Queen

By gaiJen, stranger in a strange land

If ever there was a band that I wish I could have seen live, it would be Queen. Just listen to Live Killers! I dare you not to lose your mother-truckin’ mind. The band backlit by a wall of orange, red and yellow lights, Freddie prowling the stage, the pure unadulterated awesomeness of Brian May’s glorious hair," Killer Queen", "Don’t Stop Me Now", "We Are the Champions", "Bohemian Rhapsody"… I need a moment…

Whew. Ok. If all you know about Queen is "Bohemian Rhapsody" via Wayne’s World, sit at my knee and prepared to have your mind blown all over your face. (I couldn’t possibly review the entire Queen discography so I will limit myself to the years 1974-1978. Still, that’s five albums…)

Queen II (1974)

This is Queen’s second album and is a concept album through and through. Black and white themed, the album’s cover art became synonymous with the band, especially after "Bohemian Rhapsody". The “Side White” songs are centered on emotional themes and the “Side Black” songs deal primarily with fantasy (in case you were confused by song titles as ambiguous as "Ogre Battle" and "The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke").

If you like progressive rock, you would like this album. It is heavier and darker than what people typically associate with Queen. Several of the songs on this album were never performed live because they are too complex. I like to listen to Queen II and then listen to one of their later albums (Hot Space or Jazz, for example) and just marvel at the breadth of their musicianship.

Sheer Heart Attack (1974)

• "Killer Queen" – Surely the greatest song about a ‘high class call girl’ ever. Mercury thought even classy people could be whores and he demonstrates this musically by taking a grand piano (as he was wont to do) and overdubbing it with a jangle piano (upright). The effect is a very vaudeville sound unlike anything that Queen had produced to date. Also, what is not to love about lyrics like this, “to avoid complications, she never kept the same address, in conversation, she spoke just like a baroness”.
• "Tenement Funster", "Flick of the Wrist" and "Lily of the Valley" – these songs overlap each other and are evocative of Queen II. Dream Theater covered these three songs on the bonus disc of their album Black Clouds & Silver Linings (+5 music hit points).
• "Lap of the Gods" - a prelude to "Bohemian Rhapsody".
• "Lap of Gods… Revisited" is a stadium rock song and is a hint of what was to come with "We Are the Champions".

A Night at the Opera (1975)

• "You’re My Best Friend” – John Deacon (bass) wrote this song for his wife Veronica and in addition to bass he plays a Wurlitzer electric piano which produces a characteristic ‘bark’ that defines the song.
• "39" – It’s a science fiction story about space travelers that go off to explore, like space and stuff, and they come back a year later, only –get this – it has actually been 100 earth years and there are all sorts of complications and crying and woe-is-me’ing . It’s fabulous. It is also the 39^th song in the Queen studio album chronology.
• "Love of My Life" – written by Mercury for his girlfriend at the time (OMG, yes, GIRLfriend!!) it is one of the most covered Queen songs (uh, hello Extreme, we see you over there, go away now). You can really hear Mercury’s classical piano training come through on this song. Also, harp!
• "Bohemian Rhapsody" – I hesitate to say much about this song. Everyone probably already knows that the song has an unusual song structure (classical rhapsody rather than pop), no chorus, and a pretty impressive rock solo. What is less well known: the promotional video released with the single is considered by some to be the first true music video. Now, I give you The Muppets.

A Day at the Races (1976)

• "Somebody to Love" – This song has a very gospel feel to it. The building line, “can anybody find me”, describes not only looking to give love but look to be found and loved as well. It is like, totally deep and stuff.
• "Teo Torriatte (Let Us All Cling Together)" – May plays a grand piano, a plastic piano and a harmonium on this tribute to the Japanese fans of Queen. It is one of three Queen songs to have an entire verse in a language other than English. Also, the closing harmony of "Teo Torriatte" is also the opening melody of "Tie Your Mother Down", the first song on the album.

News of the World (1977)

This album represents Queen’s shift from progressive rock to pop-rock. Personal picks: "All Dead, All Dead" and "Sleeping on the Sidewalk". However, once the show Lost ends and you find yourself in desperate need to fill 45 minutes to distract you from the annoyance of not understanding what. the. heck. is. going. on, play the album all the way through.

Jazz (1978)

• Fans of the guitar should check out the two minute guitar solo in "If You Can’t Beat Them" and the furious and aggressive guitar in "Dead on Time".
• Fans of voluptuous women should check out "Fat Bottomed Girls".
• Fans of sustainable transportation should check out "Bicycle Race" – ring, ring!
• Fans of fabulousness should already know "Don’t Stop Me Now".