The Queen Thread

[masterthes]

Speaking of that tribute concert, Paul Young had virtually no voice at all. Couldn't have gotten anyone better?! And I personally hated that cover of Under Pressure, and I usually love Annie. Just too weird

[TAC]

Funny, I just took a break from cutting my back lawn while listening to Heavenly's Carpe Diem, thinking how much this reminds me of Queen. A heavy metal version of Queen. Then I come in and the Queen thread is bumped!

[King Postwhore]

Justed watched this BBC 2 part Blu Ray this weekend on Queen.  It was fantastic.

[KevShmev]

Okay, what knowledgeable Queen fan wants to do a discography thread for them, like Orbert has done with Genesis, Yes, ELP?  I would, but I gotta think that someone else here knows way more cool info and tidbits to bring to the table on every album than I do. 

[jammindude]

I've been tempted from time to time...but my knowledge of Queen is pretty much restricted to the classic first 8 albums.     But my knowledge (and interest) has a sharp dropoff from Hot Space onward.    (though, as was mentioned in another thread, I think FG could be the single most overlooked album in their entire catalog)

I also got into AKOM for a time...but my knowledge of most of the other albums is almost non-existent.  (though I've been wanting to remedy that....there are just *SO MANY* things on my queue.  It often feels like there's not enough time in the day.)

[KevShmev]

Yeah, it'd be better if it were someone who is really familiar with all phases and albums of their career.  Maybe someone will step up and take the initiative...

[Orbert]

They only made 10 albums, so if someone is good with the first eight, I think they should give it a shot.  I was only up on ELP through the original breakup and had to research the rest, and some of that was pretty shoddy, but these are the things we do for music.

[MoraWintersoul]

Queen was my first favorite band, I've been listening to them for a bit more than ten years and I much adore almost everything they did, but I'm not even sure would I be around enough to participate in a discussion, let alone lead one, in the next month or so. Besides, I always had the feeling someone who's been around for some album releases (for older bands) should be the one with the most meaningful (leading) contribution... I was born almost a full year after Freddie died.

[Zydar]

Queen is a band that I haven't listened through all of their albums. I've always just sampled various songs from their discography.

[Perpetual Change]

Question: Why is News of the World so often excluded from the greatest Queen albums? I think it's easily better than the first three, and much better than A Day at the Races, too. It opens with "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions", which are Queen's most emblematic songs overall. It has a number of great "deep tracks", like "Spread Your Wings", "All Dead", "Who Needs You" and "It's Late", which has the craziest rocking momemntum of any Queen song. The production is also pretty damn pristine, definitely the best Queen rock album sonically, though the terrible CD remasters that came out like a decade ago have pretty much made all Queen's albums sound loud and bad.

[Orbert]

Queen was my first favorite band, I've been listening to them for a bit more than ten years and I much adore almost everything they did, but I'm not even sure would I be around enough to participate in a discussion, let alone lead one, in the next month or so. Besides, I always had the feeling someone who's been around for some album releases (for older bands) should be the one with the most meaningful (leading) contribution... I was born almost a full year after Freddie died.

Yeah, there is that.  Examining and discussing the body of work is the main thing, but I also think it's valuable to reflect on how each release was regarded and received at the time, and most of that perspective will come from folks who were around at the time.  But I'm never sure if it's important to me just because I was around, or how important it is to others.

[Cyclopssss]

Question: Why is News of the World so often excluded from the greatest Queen albums? I think it's easily better than the first three, and much better than A Day at the Races, too. It opens with "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions", which are Queen's most emblematic songs overall. It has a number of great "deep tracks", like "Spread Your Wings", "All Dead", "Who Needs You" and "It's Late", which has the craziest rocking momemntum of any Queen song. The production is also pretty damn pristine, definitely the best Queen rock album sonically, though the terrible CD remasters that cameout like a decade ago have pretty much made all Queen's albums sound loud and bad.

Exactly! Criminally underrated!

[KevShmev]

They only made 10 albums, so if someone is good with the first eight, I think they should give it a shot.  I was only up on ELP through the original breakup and had to research the rest, and some of that was pretty shoddy, but these are the things we do for music.

 

Queen
Queen II
Sheer Heart Attack
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
News of the World
Jazz
The Game
Flash Gordon
Hot Space
The Works
A Kind of Magic
The Miracle
Innuendo
Made in Heaven

That's 15 (or 13 if you forgot about Flash Gordon and Made in Heaven).

Question: Why is News of the World so often excluded from the greatest Queen albums? I think it's easily better than the first three, and much better than A Day at the Races, too. It opens with "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions", which are Queen's most emblematic songs overall. It has a number of great "deep tracks", like "Spread Your Wings", "All Dead", "Who Needs You" and "It's Late", which has the craziest rocking momemntum of any Queen song. The production is also pretty damn pristine, definitely the best Queen rock album sonically, though the terrible CD remasters that came out like a decade ago have pretty much made all Queen's albums sound loud and bad.

I think it is a good album, but not great.  It is easily the album I revisit the least of the first six. 

[me7]

Question: Why is News of the World so often excluded from the greatest Queen albums?

My opinion: Because it's a prime example of the watered-down commercial period of Queen (late 70's and early 80's) where they were more concerned with sales of singles instead of quality. "We will rock you" and "We are the Champions" are just generic arena-rock songs.
I feel the same about most of the stuff they have done from "A Day at the Races" to "The Works".

[jammindude]

News of the World is my favorite Queen album....and I don't think it's all that commercial...but I suppose it is a bit more streamlined.   I certainly like it far better than A Day at the Races which was a huge disappointment after A Night at the Opera.

NotW has my #2 all time favorite Queen song in "It's Late" and so many other incredible tracks like "All Dead, All Dead", "Sheer Heart Attack", "Spread Your Wings"...and of course, "Get Down Make Love". 

I would love to participate, but I don't think I should lead because while I LOVE Queen...they can be a bit hit and miss with me.   I'm pretty luke warm on ADatR and Jazz.   I really don't like Hot Space beyond maybe two songs (I don't even know what the rest even sound like).    I feel like I *should* like Queen II more than I do.  It's their only pure prog rock album, so as a prog rock fan I feel like it should be the one I gravitate to, but I actually like the first album better.   

My ranking (of the ones I know):

News of the World
Night at the Opera
The Game
Queen
Sheer Heart Attack
Jazz
Flash Gordon
Queen II
A Day at the Races




Hot Space


I know of a few hits beyond this.   I heard The Works a couple of times, and I know it was a huge improvement over Hot Space.  But the only songs I remember are Radio Ga-Ga and Hammer To Fall (which I absolutely LOVE).     I actually really got into A Kind of Magic in the summer of '87...but I havn't heard it in 10 years.   I remember I really liked it.   I have not heard a single note from The Miracle except for "I Want it All"....which was fantastic at first, but hasn't aged well.     I havn't heard anything from Innuendo except Headlong (which I love) and I havn't heard anything at all from Made in Heaven.   

[KevShmev]

I still say that Innuendo is easily one of their three best albums (along with A Night at the Opera and Sheer Heart Attack).  If you have never heard it, you must do so; with the exception of the rather silly Delilah (which isn't bad, just silly), practically every song is a winner.

[Perpetual Change]

Eh, maybe NotW is commercial and streamlined, but frankly, Queen are best when they're balanced between being mainstream and going all-out. I'll take ANATO, The Game, and NotW over the first four Queen albums any day. I guess it's just that balance between being commercial and being innovators that's so important to the band IMO. Go for Queen completely selling out, and you get crap like Hot Space. Go for Queen completely left to their own devices, and you get "The Fairy Fellers Master Stroke". Thanks, but no thanks. I really don't enjoy that side of Queen at all.

I don't care much for Innuendo. I get the whole legacy behind the album, and it's obviously better than most of their 80's crap, but it's still not very good. I think "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "The Show Must Go On" are the only songs I really like.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, I'm a sucker for Queen's commercial rock phase. Their early more prog rock stuff leaves me completely cold, and I find the majority of the 80's material besides The Works to be pretty bad.

[Orbert]

They only made 10 albums, so if someone is good with the first eight, I think they should give it a shot.  I was only up on ELP through the original breakup and had to research the rest, and some of that was pretty shoddy, but these are the things we do for music.

 

Queen
Queen II
Sheer Heart Attack
A Night at the Opera
A Day at the Races
News of the World
Jazz
The Game
Flash Gordon
Hot Space
The Works
A Kind of Magic
The Miracle
Innuendo
Made in Heaven

That's 15 (or 13 if you forgot about Flash Gordon and Made in Heaven).

Weird, I know I remember counting how many albums they had one time, and I was sure it was 10.  I've never recounted since then.

I sit corrected.

[KevShmev]

Heh, it happens.

Eh, maybe NotW is commercial and streamlined, but frankly, Queen are best when they're balanced between being mainstream and going all-out. I'll take ANATO, The Game, and NotW over the first four Queen albums any day. I guess it's just that balance between being commercial and being innovators that's so important to the band IMO. Go for Queen completely selling out, and you get crap like Hot Space. Go for Queen completely left to their own devices, and you get "The Fairy Fellers Master Stroke". Thanks, but no thanks. I really don't enjoy that side of Queen at all.
 

Eh, that's an unfair example, considering The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke only takes up 2 1/2 minutes out of a 40-minute plus album.  And most of the rest of Queen II dynamite. 

Besides, ANATO has Seaside Rendezvous, which is just as out there, and I don't see you knocking that record for that. 

[ytserush]

The only Queen albums I enjoy after Flash Gordon are The Works and Innuendo.

 Everything from Flash Gordon and before is golden. The 70s live stuff is pretty killer too.

[rumborak]

You don't like The Miracle? Wtf? There's essentially no bad song on that album.

[KevShmev]

Ya know, despite being a huge Queen fan, I have never owned The Miracle.   I only know a handful of song from it (I Want It All, Breakthru, The Invisible Man, The Miracle), so I should probably check out the rest, eh?

[Cyclopssss]

I don´t own the Miracle, OR The Works. Nor Flash Gordon, come to think of it.

[KevShmev]

The Works has some crap on it, but any CD with Hammer to Fall is worth having, although it is on a lot of Queen's best of/compilation CDs, so I could see not getting The Works if you have it there already.  Unless you have the edit that removes most of Brian May's guitar solo.  Worst edit ever!!!  And nowadays, with the ability to easily buy single songs from amazon and iTunes, I guess it is easier to spend a buck on Hammer to Fall rather than getting the whole CD.  But a tune like Is This the World We Created...? is pretty awesome, too. 

[me7]

Ya know, despite being a huge Queen fan, I have never owned The Miracle.   I only know a handful of song from it (I Want It All, Breakthru, The Invisible Man, The Miracle), so I should probably check out the rest, eh?

In my book, The Miracle is almost on the same level as Innuendo. Both have several great songs and a few mediocre ones. Check out the track "Was it all worth it" from The Miracle to see what you have missed out.

[KevShmev]

Interesting song.  Some strange musical choices in it, but not sure how strong the hook was.  Will probably spend a buck on it to add it to my collection, however.

[skydivingninja]

Heh, it happens.

Eh, maybe NotW is commercial and streamlined, but frankly, Queen are best when they're balanced between being mainstream and going all-out. I'll take ANATO, The Game, and NotW over the first four Queen albums any day. I guess it's just that balance between being commercial and being innovators that's so important to the band IMO. Go for Queen completely selling out, and you get crap like Hot Space. Go for Queen completely left to their own devices, and you get "The Fairy Fellers Master Stroke". Thanks, but no thanks. I really don't enjoy that side of Queen at all.
 

Eh, that's an unfair example, considering The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke only takes up 2 1/2 minutes out of a 40-minute plus album.  And most of the rest of Queen II dynamite. 

Besides, ANATO has Seaside Rendezvous, which is just as out there, and I don't see you knocking that record for that.

Hey now, Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is awesome!

[me7]

Hey now, Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke is awesome!

+1 on that.
I even think that "Ogre Battle" through "Seven Seas of Rhye" are the best consecutive 20 minutes of music Queen has ever done on an album.

[skydivingninja]

Well hold on now let's not get ahead of ourselves.  A Day at the Races still exists. 

[KevShmev]

I am not sure I would call Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke awesome, but it works well in the context of the album, although I can see some finding it a bit too silly as a standalone tune.

As for the best consecutive 20 minutes of Queen on a studio album, while that is a great stretch on II, I will take this 20 minute stretch from Sheer Heart Attack:

Killer Queen
Tenement Funster
Flick of the Wrist
Lily of the Valley
Now I'm Here
In the Lap of the Gods
Stone Cold Crazy

[Bertielee]

Ya know, despite being a huge Queen fan, I have never owned The Miracle.   I only know a handful of song from it (I Want It All, Breakthru, The Invisible Man, The Miracle), so I should probably check out the rest, eh?

TBH, I know Queen but only casually. Yet, I have worn out The Miracle and IUnnuendo K7s, they're such strong albums, despite what has been said at the time they were released. I love virtually every song on them.

B.Lee

[skydivingninja]

I am not sure I would call Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke awesome, but it works well in the context of the album, although I can see some finding it a bit too silly as a standalone tune.

As for the best consecutive 20 minutes of Queen on a studio album, while that is a great stretch on II, I will take this 20 minute stretch from Sheer Heart Attack:

Killer Queen
Tenement Funster
Flick of the Wrist
Lily of the Valley
Now I'm Here
In the Lap of the Gods
Stone Cold Crazy

I like that run more than the entirety of Queen II

[KevShmev]

I could see that.  That is such a strong run, and it is even stronger if you make 25 minutes and add Brighton Rock to the beginning of it. 

TBH, I know Queen but only casually. Yet, I have worn out The Miracle and IUnnuendo K7s, they're such strong albums, despite what has been said at the time they were released. I love virtually every song on them.

If you love those albums, what is keeping you from checking out all of their other albums?

[KevShmev]

Reading up on Queen online lately, I found out something I never knew.  I always assumed that their big harmonies were always the three of their voices (Mercury, May and Taylor) all layered, but apparently not.  For example, the choruses in Hammer to Fall and Fat Bottomed Girls are both just May's voice (layered over and over).  And it's funny cause now that I know that, listening to those songs, you can really tell.  I guess it was one of those things I never thought about, since, like I said, I just assumed it was always all three.  Interesting!

[Orbert]

That's news to me, too.  I always figured it was the three of them, or six or nine if necessary.  Interesting choice to just multitrack one of their voices over and over.  Gives it a different sound, which I'm sure was the whole point.