three quite good new rock tracks, some fairly interesting attempts at a new, more reflective direction using acoustic guitars (which IIRC haven't been heard on a Queen-related record since the late '70s).The record sounds modern and yet with flashes of Queen's polished 1980's production sound here and there.


Ok, when compared to the last few Freddie Queen albums, it doesn't really measure up, (particularly as IMO with 'The Miracle', the classic'Innuendo' [IMO their best album] and much of the posthumous 'Made in Heaven', Queen were experiencing an artistic renaissance just as their lead singer was on his way out) and there are some weak lyrics on some songs too (as ever with Queen ), but it's certainly good to have the great Brian May and Roger Taylor back on a new record. Paul Rodgers is an obvious rock legend and has a mighty voice, but is nothing special when compared to Mr Mercury, who was/ is in a class of his own vocally.

The new record also misses most of the Queenly idiosyncracies and humour that I can now only conclude originated from the imagination of Mr Mercury. This record is interesting from a Queen historical viewpoint, as, with the absence of Mercury and Deacon, as one can begin to uncover 'who brought what' to the band's sound over the years.

Also while Mercury's absence is obvious and he definitely still missed whenever one hears May's guitar get loud, I'm finding the more I listen to it, the more I'm missing John Deacon's melodic bass fills etc, which added something extra to Queen's earlier work. Deacon was an important band member too.

Having said all this, I am prepared to consider 'Queen & Paul Rodgers' to be effectively a new and dignified version of Queen for today, especially if they go on to make two or three more (better) albums of new material in the next few years, as I hope they can only get better as this 'new' band develops. I hope they do more and improve.

So, a decent if not amazing beginning to a possible new era of Queen, then

Talking about rocking... the cosmos rocks and so does QPR and Zurich, here some of my pics from yesterday's Queen + Paul Rodgers concert in Zurich:



































I'm so fucking happy with those damn pictures and they are not even the best ones... just a selection! Usually my concert pics turn out like crap and blurred due to my crappy camera, but I had borrowed a different one last week and while it didn't work to well at the Stevie Wonder concert, due to me sitting too far away, it worked perfectly yesterday! All that needs to be adjusted is a bit of the brightness! I'll probably post some more pics later... I went crazy yesterday and took over 400!

Sorry, but I refuse to even listen to them on CD or live. They shouldn't call them "Queen" in any way. Queen died with Freddie. John Deacon is right not playing the game...
I certainly won't accept this new cd as part of the Queen discography..

They have every right! They are the founding members, not Freddie! Freddie has died, not them! They didn't do anything in terms of touring for 14 years, that's a mighty long time to pay their respects! Why should they start from scratch? Queen is also their legacy! They have every right to reclaim their careers! And they still rock! The played for 2 hours and 20 minutes! It was awesome! But I agree that the cd is kinda a let down!
[Edited 9/30/08 13:28pm]

PatrickS77 said:

Exactly, im so tired of this bullshit argument that is always thrown out whenever a band does something. I mean Queen was not just freddie mercury, it was the 4 of them, and its their legacy not just his. How come no one had a freaking issue when George Michael sang lead for a bit. Queen like INXS coped with their loss in their own ways, and both moved to another page in "their" books. I mean when your parent dies do you change your name because they are gone? NO ONE can make this call for a band, they are dealing with their own grief and when people just throw dismissal at them and call them "cashing in" or whatever it just fucking pisses me off because its dumb and its usually by someone who like one or two songs by a group. Brian and Roger had every right to go on, and John gave his blessing, he just retired from the whole thing, he gave up playing, he would have done the same thing had freddie still been here. Its amazing that we dismiss possibly the greatest guitar player of all time and best drummer as if they were two dudes on the street that got fucking lucky. Queen + Paul Rodgers is a great way to word what they are now, and that shows respect, and also that they didnt do a record till 14 years after the last and 17 years after his death "shows" that they had their own things to deal with. And its a pretty good record too on its own.
[Edited 9/30/08 13:50pm]