The Cosmos Rocks- Is it really that bad???

It's not really that bad.  It's just not really very good, and people don't know how to take that when they've been spoiled with great stuff in the past.
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[/QUOTE]If we took all of the shitty songs from the Queen catalogue though, we could make 1 or even 2 albums that are worse than TCR.  Easy.  [/QUOTE]

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[b]Zebonka12 wrote: [/b]

It's not really that bad.  It's just not really very good, and people don't know how to take that when they've been spoiled with great stuff in the past. Queen catalogue though, we could make 1 or even 2 albums that are worse than TCR.  Easy.  
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You know what, I really doubt that.  Queen at their worst is still more fun than anything on "TCR"

Mmm... true.  Maybe 2 albums is a stretch.  I still think I could find at least one mid-length album of worse stuff.  Having said that, I don't know if I could find anything that was as 'meh' or middle-of-the-road.

TCR desperately misses a good bass player...even Danny Miranda would have added quite a bit to the songs.  I don't think that the casual fan realizes what John Deacon added to the Queen sound.  He is, IMO, one of hte best bass players in rock, he was a huge part of the "Queen" sound, and, without his bass lines, the majority of the record simply falls flat.

if john played with "HALF QUEEN+PR", the fans would liked more it... the shows, cd's, musics, general!!

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[b]QueenPaulo wrote: [/b]

if john played with "HALF QUEEN+PR", the fans would liked more it... the shows, cd's, musics, general!![/QUOTE]
Then it would be 3/4 Queen + PR ;)

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[b]Zebonka12 wrote: [/b]

Mmm... true.  Maybe 2 albums is a stretch.  I still think I could find at least one mid-length album of worse stuff.  Having said that, I don't know if I could find anything that was as 'meh' or middle-of-the-road.[/QUOTE]



Yeah, "Queen's Worst EP"

That's a spot on description of "TCR"..."meh" & "M.O.R"

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[b]Cincinnati Bow Tie wrote: [/b]

TCR desperately misses a good bass player...even Danny Miranda would have added quite a bit to the songs.  I don't think that the casual fan realizes what John Deacon added to the Queen sound.  He is, IMO, one of hte best bass players in rock, he was a huge part of the "Queen" sound, and, without his bass lines, the majority of the record simply falls flat.[/QUOTE]





Indeed.  I've said it before, but the nearest thing (to my ears anyway) to old-Queen on TCR was "Some Things That Glitter".  I suppose it's a less textured and less passionate sounding version of something like "Save Me".  And what was one of the big differences?  The bass track!
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[/QUOTE]They really should've got someone in to do it.[/QUOTE]

I thought the song The Cosmos Rocks, when used as an opener, reminded me a bit of Let Me Entertain You. Compare "We Got The Whole World Rockin'!..." to the verses in LMEY. [b]I [/b]think it sounds a little bit alike. I can actually hear Freddie singing TCR and it sounding better already.

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[b]Lookin' Divine In Good Ol' '89 wrote: [/b]

I thought the song The Cosmos Rocks, when used as an opener, reminded me a bit of Let Me Entertain You. Compare "We Got The Whole World Rockin'!..." to the verses in LMEY. [b]I [/b]think it sounds a little bit alike. I can actually hear Freddie singing TCR and it sounding better already.[/QUOTE]






could remind you... but i don't think it's like Let me entertain you!!!

Oh definitely not!!! LMEY is more of a song than TCR will ever be! "I'll pull you, I'll pill You. Ill Cruella-Deville You. To Thrill You Ill Use Any Device." Greatest lyrics ive ever heard. Blatant sexual Innuendo 25 years ahead of its time!

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[b]Zebonka12 wrote: [/b]

Mmm... true.  Maybe 2 albums is a stretch.  I still think I could find at least one mid-length album of worse stuff.  Having said that, I don't know if I could find anything that was as 'meh' or middle-of-the-road.[/QUOTE]

Great post on Momentary Lapse of Reason - LOL. Here's a stab at a Queen album worse than TCR:

1. Party/Khashoggi's Ship
2. Sweet Lady
3. Jesus
4. The Loser in the End
5. Misfire
6. Rain Must Fall
7. If You Can't Beat Them
8. Calling All Girls
9. Action This Day
10. Keep Passing the Open Windows
11. Pain is So Close to Pleasure
12. All God's People
13. Friends Will Be Friends
14. You Don't Fool Me
15. Yeah

Hmmm, that's about the worst I can come up with and I still prefer it to TCR.

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[b]Lookin' Divine In Good Ol' '89 wrote: [/b]



 



Oh definitely not!!! LMEY is more of a song than TCR will ever be! "I'll pull you, I'll pill You. Ill Cruella-Deville You. To Thrill You Ill Use Any Device." Greatest lyrics ive ever heard. Blatant sexual Innuendo 25 years ahead of its time!



 

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Hehe. But it's indeed one of my favorite Queen songs. Some of the most difficult vocals Freddie ever committed to record and an absolutely fascinating paralell structured texture based on brilliant performanti. Some live versions are a real treasure. The first bridge - just vocal and percussion, ocasionally some bass - is indeed wonderful. User Olivier Ruth shared a concert from 1981, it's probably one of the best sounding Queen bootlegs I have ever heard, on which one can listen to John's base very, very clearly. Maybe all too clearly. What he does in the song is simply brilliant. Though Brian, as it was often the case in the Game Tour, misses some chords in the middle-eight, if my memory serves me right.

Anyway, you raised a good point: the lyrics. My main problem with TCR are the lyrics. Not that the music got me going, it didn't, but some of the lyrics are just flat out ridiculous for people who have grown up. Those lyrics would be ok back in the 70's or the early 80's, but 20 years later?
 
Surf's Up, school's out?

Lyrics don't have to be intellectualized to be good. Some simple love lyrics can turn out to be good. "Let Me Entertain You" intellectual content is close to zero, but the lyrics are wonderful all the same: the self-confident performer singing his own qualities and boasting about it for the crowd - it's a wonderful idea. And it's fun, there's a nice, suitable sense of humor to it, it works as a live act because it gave Freddie a lot of room for his showmanship. 

But C-Lebrity and...I just can't. If they were in their 20's, it could be mildly amusing, but even so...

As I said to Vali: I don't think the album is that bad. It's only that "bad" is a relative concept: "bad" is only bad in relation to something else, right? There's not an absolute isolated "bad". And the album is bad if you consider that three towering figures in the music business have done it; it's bad compared to Ben Harper's new album - an amazing album, great reviews, great sales, great concerts, a beautiful hommage to Queen and Freddie: to listen to this guy singing Under Pressure was a dream come true to me.. - to Dream Theater's new album - which I didn't like, but is no doubt better to my ears than TCR - or to Dave Matthews' new album. I hate R.E.M and Foo Fighters, but I must admit that they have been on the road for some time and that their material is usually better than TCR. I could come up with a plethora of names. Neil Young's and Dylan's new albums are wonderful - and come on, Neil Young has been there for 40 years already!

This is just my taste, of course. In my humble opinion, few Queen albums anyway - I think only "II", SHA, ANATO, ADATR and NOTW - are better than, say, Tori Amos' or Björk's albums so far. And Tori's coming with yet another new one, and I hope it'll be as good as the last one. 

This is just to say: TCR is not bad compared to other Queen albums. It's bad, to my taste, compared to other music acts and, above all, compared to their own skills: we're talking about Paul, Brian and Roger, not 50cent.

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Be indulgent argument: there's the "be indulgent argument", according to which what's most important is that the guys did some new stuff and are happy about it. I can't accept this argument: I can't accept it for the simple reason that ever since 1991 - that is, almost 20!!! years - Brian and Roger haven't amounted to anything. Zero. Their impact on the music scene was about the same as mine. If after being stuck for 20 years the best you have to offer is TCR, then I'm sorry, I can't take the argument seriously. 

If TCR were a bad album in a thread of resonably good albums - just like Hot Space at the time - I'd say: "Cool. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. It's like that when you're DOING MUSIC".

But it's been almost 20 years ever since Freddie died and...

Let's see what comes next.

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[b]doxonrox wrote: [/b]



1. Party/Khashoggi's Ship
2. Sweet Lady
5. Misfire
7. If You Can't Beat Them
12. All God's People
14. You Don't Fool Me

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Interesting list for Queen's worst.  The few tracks I highlighted are pretty strong tracks in my books.

Yeah I wouldn't throw "You Don't Fool Me" on a worst list.  While there's obvious signs that it was stitched together from not-a-lot, it's a pretty good job.