Queen

Okay. Now that we’re done with the shite that was that first record we can get to the album that really begins to solidify the Queen sound and sensibility. I came to Queen II late in my adoration of the band. I think I was 15 and had no idea Continue Reading

Much as I would love to be moving on the next Queen record (which is a personal favorite) I would be remiss if I didn’t include the previous to 1991 unreleased “Mad the Swine”. According to Wikipedia the reason it was left off was that producer Roy Thomas Baker and Continue Reading

Okay, today’s a bonus day. Two songs for one day! But, not really. Jesus is awful. It’s a trippy, neo-quasi-semi psychedelic telling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. It wasn’t uncommon for metal bands to mine the bible (or Tolkien, or the middle ages) for material. I don’t recall Continue Reading

Jeez, guys, Sabbath much? This is Queen at its heaviest. Sludgiest. One of the (few) things I like about this song, as opposed to dislikes, (like freddie’s mic…) is the sudden burst into multi-harmonies from the vocals. It doesn’t last long but it’s a high point and it aims right Continue Reading

For years this was my favorite song on what I would have described as a half-assed attempt to be current, schizophrenic debut. It’s barely a blip, coming in at under 2 minutes. It’s speed metal with feedback, full stops, lightning solos and, surprisingly no drum flash. Given that it was Continue Reading

Oh, if ever there was a song that sounded like a band obsessed with Jimmy Page it’s this one. Written by May between Smile and Queen it smacks of all that is annoying about 70s frilly-hippy-metal rock. Goofball lyrics (“Lucy was high and so was I), a sound so desperate Continue Reading

Liar opens Side Two of Queen and it is truly the moment when the band declared their importance in the pantheon of theatrical rock. It’s credited to Freddie Mercury but that was mainly because he decided that the lyricist (and hence the writer of the melody) should be the writer Continue Reading

As we close the side one of the debut album we are privy to the first real taste of the Queen Sound. Multi-layered baking vox, histrionic vocals, triumphant falsetto, balladeering mid-section and some fiery ferocious piano playing (the first we’ve gotten to hear from Freddie) all result in a splendid Continue Reading

Oh, the 70s. Queen was one of those bands that, in their early days, got caught up in the middle earthian mythologies that groups like Zeppelin were dabbling in. Sandals, middle ages, pomp, etc. While Great King Rat is not about that, per se, it sounds like it should be. Continue Reading

The second track on Queen’s debut record is a dribbly ballad that wishes it was Zeppelin but comes across as a treacly ode to the burgeoning California sound. It breaks into sections, falls into a minor key, comes back as a jazzy groove number, it’s all over the place and Continue Reading