Review: The Cosmos Rocks

Queen is one of the most influential bands in rock history. It’s famous for its electric ‘live’ performances, writes Nishant Goyal.

Album:

HT Image

The Cosmos Rocks

Band

:

Queen

and Paul Rodgers

Rating:

****1/2

Queen

is one of the most influential bands in rock history. It’s famous for its electric ‘live’ performances fronted by the supercharged Freddie Mercury and its incredible fusion of vocal harmonies with raw rock.

The band’s last release was Made in Heaven in 1995, featuring a bunch of unreleased tracks coupled with a few tracks which were recorded just before Mercury’s death in 1991.

Ready to rock
Brian May and Roger Taylor of Queen had suggested that Paul Rodgers, former frontman of Bad Company, starts touring with them.. which he did for the first time in 2005, filling in for Mercury on vocals.

The resulting union evoked such a fantastic response from fans of both quarters that in 2006 the trio got into the studio and recorded some original music. Two years later, the guys are ready to rock the cosmos.

There’s no denying that Rodgers had humongous shoes to fill as vocalist. The fact that this album is more Queen than Rodgers affirms the success of the union. Rodgers’ voice brings another dimension to the energetic Queen sound. Clearly, all the touring has kept his vocal chords well honed, distinct and as capable as ever.

So whether the band is doing the classic Queen racy rocker (Cosmos rockin’, pulsating and brilliant), or an old school rock ‘n’roll track (Call me, finger-snapping, foot-tapping fun) or even the lilting ballad (Small, Rodgers sounding his earnest best), you’re convinced that these guys should have come together sooner to take the Queen legacy forward.

The real gems however, are the utopian Time to shine and the blatantly brash C-lebrity.. their unique take on the so-called instant stardom that comes with reality shows in today’s day and age.

The Cosmos rocking will make Freddie Mercury happy.. wherever he is.

Bottom line: Get your hands on this right now