Queen Reign Supreme Once Again

"I was always blown away by those fabulous orchestral block harmonies that Queen are famous for, and always wondered how they did that," says Rodgers. "Well, now I know — it's all in Brian's head! We'd go out and multitrack all these harmonies, and Roger and I really didn't know what it was going to sound like. And then we go back in the control room and our guys push up the faders and — there it is!"

May notes that Rodgers' contributions were equally important. "We sometimes get carried away on flights of fancy," he says. "It's nice to paint pictures in the studio, but Paul brought us back to a greater awareness of the instinctive side and also back to the blues."

On a shelf above the mixing board, below a Pinocchio clock, are three miniature figurines depicting May, Taylor and Mercury. Conspicuously absent is bassist John Deacon, who has opted out of all band-related activity for more than a decade. On the album, May and Rodgers share bass duties; onstage, the parts are played by Danny Miranda, formerly of Blue Öyster Cult, whom they poached from the Las Vegas production of We Will Rock You. "Whenever we tour," says May, "we always put a little feeler out and say, 'Perhaps you might be interested, John.' But he's not."

As for the other missing member, May and Taylor insist that Mercury would be pleased with their choice of frontman. "Freddie was a huge Paul Rodgers fan," says Taylor. "Absolutely adored his voice. He was a different animal, but he would have loved to be able to sing like that."

They point to "We Are the Champions" as a song that might seem impossible to tackle but that has found new power with Rodgers. "Any number of people could come along and imitate Freddie, but it would be pointless," says May. "It's wonderful to hear Paul inhabiting the songs and making them new. I know that's what Freddie would want."

Following the massive Ukraine blowout, the band headed to sold-out dates in enormous soccer stadiums from Moscow to Rio — illustrating the scale at which Queen operate. So it's not like there was the option of a quiet, modest launch for The Cosmos Rocks. "Somebody asked me the other day, 'What's it like singing for Queen?'" says Rodgers. "And I said, 'It's a bit like sitting on the front of a rocket, going twice the speed of sound, without a seat belt.' And it's great."

[From Issue 1065 — November 13, 2008]

Related Stories:

• More from Issue 1065
• 1977 Feature: Queen's Mercury Rising
• 1981 Feature: Queen Holds Court in South America