Audio CD review:
Queen - Queen

Queen - Queen

Band: Queen Title: Queen Rating: Release Date: 17 June, 1991 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Keep Yourself Alive 2: Doing All Right 3: Great King Rat 4: My Fairy King 5: Liar 6: The Night Comes Down 7: Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll 8: Son & Daughter 9: Jesus 10: Seven Seas Of Rhye 11: Mad the Swine (Previously Unreleased) 12: Keep Yourself Alive (Re-Take) 13: Liar (Remix)

Customer Reviews the beginning of Queen Usually debut albums point signs of a future successful rock act, however, Queen apparently already KNEW what they wanted their music to be like from the very beginning. Queen's debut is quite an outstanding accomplishment. The operatic vocals are here, the amazing and dazzling guitar solos are here, and the unpredictable and unique songwriting talents from the band members is here as well. It's ALL here, and it's quite possibly the very best Queen album as a result. I truly enjoy this album. Most Queen albums had some filler, but not this one. NO filler anywhere. "Keep Yourself Alive" is a fast and energetic rocker, clearly influenced by the glam rock movement going on at the time. "Doing All Right" is our first chance to listen to a singer with a gifted voice through an amazing ballad. "Great King Rat" has a somewhat childish vocal melody in spots, but made up for with a fantastic guitar riff and a dazzling display of solos. "My Fairy King" is a completely unique song. It seriously defines the word "unique" because I've never heard anything like it, especially from a rock band. It sounds like it may have been influenced by one of the big progressive rock bands such as Yes and Genesis, but with Queen's own distinct vocal style. "Liar" is similar to Rush's "Working Man", Black Sabbath's "Iron Man", Deep Purple's "Highway Star" and UFO's "Rock Bottom" in terms of guitar wizardry. Sure, there's a catchy "LIAR" chant going on throughout the song, but the guitar workout is the main thing. "The Night Comes Down" is another vocal melody display of brilliance, "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" is short, but VERY heavy (almost heavy metal), "Son and Daughter" is almost blues rock, "Jesus" has a beautiful chorus and nice lyrics, and "Seven Seas of Rhye" is about one minute long, and features even more excellent guitar playing. Maybe a classic album. . The birth of the royalty of rock still holds up 35 years on The band evolved from a group called Smile which featured guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor. Queen's self titled debut was released in July of 1973 in the group's native England and September of 1973 in the US. In 1971, May and Taylor joined up with singer Freddie Mercury (whom was originally from the African island of Zanzibar (now Tanzania)) and fellow British bass player John Deacon and Queen was born. When the band's first album appeared, the album did well in the UK but America wasn't ready for Queen as they couldn't take Queen's combo of Yes harmonies with the crunch of Zeppelin and other influences. What did I think of it when I first heard the album in April of 1992, read on. We kick the album off with the band's first single and still a classic rock staple "Keep Yourself Alive". The song is a great rocker from May and is still a great song today. Next is the track "Doing All Right" which is a pretty ballad/rocker, with a very nice piano intro and was a song that May and Taylor had done with their band Smile a few years before but when re-recorded for Queen's debut, the song became theirs. Next is the hard rocker "Great King Rat" which is a powerful, heavy rock song from Queen that is of excellent quality. The song is one of my favorite Queen tracks. The first half ending "My Fairy King" is next and has screams by Taylor and a nice, high pitched falsetto vocal from Mercury and showed his diverse singing style which would become a trademark. The second half of the album kicks off with the rocker "Liar" which is an energetic, fast moving rock song that gives you a different chorus each time. The band loved this track and would be in the setlist until it was dropped after the US leg of the 1977 News of the World tour. The exquisite "The Night Comes Down" is next and is a great song. Next is "Modern Times Rock n' Roll" which has Roger Taylor on lead vocal and is a rocker that was the proto-type for punk which would emerge three years later. Brian's rocker "Son and Daughter" is a heavy rock song and a great song to show Brian's guitar work and would be the centerpiece for Brian May's guitar solo spots in the early days. Next is Freddie's ode to the Lord himself "Jesus". The song is a great number which told the tale of the birth of our beloved Christ the Lord. The album ends with an instrumental take of "Seven Seas of Rhye" which wasn't finished for the album. When Queen's self-titled debut was released, it did hit the UK Top 20 but stalled at a disappointing #51 in the US but would eventually attain Gold status due to loyal fan support growing over time. In 1991, Hollywood Records re-released the album with three bonus tracks. First is the track "Mad the Swine" which was previously unreleased. The song is a nice pop tune but many didn't like it. Then there is a re-recording of Keep Yourself Alive from I think 1976 and a re-mix of Liar where the drums were re-mixed to sound competent. Queen's debut is a great debut and an album that is worth the cash. Recommended! . ATTENTION: REMASTER DISASTER! LEAVE HISTORIC RECORDINGS ALONE! I CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHAT WENT DOWN w/ THIS REMASTER. . "HEY LET'S SCREW UP AND AROUND W/ GUITAR SOLOS AND PUT THEM IN A DIFFERENT SPECTRUM". . . "WHY NOT,IT WILL BE COOL,WE HAVE THE TECHNOLOGY". SURE,THE EXTRA SONGS ARE NICE,BUT THE REST SOUNDS LIKE SOMEONE(THAT HASN'T A CLUE)PLAYED W/ THE FADERS AND RUINED THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS. MANY GUITAR TRACKS ARE MISSING i. e. WASHED OUT! I HOPE FOR A FUTURE RE-ISSUE THAT DOESN'T TAINT THIS RELIC! A MESSAGE TO THE REMASTER KIDS W/ A VISION . . LEAVE IT ALONE & STOP CLOWNING WITH GREAT MUSIC AND PRESENT WHAT WAS MEANT TO BE HEARD! THIS IS A MESS! WHERE'S MY VINYL? ANALOG ANYONE?. . You can see a complete list of all Queen discography, or go back to the Queen tabs