Music Reviews

Another suite! Funster leads right into the dark screed that is Flick of the Wrist. A song that warns against signing with a devilish recording manager, it’s well known that, in the early days, Queen were indentured servants to their management company. Hit songs on the radio and Freddie begging Continue Reading

It’s the Roger song, what does that mean? Mid-tempo rocker, all down beats, relatively colorless. It is nothing more than a dress rehearsal for “I’m in love with my car”. Grade: C+ www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPAkL3wO27E – Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sorry about not posting this yesterday, the whole day got away from me. But the good news is that today is a twofer. Since it Tuesday, that seems appropriate. Queen has a hit! Finally. The funny thing is it’s nothing like one would have expected, given their output the last Continue Reading

Named after a candy, the first track off Queen’s first breakthrough album, Sheer Heart Attack, is a Brian May tour de force. All the more interesting in that Brian was in the hospital with hepatitis during much of the album’s initial recording, it’s a real lead guitar tour de force. Continue Reading

On the first album this song was half finished and yet, to whet the appetite for the future listener (read: fill time), the band included it. That version was sluggish and not well though out. Things are mighty different this time out. The piano is played with purpose. The guitar Continue Reading

Queen would never sound like this again. Employing Phil Spector’s “wall of sound” technique, this tune actually harkens back to Freddie’s Larry Lurex “I can hear music” days.It’s a fun tune, whimsical, with multi-layered vocals flying all over the place, I’m not sure any other other members are on it Continue Reading

It starts off simply. A piano and an interstitial guitar. Within seconds it explodes with multilayered harmonies and before you know it, it revs up into a high gear, like a juggernaut. Even when it turns into a near a Capella it still rolls at 100mph.Then, a guitar solo amidst Continue Reading

Clocking in at 1:15, the ballad in the middle of the four song suite acts more like the turning point in a musical. The banishment from love that freddie is singing about could just as easily be the banishing of a prince or princess. It’s not. It’s a love ballad, Continue Reading

So, Freddie saw this painting by Richard Dadd and wrote a song describing everything in it. In just over 2.5 minutes. It’s speedy, it’s wordy (a good apothecary man?!?), there’s a guitar solo PRECEDED by a HARPSICHORD solo!! The song is an epic part of the multiple song suite that Continue Reading

Okay, here we are. Finally.How to describe “ogre battle”? It’s metal/glam explosion of backwards masking, sudden harmonies, mythological creatures that aren’t annoying, bombast, and musicianship. If you marry the early 70s obsession with middle earth to a combination of of metal and pop rock, you *might* get an idea of Continue Reading