by Georg Purvis
Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel reported a tender moment: “About halfway through, May took the front of the stage alone to sing Freddie’s ballad ‘Love of My Life’. Before he could begin, he had to wait for a prolonged wave of applause to subside. ‘People of Milwaukee,’ he told the crowd, ‘I wasn’t feeling very glam tonight, so you’ve given me a lift.’ Clearly, the feeling was reciprocal.” Anaheim’s Orange County Register offered a warm welcome: “As steadfast Queen devotees who trekked out to the Hollywood Bowl last October know, this wasn’t the re-established outfit’s first or even sole chance at re-proving itself. Perhaps that’s why Monday night’s heartier return, at the Pond, didn’t come close to selling out. When you charge people $200 a ticket for what’s billed as one of just two North American dates – and the only one in the Western half of the U.S. – they tend not to turn out when you come back a little more than five months later on a fully-fledged tour. Yet here’s the real stinker for those who went then but not now: You missed the better, more rocking show ... A new tune, which I’ll guess is titled ‘Take Love Where You Find It’, suggests there’s more life left to this mash-up – and that Queen’s singular sonics could add girth to Rodgers’ melodies. But even if it remains nothing more than a tribute act, it deserves a continued run. In an era of misguided revivals – I’ve heard the New Cars, and you shouldn’t – this reconstituted Queen is that rare attraction worth seeing more than once.”
The final night, as reported in the Vancouver Sun, was the show to see: “It was a thrill to see the big presence that is the long, curly haired May, who shared the spotlight with Rodgers almost throughout. May is one of rock‘n’roll’s greatest guitarists after all, and Rodgers knows what it’s like to work with the best. As promised, he’s too great a musician to want to attempt an impersonation of Freddie Mercury, who died in 1991. Unlike the Doors of the 21st Century show that played at the same venue last summer, Queen with Paul Rodgers is not a case of a veteran band needing to replace its frontman with a look-alike that sounds-alike. Rodgers doesn’t look or sound like Queen’s famous frontman Freddie Mercury, which was just fine with the mixed ages audience. Nobody would have come expecting a straight ahead Queen concert. This version is really a supergroup, a retrospective combo of Queen and Rodgers’ legendary Bad Company and Free ... So great was the shared feeling for the power of musically pure, tastefully revisited old rock‘n’roll, that it may go down in history as the night that arena rock officially made its comeback. At least for those of us who didn’t experience it the first time around.”
ROCK THE COSMOS TOUR
12 SEPTEMBER TO 29 NOVEMBER 2008
Musicians: Brian May (guitars, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Song’, acoustic guitar), Roger Taylor (drums, vocals, lead vocal on ‘Song’, upright bass assistance), Paul Rodgers (vocals, acoustic guitar on ‘Song’, piano on ‘Song’), Spike Edney (piano, keyboards, keytar, vocals), Danny Miranda (bass guitar, vocals), Jamie Moses (guitars, vocals)
Repertoire: ‘Cosmos Rockin”’ (intro tape) / ‘Surf’s Up . . . School’s Out !’ (intro tape), ‘Hammer To Fall’, ‘Tie Your Mother Down’, ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’, ‘Another One Bites The Dust’, ‘I Want It All’, ‘I Want To Break Free’, ‘C-lebrity’, ‘Surf’s Up . . . School’s Out !’, ‘Seagull’, ‘Love Of My Life’, ‘’39’, Bass Solo / Drum Solo, ‘I’m In Love With My Car’, ‘A Kind Of Magic’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, ‘Bad Company’, ‘We Believe’, Guitar Solo, ‘Bijou’, ‘Last Horizon’, ‘Radio Ga Ga’, ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’, ‘The Show Must Go On’, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, ‘Cosmos Rockin’, ‘All Right Now’, ‘We Will Rock You’, ‘We Are The Champions’, ‘God Save The Queen’, ‘Shooting Star’, ‘One Vision’, ‘Wishing Well’, ‘Warboys (A Prayer For Peace)’, ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, ‘Time To Shine’, ‘The Stealer’, ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’, ‘Tavaszi Szél Vizet Áraszt’, ‘Blue Danube Waltz’, ‘Voodoo’, ‘Maybe It’s Because I’m A Londoner’, ‘Under Pressure’
Itinerary:
12 September, Freedom Square, Kharkov, Ukraine
15 September, Olympic Sports Complex, Moscow, Russia
16 September, Olympic Sports Complex, Moscow, Russia
19 September, Arena, Riga, Latvia
21 September, Velodrom, Berlin, Germany
23 September, Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium
24 September, Bercy, Paris, France
26 September, Palalottomatica, Rome, Italy
28 September, Arena, Milan, Italy
29 September, Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland
1 October, Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
2 October, SAP Arena, Mannheim, Germany
4 October, TUI Arena, Hanover, Germany
5 October, Color Line Arena, Hamburg, Germany
7 October, Ahoy, Rotterdam, Holland
8 October, Rockhal, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
10 October, Arena, Nottingham
11 October, SECC, Glasgow, Scotland
13 October, O2 Arena, London
14 October, Arena, Cardiff, Wales
16 October, NIA, Birmingham
18 October, Echo Arena, Liverpool
19 October, Arena, Sheffield
22 October, Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain
24 October, Estadio de Futbol “La Condomina”, Murcia, Spain
25 October, Palacio de Deportes, Madrid, Spain
28 October, Arena, Budapest, Hungary
29 October, Belgrade Arena, Belgrade, Serbia
31 October, O2 Arena, Prague, Czech Republic
1 November, Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria
4 November, Arena, Newcastle
5 November, MEN Arena, Manchester
7 November, O2 Arena, London
8 November, Wembley Arena, London
14 November, Festival City, Dubai, UAE
19 November, San Carlos de Apoquindo, Santiago de Chile, Chile
21 November, Estadio Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires, Argentina
26 November, Via Funchal, São Paulo, Brazil
27 November, Via Funchal, São Paulo, Brazil
29 November, HSBC Arena, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
With the 2005/2006 Return Of The Champions tour over and done with, Brian, Roger, and Paul came to a general consensus that the partnership shouldn’t end just yet. “It was amazing how seamlessly our different styles fit together,” Paul told Rolling Stone in May 2008. “We came offstage really buzzed about it and said, ‘Let’s do some more.’” Throughout 2007 and 2008, the trio worked on songs for their debut album, but the elation of the tour still lingered on. “We didn’t know we were doing the right thing until the tour started in earnest,” Roger said in Classic Rock magazine. “Then it got better and better, and by the time the American dates ended that decision had been vindicated.” Brian agreed: “Reaction-wise there were nights when I thought, ‘Gosh, this is the equal of anything in the past’. It was utterly ecstatic.”
Sessions for The Cosmos Rocks took up most of the band’s creative time, but by March 2008, plans had been solidified for an extensive world tour to begin in September in the Ukraine, with further dates in Europe, the UK, and Latin America, with a trek to the US planned for early 2009. Because of his high-profile website, where fans can easily write in, Brian was inundated with complaints by irate fans of the selected venues, with an Irish fan named Jim getting under the guitarist’s skin by calling it a “disgrace” that Queen + Paul Rodgers didn’t book anything in Ireland. Shocked at this reaction, Brian wrote a tongue-in-cheek entry on his website that apologized to the collective countries from selected “arm-chair” fans, before joking that the whole thing be called off. This was brought up in a Classic Rock magazine interview, which Brian laughingly shrugged off: “People don’t realize that you can’t always get the halls you want. And of course, the fans can also travel. We’re doing our fair share of that.”
A crass statement, perhaps, especially considering the economic crunch that fans were
already feeling with the worldwide collapse of the banks in the autumn of 2008. But in the band’s defence, they were indeed traveling to new and exciting places: the tour kicked off in Kharkov, with first-time performances in Moscow, Latvia, Serbia, Prague and Dubai. South American dates were planned tentatively for the end of November, and Hollywood Records was confident that a North American leg would occur in the early part of 2009. Of course, the expected venues in Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Rome and Zürich, as well as a handful of “hometown” cities (Birmingham, Sheffield, Manchester, and London), were also planned, and Brian expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming tour on his website, overjoyed that he was finally going to be mix new music with the hits for the first time in ten years. Roger and Paul, meanwhile, hit the print presses, drumming up interest well before the band hit the road.
“I don’t want us to feel just like old guys playing the hits,” Roger told Rolling Stone that May. “Hopefully [this new album] will be a creative rebirth for us.” Paul agreed in an interview with Australia’s The Courier Mail in September, but was a bit more cautious for the band’s long-term goals: “The reason I came together with Brian and Roger is because it feels good musically and I’ll only do it, I will only do this for as long as it feels good. We’re only committed to the end of this tour and there are no commitments beyond that so it will remain to be seen if we even continue after that.” The singer also felt compelled to reaffirm his status as a singer, and that he had no intent on mimicking Freddie: “It had to work on a musical level for me. I’m a musician. I’m a singer and a songwriter. I have great respect for what Freddie did, he was flamboyant, he was a showman, a great frontman, very entertaining and people loved him, and it was great for magazines too because it was great copy. But you see, that’s not who I am. The only way I could do this was to actually just be myself, which is much more down to earth. Sorry. Perhaps I’m a little boring, but I’m just me.”
The tour began on 12 September in Kharkov, at a concert organized weeks before it was performed, with the well-intentioned message: “Don’t Let AIDS Ruin Your Life”. Unusually, this was recorded and filmed professionally by David Mallet, marking the first instance by Queen that the kick-off date of a tour was to be released publically. This was a bold move, considering the set list hadn’t been finalized yet, and followed a little too closely to the 2005/2006 tour. Indeed, as the tour hit its stride throughout the coming weeks, the band would become more adventurous, with new and some previously unplayed songs introduced as the band’s confidence grew. Unfortunately, there was a sameness with the previous tour’s set, with most of the same songs retained, and only a few swapped out for new ones. But what was new was interesting: ‘One Vision’ made a return to the set as an abbreviated opener, and ‘Bijou’ was given its live premiere in a unique tribute to Freddie: while Brian played the mournful guitar live, Freddie’s studio vocals were pumped through the massive sound system as visions of the singer flashed on the screen above the stage. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, too, was performed similar to the 2005/2006 tour, with Freddie’s vocals this time taken from the Queen Rock Montreal DVD. ‘’39’ was performed as a half duo, half full band arrangement: after ‘Love Of My Life’, a bass drum was placed next to Brian on the B-stage, and Roger ran down the catwalk to join his friend. After one verse and chorus, Brian would stop the song as roadies set up additional microphones behind him, and the guitarist would call the rest of the band down to assist with vocal harmonies and instruments. Roger’s drum solo was different, too: instead of ‘Let There Be Drums’, Roger would start off with a bass and snare drum, and as he pounded away, roadies would assemble a kit around him, and as it came to a thundering conclusion, the band would launch into ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ – which clearly made Roger breathless on more than one occasion.
By the time the band got to Berlin, ‘One Vision’ was dropped permanently in favor of ‘Surf’s Up ... School’s Out !’, a most appropriate – and daring – opener. ‘Time To Shine’ was added in Antwerp, but out as quickly as it was introduced due to a mistimed cue into the first chorus. ‘Seagull’, always a favorite of Paul’s, was replaced in Zurich in favor of ‘The Stealer’, and ‘Warboys (A Prayer For Peace)’ was performed only three times early on in the tour. ‘Wishing Well’ and ‘Shooting Star’ were also early casualties, and both ‘Hammer To Fall’ and ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’ were frequently in and out of the set. It seemed that the band had little clue exactly how they wanted the new set to be prepared, and with only three constant new songs – ‘C-lebrity’, ‘Say It’s Not True’, and ‘Cosmos Rockin” – the new album was severely underrepresented. Only as the tour progressed did ‘Surf’s Up . . . School’s Out !’, ‘We Believe’, and ‘Voodoo’ start to make more frequent appearances.
The tour lumbered on throughout October, and on the 13th, Danny Miranda was hospitalized. By noon the next day the Cardiff gig was in serious jeopardy of being canceled, but Neil Murray was hastily recruited and a quick rehearsal was held. ‘We Believe’ was dropped in favor of ‘Feel Like Makin’ Love’, as Neil admitted that would be the one song he would be bound to make mistakes in, though he felt confident enough in his abilities for it to be reinstated the following night. By Liverpool, Danny was back on his bass duties, and ready and eager to assist Roger in his nightly upright electric bass solo. (In his absence, Jamie played the bass during Roger’s solo.)
As South America had been neglected on the 2005/2006 tour, five dates were tacked onto the end of the schedule, and fans were predictably rabid. At press conferences, the exhausted primary musicians were interviewed by overeager journalists, but the focus was clearly pointed on Brian and Roger, with many mentions – and fond remembrances – of Freddie made. Paul simply stood awkwardly, forgotten and ignored, while it was clear that as long as he sang with Brian and Roger, he would always be in Freddie’s shadow. The South American leg saw both ‘Under Pressure’ and ‘Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love)’ added, though the latter had received its live debut a month prior in Madrid. The Buenos Aires gig was filmed for a potential DVD release, and was also televised across the country. By the time the tour wrapped up in Rio de Janeiro, fans were clamoring for news of the tour to continue into 2009.
The Rock The Cosmos tour had seen vast improvements – despite the set being too similar (and the always lovely ‘These Are The Days Of Our Lives’ inexplicably not performed even once) to the 2005/2006 tour, journalists were, on the whole, pleased. While Freddie’s absence was inevitable, it was especially surprising that critics, after years of vilifying him, suddenly praised him. Glasgow’s The Herald wrote, “Nobody could ever have filled the ballet slippers of Freddie Mercury and Paul Rodgers makes no attempt to do so. He has nothing to prove to anybody and sings Queen’s songs his way. And for the most part, it works beautifully.” Nottingham’s Telegraph made note of Paul’s awkwardness and commended Brian on picking up the slack: “It was May who took the limelight, strutting around with his big, bouncy hair, firing off little solos as the band – including three supporting players on bass, guitar and keyboards – warmed up with ‘Hammer To Fall’ and ‘Tie Your Mother Down’. His assurance was in contrast with Rodgers, who looked frankly a bit awkward and exposed; he strikes me as a singer who is happiest behind a microphone stand rather than parading and preening.”
Apart from a useless and tired dig at Brian’s hair, the Wharf.co.uk review of the London O2 show was positive: “The veteran rockers made a triumphant return to London proving once again there’s no substitute for great songs and well-honed stage-craft ... No major surprises perhaps, but one of the best shows you’re likely to see this or any other year.” The Birmingham Post praised Paul: “It could be argued that Queen without Freddie Mercury is like a bacon butty without brown sauce, yet the stinging guitar of Brian May was always as much a part of their sound as their late frontman’s voice ... With Paul Rodgers, the pocket-sized powerhouse from Free and Bad Company, they have found a kindred spirit.” The Journal Live also took n
ote of Paul’s increasing confidence: “[Rodgers] had the crowd eating out of his hand – only one man could take his limelight: a certain Brian May. Looking effortlessly cool churning out electric riffs that worked the crowd into frenzy and then just as comfortable sitting on the edge of the runway stage singing the softly anthemic ‘Love of My Life’, with a 10,000-strong backing choir.” The Birmingham Mail summed up the fans’ general opinon of the tour thusly: “With a back catalogue so rich in treasures it would be criminal not to continue sharing the joys of a Queen concert, so thank you, Brian May and Roger Taylor, for ensuring the show goes on.”
