Going through all this I realize they have a massive body of work. Growing up with Queen I took for granted that I was really having a greatest hits I and II experience of them.

The debut has only a few hints at the theatrical elements to come. There are a million ideas, incredible virtuosity, dog shit production, great energy and a lack of memorable material. The sequel is pretty much the same but a little better.

Sheer Heart Attack is the definitive vision of Queen the rock band as opposed to all the other things they'd be. It's pretty much firing on all cylinders and has something of their vaudeville's answer to The Who creeping in. It's really very good.

Night at the Opera sits in my brain kind of the opposite of the first 3. It's so engrained in my culture and upbringing I kind of have to set aside its place in collective memory and mythology to evaluate it as an album made by 4 guys in a band. While there are any number of reasons to critically reject its schtick, pastiche etc, there's no denying that it is a technical and compositional masterpiece. This album secures Brian May the guitar god in my mind. His classical leanings set him apart from Jimmy Page and company to highlight a shredder who's not just another white Brit who loves the blues. His solos, no matter how busy, are incredibly melodic. You can sing or whistle them like hooks. After being pounded by 5 decades of "Bohemian Rhapsody" it's interesting to imagine it as something new. It must have been astonishing.

Day at the Races is kind of the little brother album to Opera. If it were the only release by some obscure, queer, theater kids rock band it would probably be iconic, instead it sits like a postscript and is easily forgotten. If it was one of my 6 cassettes for my walkman as a kid in the 80's it would probably yield wonders. There are undoubtedly tiny multitudes in its shifting stage makeup but it came out like more cynical genre hopping by a band of cold technicians.

News of the World shows how self aware they were of the shortcomings above. The "getting back to basics" rock album seems to always be great in theory, less often execution (see later Rolling Stones). Hard to ignore the reported month they spent on drum setup in the studio as being economical and urgent about rock music. This is another one where it's hard to get past the mythic status of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" (I've read some cool queer criticism of the latter that partly reclaims it from jock-rock status for me), and take in the rest.

It's a trip to hear track 3 after all that- "Sheer Heart Attack"- because to me the chorus contains the basic ingredients that would make Motley Crue, for better and worse. Also fascinating to hear how sloppy Brian May's palm muting gets on the verses considering what a perfectionist he typically is.



I haven't fully digested the rest of the album and I'm a little apprehensive to continue through their history in disco, electronics and whatever else but I've made it this far.

Not really for me, but I can't vote crap.

The multitracks that made the rounds years ago were very interesting listening.

sheer heart attack has always been a 10/10 album for me

A_Man_Who_Tries wrote: Sat Feb 03, 2024 12:56 am Can't Crap them though.

However one feels about the music (VERY hit and VERY miss), one can't crap the band. I could never hear 'em again and be fine, but I'd also rock to any of their hits besides Bohemian Rhapsody, which Wayne's World absolutely killed.

I've also never felt like taking any kind of serious dive into their oeuvre.

rsmurphy wrote: Fri Feb 02, 2024 11:33 pm "Don't Try Suicide" on the b-side was corny.

That song is funny! It sounds like something the Sharks or Jets might've sang in West Side Story.

And Queen is n/c, though I'm tired of hearing some of those songs.
'You're My Best Friend' was the first dance with my Mom at my wedding.

Not Crap. Jazz is their best album.

"All Dead, All Dead" is a Brian May tune that Brian took the lead vocal on.



On the 40th anniversary release of the album it is on, there is a bonus disc with a take of the same tune with Freddie taking the lead vocal.



While the band was already "Head..."/"Shoulders..." above most bands?

It is only "Next Level..." bands that can accomplish that sort of thing like it is just any other day at the office.

Never mind that it was a band where they could start a tune with Brian playing piano, and have Freddie hop onto the piano while Brian was taking a guitar solo.

Queen can never be crap.

There's a few songs I'd be cool to not hear again for a good while, (Bo Rap I'm looking at you), but there's 100% bangers in the library too. "Stone Cold Crazy" for example.

As with Steely Dan, I admire their persistence in pursuing a really unique vision. Freddie Mercury approached a harrowing end bravely. And “Killer Queen” is okay, I guess—it’s the “Do It Again” in their catalog.

But it’s emphatically not for me. I can’t change the station quickly enough. And I really, really don’t like Brian May’s guitar tone.