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Queen - Queen II Audio CD

A fair review of the Queen "Queen II" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Queen reviews here, or go back to the Queen tabs.

Queen Band: Queen
Title: Queen II
Rating:
Release Date: 1991-10-22
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Procession 2: Father to Son 3: White Queen (As It Began) 4: Some Day One Day 5: Loser in the End 6: Ogre Battle 7: Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke 8: Nevermore 9: March of the Black Queen 10: Funny How Love Is 11: Seven Seas of Rhye 12: See What a Fool I've Been [*] 13: Ogre Battle [1991 Bonus Remix][*] 14: Seven Seas of Rhye [1991 Bonus Remix][*]

Great Material, Bad Remastering Job
The original release had a side White and a side Black, each of which described the moods of the songs. This disk showcases the many moods of Queen as they began to develope their songwriting chops. There is the beginning of Mercury's experimentation with different themes and seques within a single song as exhibited in "Black Queen". "Ogre Battle" showcases some of the speed playing the band was capable of as well as the stunning falsettos of drummer Taylor and Mercury. Seeing this performed live in a small venue was unbelievable. There is an obscure yet powerful song written and delivered by Taylor, called "Loser in the End" that is great. I just wish the engineering was a bit clearer on this one.


My personal Favorite
A fan favorite, and an album that has been praised by other rockers. After queens underated debute comes another underated gem, that is the mighty Queen2. the lryics are tongue in cheek, though the music itself and vocal arrangments are very serious and deep. Freddie mercury And brian may are at their best.


Arguably Queen's heaviest album -- certainly one of their best
It's genre was unclassifiable rock, if I should put it. 1974's 'Queen II' was a heavy metal masterpiece. It's Queen just rocking out and doing what they did best during the 1973-1982 period.

That's exactly why this is one of Queen's finest album -- it's heavy, and it's got the screeching guitars that make 1970s heavy metal great. It's got the piano-metal numbers here ('Seven Seas Of Rhye,' one of my personal favorites), the mini-operas ('Ogre Battle') and the early Elton John-esque numbers ('The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke') and just about everything else that makes a metal album, well, great.

I prefer this over the '73 debut. 'Queen II' is an amazing album, and the group (May, Deacon, Taylor and Mercury) are in top form here. It's a great album to listen to, and I strongly recommend 'Queen II' for any Queen fan.

While Queen would really gain momentum with their next album, 'Sheer Heart Attack,' this proves Queen rocked very early on.

Overall, I can highly recommend this to any Queen fan. It's just too good to pass up if you are a Queen fan. It's great stuff.

ENJOY!!!.


Not really one for pop fans - for everyone else this is a hidden masterpiece
Whilst it is far from from being uncommercial, its densely layered, textured sound and wildly meandering time signatures mark it out as a very different beast. For fans of the more mainstream pop-rock sound of late 70s and early 80s Queen, this album may come as a bit of a shock. You have to listen to this album many times to really appreciate how great it is, but then like many truly classic albums you keep on finding new things to appreciate and new ways to appreciate tracks you may have listened to many times.

What is often forgotten is how instrumental Queen were to the development of metal for want of a better term. By metal I don't just mean power riffing - although there is a fair bit of that on this album - but the ability to use that as a base and build up an unbelievably powerful and musically overwhelming form around it - the magnificent harmonies, wistful, folksy interludes, the neo-classical guitar and piano arpeggios. It's also surprisingly modern. As you are listening to it, you will instantly be connected to modern bands like Metallica and Muse.

I won't go into individual tracks as other reviewers have served us well in that regard.

Listeners just have to delve in, be patient at first and I promise you it will grab you and take you in almost to transcendence.


.


Ascending to the throne
While the first album was a pretty auspicious debut from a nervy prog-rock band, the second album comes off as a band thoroughly settled into its own personality and letting every idea flow free to the recording studio tapeheads. The difference between Queen and Queen II is really nothing short of amazing. While not completely rid of seventies prog-cliches, this semi-conceptualized album set Queen apart from the pack.

Queen split the original album into a white and black half, with the white half dealing with the regal issues ("Procession" "White Queen As It Began") and the black being the harder rocking ("Ogre Battle" "March of The Black Queen"). You also get a clearer picture of the band's blueprint for extravagance (the really heavy vocal arrangements) along with Brian May's unique guitar sound. Freddie Mercury is already pushing the classical/theatrical piano playing to the front of the band, and once again, Mercury, May and drummer Roger Taylor vary the lead vocal chores.

Still, Queen II had yet to buck the Medieval themes (castles, ogres and - heh heh - fairy fellers put in their appearance all), but the band's assertive musicianship made this a solid album. An interesting thing about this album is that it had no real `hit' songs or Queen classics, but it - in my opinion - was the Queen album that had the best song-flow overall. The following Sheer Heart Attack would finally break Queen in the USA with a hit single, but "Queen II" was Queen's proclamation that they were prepped and ready for world domination.


You can see a complete list of all Queen discography, or go back to the Queen tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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