The Cosmos Rocks
Produced by: Brian May, Paul Rodgers, and Roger Taylor
Recorded at: The Priory
UK Parlophone LP: 15 September 2008 50999 2 37025 1 6 / UK Chart
#5
USA Hollywood Records LP: 28 October 2008 D000261601 / Billboard
#47
Disc One - Side One
1. Cosmos Rockin' (Taylor/Rodgers/May) 4:11
2. Time To Shine (Rodgers/May/Taylor) 4:23
3. Still Burnin' (May/Rodgers/Taylor) 4:30
Disc One - Side Two
1. Small (Taylor/May/Rodgers) 4:39
2. Warboys (Rodgers/Taylor/May) 3:18
3. We Believe (May/Rodgers/Taylor) 6:07
| |
Disc Two - Side One
1. Call Me (Rodgers/May/Taylor) 2:58
2. Voodoo (Rodgers/May/Taylor) 4:27
3. Some Things That Glitter (May/Taylor/Rodgers) 4:02
4. C-lebrity (Taylor/May/Rodgers) 3:38
Disc Two - Side Two
1. Through The Night (Rodgers/May/Taylor) 4:53
2. Say It's Not True (Taylor/Rodgers/May) 4:01
3. Surf's Up... School's Out! (Taylor/Rodgers/May) 5:55
4. Small reprise (Taylor/May/Rodgers) 2:05
|
Related Songs
Take Love (Rodgers), Runaway(Shannon/Crook)
Singles
UK Singles
- Say It's Not True / Enhanced Video CD single / UK Chart #90
- C-lebrity c/w Fire And Water (Live) 7" picture disc / UK Chart #33
- C-lebrity / Enhanced Video C-lebrity (Live at Al Murray's Happy Hour)
CD single
Album Info
The remaining active members of Queen, Brian May and Roger
Taylor, teamed with Free and Bad Company frontman Paul Rodgers on a true
world tour of Europe, Asia, and North America throughout 2005 and 2006.
The new band, dubbed Queen + Paul Rodgers played a mix of Queen, Bad Company
and Free tracks. A new song called Take Love, written by Paul, even debuted
on the 2006 North American leg of the tour.
Official live downloads and a live album titled Return Of The Champions
followed with the latter charting at #12 in the UK. The next logical step
for the trio was transitioning their chemistry to the recording studio.
At the completion of Paul's 2006 UK solo tour, sessions began at Roger Taylor's
home studio, The Priory.
The first single, Say It's Not True, was released as a free digital download
for World AIDS day. The new arrangement differs from the acoustic treatment
of the 46664 and Queen + Paul Rodgers live shows. All three members share
lead vocal duties and the song has a new rocking finale. An enhanced CD
single was released due to popular demand with royalties donated to the
Nelson Mandela Foundation. Say It's Not True, the CD single, peaked at #90
on the UK chart.
The second single, a biting commentary on fame titled C-lebrity, premiered
as a live performance on Al Murray's Happy Hour on April 4, 2008. The album
was officially announced on the show and the title, The Cosmos Rocks, was
revealed. The studio recording was released on September 8, 2008, a week
ahead of the album. C-lebrity made a modest dent on the UK chart, reaching
#33.
The Cosmos Rocks, Queen and Paul Rodgers' anticipated studio album was released
on September 15, 2008 in the UK reaching #5. The album was announced for
October 14, 2008 in the US, a full month after the rest of the world. The
album was postponed another two weeks, finally arriving on October 28, reaching
a mediocre #47 on the Billboard album chart. The Cosmos Rocks was available
in a variety of formats; the CD version could be purchased as a stand-alone
disc or with a bonus DVD of highlights from the band's 2005 Japan concerts.
Japan released a special 2 CD version that included the main album and an
audio CD of the Japan performance, as opposed to DVD video. Vinyl was available
in most major territories, while the US received a vinyl boxset that included
the new album, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night At The Opera, A Day
At The Races, and the CD/DVD combo. An i-Tunes exclusive download version
included an extra track, a cover of Del Shannon's classic, Runaway.
The band members were disappointed with the public response and the lack
of promotion by EMI/Parlophone. The band went out on the road again to support
the album, playing familiar territories and new audiences in Russia, Ukraine,
and South America. Tensions on the South American tour brought the Queen
+ Paul Rodgers partnership to an amicable end. Queen would not renew their
contract with EMI/Parlophone, instead signing with Island/Universal in 2011.
Cosmos Rockin'
Time To Shine
Still Burnin'
Small
Warboys
We Believe
We Believe 6:07
Appears on: The
Cosmos Rocks, Track 6
We Believe (Single Edit) 3:42
Appears on: We
Believe promo CD-R
We Believe became a hit in Italy for Queen + Paul Rodgers. To help with
radio airplay, the album version was cut by almost two and a half minutes.
The first 24 seconds are the same between the two versions, then 0:25 to
1:26 is edited out, fading in with the guitar and the lyrics 'We don't get
what the other guy is saying." Then 3:41 to 5:06 is edited out, which
includes a few verses, the 'whispering' part, and the guitar solo. From
that point on, the track proceeds and ends normally. Not a bad edit considering
the amount removed.
Call Me
Voodoo
Some Things That Glitter
C-lebrity
C-lebrity 3:38
Appears on: The
Cosmos Rocks, Track 10
C-lebrity (Live on Al Murray's Happy Hour - Enhanced
CD Single Video) 3:48
Appears on: UK
C-lebrity CD single
Queen + Paul Rodgers appeared on Al Murray's Happy Hour on April 4, 2008.
The band performed All Right Now and a new track called C-lebrity from their
then upcoming album. The performance of C-lebrity was included on the CD
single of the song as an enhanced video. A bit of the count-in and the opening
of the song has been edited from the performance to better match the studio
version.
C-lebrity (Live on Al Murray's Happy Hour - Full
Performance) 3:59
Appears on: Unreleased
The full performance of C-lebrity from Al Murray's Happy Hour includes a
count-in and some guitar bursts at the opening of the song. These bits were
edited out of the CD single release so that it would better match the studio
version.
Through The Night
Say It's Not True
Say It's Not True 4:01
Appears on: The
Cosmos Rocks, Track 12
Debuting live at the original 46664 concert and becoming a regular staple
of the Queen + Paul Rodgers live tour, the 46664 studio version of this
track remained unreleased. Finally, in late 2007, Queen (alongside new frontman
Paul Rodgers) completed and released a new studio version of Say It's Not
True. The track was released for free on the Queen website to raise awareness
for Nelson Mandela's 46664 cause. Roger sings verse one, Brian sings verse
two, and Paul finishes the song with the third verse. Lots of heavy drums
and trademark Queen guitars are all over this one. A good start to Queen
+ Paul Rodgers' recording sessions. Roger Taylor would later release a version
with Jeff Beck on his 2013 solo album Fun On Earth.
Say It's Not True (46664 Studio Version) 2:41
Appears on: Puttenham
Priory Studio CD-R
In October 2003, two new Queen studio tracks from Brian May and Roger Taylor,
Amandla and Invincible Hope, were released as online downloads for the 46664
campaign. Both tracks were also later performed for the 46664 concert in
South Africa the following month. Interestingly, the concert opened with
a third new Queen track performed by Roger, Brian, and Dave Stewart, titled
Say It's Not True. It was assumed a studio recording of Say It's Not True
would be available for download but it never came to be. The song was later
performed by Queen + Paul Rodgers as part of their 2005 and 2006 tours featuring
Roger on lead vocals with Danny Maranda and Jamie Moses splitting acoustic
guitar duties. A studio version was released in December 2007 by Queen +
Paul Rodgers featuring Roger, Brian, and Paul each singing a verse. This
version would later end up on their 2008 album The Cosmos Rocks. Roger revisited
the track again for his 2013 album Fun On Earth featuring legendary guitarist
Jeff Beck. Finally, the original unreleased 46664 studio recording from
2003 was sold on eBay in 2022 as a CD-R disc originating from Roger's Puttenham
Priory Studio. The 46664 studio version is just Roger on lead vocals (with
a slight phase effect) and no backup harmonies. The track opens with synths
that are later reused on the QPR video version. The backing track is completely
acoustic guitar (unknown if it's Roger or Brian), synth keyboards, and a
little hi-hat or maraca in the background. The most surprising aspect of
the track is Roger's vocals and much of the first two minutes were later
used for the Queen + Paul Rodgers studio version. Special thanks to Richard
Guilbault for providing information and part of this text.
Surf's Up... School's Out!
Small reprise
Runaway
Runaway 5:28
Appears on: The
Cosmos Rocks (iTunes Bonus Track)
Runaway was a number 1 hit by Del Shannon in 1961. In the years since, it
has been covered by many artists, most successfully by The Small Faces.
This version appears as an iTunes bonus track to the album. This is a very
fun performance that was essentially done in a single take. Paul sings lead
vocals with Roger adding in the occasional "wah wah wah wah."
Recommended.
Take Love
Take Love
Appears on: Unreleased
Take Love first appeared on Queen + Paul Rodger's 2006 North American Tour;
it is an excellent song that is most likely written by Paul Rodgers. The
song has a very Bad Company feel to it and goes down very well live. The
track did not make the cut for the album because the band felt they couldn't
get it to sound right in the studio.