Queen+ Paul Rodgers NEW single & album details

[Michael Allred]

Queen+ Paul Rodgers announced a bunch of details recently regarding their new single "C-lebrity" taken from the soon-to-follow studio album "The Cosmos Rocks."

While "C-lebrity" has made the rounds on the internet courtesy of a live performance of it last month on a UK TV show, the full studio recording has now hit, check it out courtesy of www.youtube.com. Here's the link;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBfvDfuZXuE

I have to say the song has really grown on me and I definitely prefer the studio cut to the live performance. I've read reviews of the song saying it's "All Right Now" meets "Somebody to Love" and I think that's about right. The kind of combination you would have expected from the three of them getting together.

BTW here's the live performance of "C-lebrity"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_rmW...eature=related

The new single and album releases will be in the following formats :

SINGLE – C-lebrity
Released: September 8th – All formats

CD
1. C-lebrity
2. C-lebrity (All Murray’s Happy Hour Video)
3. C-lebrity (Now Play It Tutorial)

7”
1. C-lebrity
2. Fire & Water (Live In Japan)

Digital Bundle
1. C-lebrity
2. Fire & Water (Live In Japan)

iTunes Exclusive bundle
1. C-lebrity
2. Fire & Water (Live In Japan)
3. The Show Must Go On (Live In Japan)

ALBUM – The Cosmos Rocks
Released: September 15th 2008 (UK/ROW) / October 14th 2008 (US/Canada)

Tour Edition – Queen Online Only
Standard CD
Special Edition CD and DVD
Gatefold Vinyl
Itunes Album Exclusive format

Also...

A new Official Queen You Tube Channel has been launched with a selection of (currently 19) classic Queen videos, plus a couple of Queen + Paul Rodgers live cuts and of course the performance of ‘C-lebrity’, the new single (out September 8th!), taken from the band’s performance on Al Murray’s show earlier in the year.

More and more official Queen videos will be added over time, plus, hopefully, some rare and unseen bits if possible.

Link here: http://www.youtube.com/queenofficial
Queen are also hitting the other major networking sites now with official profiles on http://www.myspace.com/queen and www.facebook.com/pages/Queen/17337462361

I don't understand why the album is coming out in America about a *month* after the UK release but whatever, I guess I'll just buy the import as I see no reason in waiting that long.

It should also be noted that "C-lebrity" isn't technically the first single from the album though it's the first to get any real promotion. "Say It's Not True," previously only heard as an accoustic number during their live shows, was also recorded in the studio for inclusion on the upcoming album. It was reworked with Roger Taylor, Brian May and Paul Rodgers sharing lead vocals and given a Queen-ified rock ending. You can hear this version on www.youtube.com as well:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYl-_uZcu64

"Having between them sold more than 300 million albums, it is only to be expected that the first studio collaboration between rock giants Queen and revered rock legend Paul Rodgers in the form of the upcoming album The Cosmos Rocks is one of this year’s most eagerly anticipated.

For the music we will have to wait a little longer: the album does not reach stores until September 15 (October 14 in the USA), but for anyone wondering how Queen and Paul Rodgers circa 2008 visualise themselves the band this week revealed the cover art for the forthcoming CD album.

The thematic image is the work of award winning photographer Edgar Martins who has been hailed ‘one of the most influential artists of his generation working within the medium of Photography’. Widely represented internationally in various high profile museums, public, corporate and private collections, Martin’s awarded books and series include ‘Black Holes & Other Inconsistencies’ and ‘The Diminishing Present’, work, according to critical observers, ‘positioned in the grey area of fact and fiction, reality and allegory’.

So beyond Martin’s striking cover image, what lies in store with The Cosmos Rocks?

Tantalisingly, the Queen + Paul Rodgers’ point of view is: “People really, truly playing together in the studio – you don’t get that much these days. But, you will get it on the new Queen and Paul Rodgers album.”

The Cosmos Rocks, featuring 13 all-new tracks written and recorded by Queen + Paul Rodgers, is released by EMI/Parlophone throughout the world excepting North America where it is a Hollywood Records release."

As stated in the May issue of Rollingstone: Other tracks from the new album include “We Believe,” an “epic in Queen’s traditional style,” according to May, and “Call Me,” which he says sounds like it would fit right in on Queen’s 1974 classic, Sheer Heart Attack. Also Q+PR recorded a cover of the classic "Runaway" but it will not be featured on the album. What they decide to do with it is anyone's guess right now, a future B-side? Digital single on itunes? Who knows?

In Paul Rodgers news, Bad Company will ride again this summer -- for one night only.

The '70s rock troupe plans to reunite for a one-off show on Aug. 8 at the Seminole Hard Rock & Casino in Hollywood, Fla., the group's first performance since a 1999 reunion tour. And although frontman Paul Rodgers tells Billboard.com that "it'll be great to see the guys and play and go back down that road again just for one night," there's also a business component to the gig.

"What I'm doing is protecting the legacy that we have built ... cementing the rights to the trademark Bad Company for touring," explains Rodgers, acknowledging that the group has learned of plans for at least one bogus Bad Company planning to hit the road. "I can't really go into that because it's kind of in the hands of our lawyers at the moment. But there are a lot of things that make it necessary to reinforce our rights here. He continues, "By doing this one-night stand with Bad Company, we will be cementing our right to the trademark 'Bad Company' for touring, and anyone who attempts to challenge us and tour misuing our trademark and mislead the fans will be liable to legal action."

Rodgers will be joined in August by original Bad Company guitarist Mick Ralphs and drummer Simon Kirke, who continued the group with other singers after Rodgers left in 1982. Lynn Sorenson from Rodgers' solo band will take the place of late bassist Boz Burrell, who died in 2006.

The show will be dedicated to the memory of Steve Weiss, the longtime attorney for Bad Company, Led Zeppelin and Swan Song Records, who passed away last week in Florida. It will also be recorded for a DVD that will accompany a Bad Company compilation expected out later this year.

"I think it should be pure Bad Company and nothing else," Rodgers says of the show's repertoire. "We're gonna dig into the catalog a little bit. There are some great songs there I'd like to revisit, like 'Simple Man,' and of course the favorites, too," such as "Can't Get Enough," "Bad Company," "Feel Like Makin' Love" and "Rock'N'Roll Fantasy."

Rodgers does not expect to do more with Bad Company after this show, however, owing to his solo career and to his involvement with Queen + Paul Rodgers, which is working on final mixes for a studio album, tentatively titled "The Cosmos Rocks" and due out this fall. The group will start a world tour in September in Europe, and it recently previewed a new track, "C-lebrity," on British TV.

"We're in great shape, actually," Rodgers says. "I think it touches a lot of emotions. Every song is different from every other song, but I do think there is a very powerful emotional content in every song. I'm a great believer in variety in music, and so are the other guys."

[Michael Allred]

"THE COSMOS ROCKS”

QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS FIRST STUDIO ALBUM

EMI/Parlophone Release September 15, Hollywood Records (October 14)

“Our teachers were The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, blues & soul…”

The first thing you notice about The Cosmos Rocks, the much anticipated first album from rock legends Queen + Paul Rodgers is “all tracks written by Queen and Paul Rodgers”…”produced and performed by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor” (indicating that between them they played all instruments, including bass - Paul and Brian swapping duties - in case you were going to ask). This is obviously not a case of Rodgers lightly stepping in to fill a vocal gap, as some might have been drawn to assume would be the case when the three of them got into the studio together.

No, this is a full bodied, group endeavour: May, Rodgers and Taylor in a totally democratic union, even down to equally sharing the credits. The album’s dedication to legendary Queen front man 'Freddie Mercury,' (you’ll also see thanks credits to John Deacon and Paul Kossoff) shows the band mates still feel his presence strongly enough to dedicate this entirely new work to him, nearly 13 years on from Queen’s last studio album.

You also wonder how Rodgers who takes control as main vocalist on all thirteen tracks here feels about his work being dedicated to the man whose fans still worship at the altar of the pre-Mercury demise Queen.

But then thinking about it, it doesn’t seem quite so strange. Brian May and Roger Taylor have, after all, never shied from acknowledging the mighty presence Mercury provided to the band on stage and the wonders of his extraordinary creativity in the studio. Mostly, they acknowledge how even today, they still miss ‘dear Fred’.

In the case of Rodgers, he can stand assured in the fact that Mercury always rated him as one of the best rock voices of his time. It is public record that Mercury would make a point of dropping into the Marquee or any number of other London venues when Rodgers was performing with his band Free. Mercury often in his past acknowledged Free’s Fire and Water as one of the albums to most influence Queen. On top of this, Rodgers has now played enough sold-out and wildly received dates as Queen + Paul Rodgers to know that it works, and that the acceptance is there. You only had to be there at last month’s Nelson Mandela 90th birthday concert to feel the heat from the audience to the band’s blinding set.

It all makes perfect sense when you get the opportunity to see what the band have to say about the sessions:

“We went in and played, every day, and ALL kinds of things happened, little bits of chemistry happening between us. It’s good, organic music.

“There's a lot of guitar orchestras and some of our old trademarks, but at the core of it you'll hear the three of us playing. People really, truly playing together in the studio - you don't get that much these days. But, you will get it on their new album.

“Do they still call them 'albums'? I don't even know. But this is really, we believe, an Album in the old sense of the word - something you can put on and listen to all the way through, and it takes you on a journey ... the subjects and moods in it are widely spaced - but nevertheless, a challenge to the listener to put his day on hold for an hour or so, be drawn in, make connections, and experience something new.

“These days it has seemed to us that few people have this in mind - CD's by large tend to be a collection of songs, often produced by different teams, assembled in random sequence - with the idea that folks will shuffle the order on their iPods anyway. Of course you always have that option! But our teachers were the Beatles, Hendrix, blues + soul and ... you know where we’re going with this. “

The Cosmos Rocks was recorded and mixed at Taylor’s The Priory studio between November 2007 and August 2008, and co-produced and engineered by Joshua J Macrae, Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson. It marks the first album of newly recorded material from Queen + Paul Rodgers since they first set out on the road in 2005, and the first Queen studio album since 1995.

A first single from the album, “C-lebrity” is released September 8 in enhanced CD, 7”, and digital formats. Versions contain exclusive performances of Queen + Paul Rodgers live performances of “Show Must Go On” and “Fire and Water” filmed during Q + PR’s 2005 Japanese tour.

The track, according to Roger Taylor – and seemingly much in keeping with many on The Cosmos Rocks – is the writers’ skew on the times in which we live: " ’C-lebrity’ is really a comment on the current concept of fame - success and all that goes with it. Getting your face on TV is enough - talent doesn't really enter into the equation. ‘Celebrity’ is an overused and devalued word today. I think the song shows we have lost none of the humour of Queen!”

Other tracks on The Cosmos Rocks include "Cosmos Rockin’”, "Time To Shine”, "Still Burnin'” (a mission statement of why artists are compelled to create), "Small”,"“Warboys”, "We Believe”, "Call Me”, "Voodoo”, "Some Things That Glitter”, "Through The Night”, "Say It's Not True” (a new version of the track donated to Nelson Mandela’s 46664 HIV Aids campaign), and "Surf's Up, School's Out”.

The album is released in three physical formats: standard CD, deluxe package which includes additional DVD featuring 15 highlight performances by Queen + Paul Rodgers from the band’s Super Live in Japan concert recorded live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo on 27th October 2005, along with double gate-fold vinyl release. The album will also have a special digital release including bonus tracks.

Coinciding with the release of The Cosmos Rocks, Queen + Paul Rodgers embark on a 33-date Europe and Northern Eurasia tour beginning mid-September. The tour reaches the UK on October 10 with 11 dates including two at London 02 and the tour’s final date at Wembley Arena on November 8.

Queen + Paul Rodgers
The Cosmos Rocks

Released world excluding North America September 15, 2008

Track listing:
1. Cosmos Rockin' (4:10)
2. Time To Shine (4:23)
3. Still Burnin' (4:04)
4. Small (4:39)
5. Warboys (3:18)
6. We Believe (6:08)
7. Call Me (2:59)
8. Voodoo (4:27)
9. Some Things That Glitter (4:03)
10. C-lebrity (3:38)
11. Through The Night (4:54)
12. Say It's Not True (4:00)
13. Surf's Up . . . School's Out ! (5:38)
14. small reprise (2:05)

Produced and performed by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor
Co-produced and engineered by
Joshua J Macrae, Justin Shirley-Smith and Kris Fredriksson
All tracks written by Queen + Paul Rodgers
Extra backing vocals on C-lebrity: Taylor Hawkins courtesy of RCA Records

This album is dedicated to Freddie Mercury

www.queenpluspaulrodgers.com
www.queenonline.com
www.paulrodgers.com

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PRESS RELEASE: C-LEBRITY

Queen and Paul Rodgers European Tour
Press Release: C-lebrity

Want to be a face on TV ?
Want to be a C-lebrity ?

QUEEN + PAUL ROGERS
New single – 'C-LEBRITY’

Release date September 8, 2008
(DIGITAL & PHYSICAL FORMATS)

'C-lebrity’ is the brand new single from Queen + Paul Rodgers. Taken from the forthcoming album 'The Cosmos Rocks’ (release date Sept 15th), 'C-lebrity’ was written and produced by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor.

Many of Queen’s best known songs have been written in humour, and 'C-lebrity’ follows in this pattern; it is a comment on the celebrity-driven times in which we live where the myriad of reality-based tv shows are producing a generation of C-lebrities.

The track received its first airing as an exclusive on TV’s Al Murray’s Happy Hour, since when, according to Brian May, “we went back in and roughed up the studio version a bit. I think it gives a fair idea of the kind of energy on the album.”

It is a subject on which each of the band has a view to share:

Roger Taylor: “C-lebrity is really a comment on the current concept of fame – success and all that goes with it. Getting your face on TV is enough – talent doesn’t really enter into the equation. ‘Celebrity’ is an overused and devalued word today.”

Paul Rodgers adds: “I see the song as Rogers’ take on the increasing emphasis on fame for its own sake. It’s quite ironic that Andy Warhol’s statement that everyone will have fifteen minutes of fame is becoming something of a reality, although it may be down to fifteen seconds in today’s world of instant communication.”

'The Cosmos Rocks Tour’ begins in Europe mid-September before rolling into the UK for the following shows:

OCTOBER
10th Nottingham Arena,
11th Glasgow SECC,
13th London O2,
14th Cardiff Arena,
16th Birmingham NIA,
18th Liverpool Arena,
19th Sheffield Arena,

NOVEMBER
4th Newcastle Arena,
5th Manchester Arena,
7th London O2
8th London Wembley Arena

‘The Cosmos Rocks’ album, produced and performed by Brian May, Paul Rodgers and Roger Taylor, and written by Queen + Paul Rodgers, featuring 13-all new songs, is out to coincide with the mid-September start of the European tour. It marks the first Queen album of new material since 1995.

‘C-lebrity’ release formats:

CD
C-lebrity
Enhanced section: ‘C-lebrity’ live All Murray’s Happy Hour/Now Play It Tutorial.

7”
C-lebrity
Fire & Water (live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, 20005)

Digital Bundle:
C-lebrity
Fire & Water (live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, 20005)

iTunes Exclusive Bundle:
C-lebrity
Fire & Water (live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, 20005)
The Show Must Go On (live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo, 20005)


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'THE COSMOS ROCKS' TRACKLISTING

Rumours and fake tracklistings have been flying around the cosmos of late…but here it is. The official tracklisting for the Queen + Paul Rodgers album ‘The Cosmos Rocks’.

1. Cosmos Rockin’
2. Time To Shine
3. Still Burnin’
4. Small
5. Warboys
6. We Believe
7. Call Me
8. Voodoo
9. Some Things That Glitter
10. C-lebrity
11. Through The Night
12. Say It’s Not True
13. Surf’s Up . . . School’s Out !
14. (small reprise)

A special edition CD/DVD will also included the following DVD tracklisting:

Recorded live at Saitama Super Arena, Tokyo on 27th October 2005

1. Reaching Out (Hill / Black)
2. Tie Your Mother Down (May)
3. Fat Bottomed Girls (May)
4. Another One Bites The Dust (Deacon)
5. Fire And Water (Rodgers / Fraser)
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Mercury)
7. Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) (May)
8. These Are The Days Of Our Lives (Queen)
9. Radio Ga Ga (Taylor)
10. Can’t Get Enough (Ralphs)
11. I Was Born To Love You (Mercury)
12. All Right Now (Rodgers / Fraser)
13. We Will Rock You (May)
14. We Are The Champions (Mercury)
15. God Save The Queen (Trad. Arr. May)