I mean, it's cool and all but first I don't agree, it's too high up on the list and also I had never encountered such opinions, I mean, it's quite a high ranking for it most people wouldn't say that and it's such a specific thing "2nd best", never heard of that before today.
So you actually believe this?
I recently did a discography review run of another band I really enjoy (Van Halen) and decided that I'd take the time doing Queen as well. To me, Queen is one of the greatest bands and I always loved their approach to tackling various musical styles, and combining it into something amazing. I also was inspired by Rolling Stone's really atrocious scores on a lot of their work to do my own critique reviews, as well as just doing it for fun and sharing my thoughts.
I'd love to start discussions on these posts and see your thoughts as well! It'd be fun discussing what other people like or dislike. Anyways, here is what I wrote for the first album....
Queen REVIEW
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Queen truly did come out of the dawn of the 70's with a blast. Her majesty gracefully enters the throne full power and strong, taking on the challenge of finding a spot among the Rock greats. I bowed my head graciously and allowed myself to indulge in the creations her highness brought to the royal table. Queen's basic stylistic elements are here already including Mercury's theatrics, May's distinctive and creative guitar work, and multi-part song structures present on many songs.
To think that something that actually has this level of quality was recorded only during sessions where other bands had finished their recordings, leaving scraps behind of studio time for Queen to catch up is really jaw-dropping, because despite being given only a much smaller budget, and having to pick up the slack for not much time to work on everything; to make something like this as your first album is just amazing. "Keep Yourself Alive" is a great fast rock song which despite not featuring anything groundbreaking like their later work, is an amazing display of Brian's guitar work, a drum solo from Taylor that matches with the amazing vocals of lead singer Freddie Mercury. Despite lacking in the theatrics and operatic flamboyance to come, it was fairly produced and an early staple at concerts!
"Great King Rat", "Liar", "Son and Daughter" are all heavy tracks that come in like a storm swirling in all directions with catchy hand-clap beats, fiery guitar licks and thunderous drums while Mercury adds a flavor to each song with the uniqueness and range of his voice and some unique clever lyrics as well. The second song even having John Deacon stand out with a bass solo that utilizes one of the catchiest melodies in the bands career and combines with Brian's screeching guitar background work, making one of the greatest rock songs of all time.
On the other side of things, "My Fairy King" (which takes lines and references the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin; neat lil reference), "The Night Comes Down", as well as "Doing All Right" all showcase the tempo changes, complex chord structures, and genre bending the band would embrace later on. The second track also managed to genuinely move me with its lyrics, these ones penned by Brian May. I've always found Brian to be somewhat overlooked by the main consensus of most standard rock fans, his lyrics are brilliant and sometimes intimately passionate with the way it explores nostalgia and coming of age. Not to mention that sly reference to The Beatles ("Lucy was high and so was I", caught that the first listen!)
The only real downsides I can say in all honesty that hold this from being one of the greatest albums of all time is just the production which doesn't do the songs justice sometimes in how they're recorded; understandable, it is their first go-around at making a full album plus the budget was rather small but it does muddy Brian's guitar work and Roger's drumming sounds a bit soft here. As well as the fact Jesus is a little bit on the boring sides as far as the songs go with it going on far too long before changing up the composition to keep things interesting and drones as repetitive, though the way Brian manages to change his guitar's sound is pure wizardry and at least saves it from being atrocious, and the instrumental Seven Seas of Rhye didn't need to be here and is ultimately pointless, and Taylor's song Modern Times Rock N Roll doesn't quite scale up to the heights of the other tracks, though is still enjoyable.
Overall, Queen is truly an amazing debut that is totally worth a listen and though it does sound a bit like a lot of other bands that were more groundbreaking at the start of the 70's (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith all can be heard on here), it is a great starting point. It's basically hard and prog rock with a dash of campiness and flamboyancy sprinkled atop. A very fun, and somewhat silly time overall, and it was only the signs of something great coming.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Tracklist RATING:
Roger Taylor just premiered about an hour ago this music video for "I See You Now".
Name of band and album stayed, so it would be obvious on what it's based.
Well, I did meh, but I tried lol.
Queen
Live at Chicago Stadium
Chicago, IL, USA
January 28th, 1977
Audience Recording (Mark Moore)
Sound Quality: B+
Attendance: 18,000
This show was taped by Mark Moore, who has sadly since passed away. The tape was generously shared to Nicky_T by Mark's son, Jeff Moore. Please give both of them your most gracious thanks. Mark also taped Thin Lizzy's set, but as I have very little familiarity with Thin Lizzy, that tape will be released by BootsAreBack.
In an attempt to save tape, Mark intended to pause the tape recorder whenever the band was not playing. Tragically, after Brighton Rock, Mark seemed to have mixed up the two states. He paused when he meant to record, and vice versa. Thus everything between Son And Daughter and Bohemian Rhapsody cuts as the song begins. Alas, the infamous "NA Races Curse" continues.
This show is Queen legend. The circumstances leading up to this show were a nightmare. Due to poor weather, the trucks hauling the band's gear were severely delayed. One truck blew off the road, which led to an emergency backup P.A. system being flown in for the show. The piano used for the tour leg was damaged, so another one needed to be rented on very short notice.
As it took a miracle for this show to be put on, the band is in a very chatty mood. Before Killer Queen, Brian and Freddie dedicate a short speech and round of applause to the Queen crew who had worked tirelessly to deliver the show. As Brian introduces '39, Roger can be heard practicing his vocal sustain ahead of the song, so Brian quips that it's the "Without orchestra, without synthesizers, but WITH Roger Taylor, version of '39."
Because of the delays, thousands of freezing fans were waiting out in the cold. The promoter pleaded with Freddie to allow the fans inside, but he refused, as he didn't want the audience to attend the soundcheck. This delay surely pissed off a certain few people in the audience, as both Thin Lizzy and Queen were assaulted by thrown objects, with Queen being pelted by about a dozen eggs. Unfortunately, Brian slipped on one of the cracked eggs and hurt his tailbone. Freddie stopped the show, and the band walked off to discuss further steps. It was decided that the show must go on, else the "bad guys would win", as Brian would later recall. The band would perform a truncated set and end after Now I'm Here, both due to Brian's injury and a miscommunication with sound engineer John Harris.
The exact incident was not recorded on Mark's tape, however it must have happened somewhere in-between White Man and Bohemian Rhapsody, as nothing seems out of the ordinary until that point. It couldn't have been during The Millionaire Waltz as was previously thought, as the medley carried on as expected through to Bring Back That Leroy Brown.
Before Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie addresses the situation by saying, "Those bleeding urchins who've brought your omelettes along tonight... You can eat 'em yourself, okay? We can do without you motherfuckers. So for the rest of you, we'd like to carry on and do the show."
During Brian's usual introduction to In The Lap Of The Gods... Revisited, he too comments on the incident by saying, "Thanks a lot-- we're having a couple of problems on stage because a couple of people think it's funny to throw things that make the stage slippery. That's really good, it takes about 10,000 people to make a good concert next to a couple that are trying to ruin it." Roger adds onto his statement, but is unintelligible.
Mark Moore comments after Bohemian Rhapsody that "these guys are true performers.", and he's not wrong. This is a surprisingly strong show for the NA Races tour. Freddie is in great vocal shape all things considered, and Roger and Brian both give it a little extra-- even after Brian's injury. Brian's playing in Somebody To Love's outro is maybe the best for the entire tour.
CREDITS/SPECIAL THANKS:
- Mark Moore for taping the show.
- Jeff Moore for sharing his father's tape with Nick.
- Both beyondthemoon and Seb for their efforts in previous years trying to get ahold of this tape .
- Nick for getting in touch with Jeff and retrieving the tape.
- Miles for remastering and speed correcting the tape.
Hello guys, annoying poll guy back again with a new one
This idea is from the Kanye subreddit and I wanted to do it here
This time the total number of comments will be counted, not the upvotes
Choose wisely!
My article ranking and discussing the studio albums.