Queen + Paul Rodgers - The Cosmos Rocks (2008) {2012, Reissue}

The Cosmos Rocks is the only studio album by Queen + Paul Rodgers, 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. 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?'"

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".