Queen

Another harbinger of what would come on the next record this is a retro vaudeville song complete with brian may on ukelele, jangly piano, some terrific noodling by Brian on electric and some neat bass playing by John. The real treat here is Freddie. Doubling, tripling, acting, echoing, he does Continue Reading

The first John Deacon penned track is the tritest song on the record. And the one that harkens the most to The Beatles. Mostly in instrumentation, with the loopy lick and the bouncy McCartney bass line. The song itself is the definition of forgettable, so thank goodness it’s just 1:50. Continue Reading

In keeping with the concept of this being the boys’ Abbey Road, Brian May follows the shredtastic Stone Cold Crazy with a piece of piffle. A little piano piece featuring Freddie’s exceptional vocals. Another song that could be longer but end up being the perfect length and just over a Continue Reading

Have you ever heard Metallica do this song? They really didn’t have to do much to make it sound authentically metal. It’s a shredder of a piece. Spitfire rapped out verses with no melody to speak of sandwiched between the title as chorus sung as in signature harmony. There’s a Continue Reading

Perhaps the most bizarre song in the bands earlier catalog. It’s not the first operatic venture (March of the Black Queen) but it is easily the main precursor to BoRhap. But much weirder.The opening verse starts with the obligatory opera shrieks but turns into a ballad where Freddie’s voice is Continue Reading

The first real stadium ready, blues breaking, anthem in the bands repertoire, comes at the end of Sheer’s first side. It’s raucous, fun and a showcase for Brian. Who perhaps was making up for lost time on the first record. Sort of the spiritual cousin of Brighton Rock, Now is Continue Reading

The kindred spirit of Nevermore. It’s a lovely, if super short ballad featuring Freddie on piano and vocals and vocals and vocals. Wen the rest of the band comes in, you’d swear this song is longer and even more fully realized than it is. But it’s just 1:45. And it’s Continue Reading

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