The Cosmos Rocks
The Cosmos Rocks is the only studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers (and Queen's sixteenth studio album overall), released on 15 September 2008. It contains 14 new tracks written by Brian May, Roger Taylor, and Paul Rodgers. This is the first studio album of new material from the two remaining members of Queen since 1995′s "Made in Heaven". History. The band entered Roger Taylor's Priory studio in late 2006, having completed the American leg of a world tour. Sessions were initially scheduled around Rodgers' other touring commitments. On tour, the band had debuted a  new song, "Take Love", which did not make the album. On his solo tour, Rodgers debuted songs such as "Warboys" and "Voodoo". John Deacon's retirement meant that bass duties were shared between Rodgers and May. The first single, "Say It's Not True" was released nine months before the album. The second, "C-lebrity" was previewed on "Al Murray's Happy Hour" in April, five months before the album. The album's release came 17 years after the death in 1991 of former Queen singer Freddie Mercury. "It had some great stuff on it," Taylor recalled. "I just think  that Paul's more blues and soul – one of our favourite singers, ever, but, when it boils down to it, he wasn't the perfect frontman for us. I felt the album was badly promoted by EMI, who were falling to bits at the time. We were on tour in Europe, and I went into record stores and we weren't in them. And I remember being furious, thinking, 'Why did we make this fucking record?'" Singles. Three singles were released from the album: Critical reaction. "The Cosmos Rocks" received mixed reviews. According to critic review aggregator Metacritic, the album  received an average review score of 42/100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". Alexis Petridis of "The Guardian" gave it two out of five stars, stating, "the lyrics were stupid, trite, a bit offensive and bound to have an undermining effect on whatever musical efforts they put behind it". Conversely, "PopMatters" gave it a 7/10 review, stating, "Paul Rodgers breathes new life into Queen, while still keeping the band's tremendous legacy intact as they soldier forth with new material into the 21st century". "Mojo" gave it three stars, stating, "Occasionally they stumble, as on the clunky 'Warboys.' But with Rodgers  imperious, Queen's second coming is vindicated". Tour. The "Rock the Cosmos Tour" began in September 2008 to promote the release of this album. The opening date was recorded for a DVD release, and was broadcast across digital video theatres across the United States on 6 November 2008 under the title "Let the Cosmos Rock". The tour included one of the largest open-air concerts in Kharkiv, Ukraine, which garnered 350,000 people. Over the course of the tour, Queen played to just short of a million viewers. Track listing. Original release. All regular tracks credited to Queen + Paul Rodgers . Note: The Japanese edition includes a CD audio version instead of the DVD.