Queen - Queen: Greatest Hits I & II
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Free Music Notes for Queen: Greatest Hits I & II
Free Music Review: Not As Concise As Buying "Classic Queen" and "Greatest Hits", But An Excellent Alternative!
Hit: 5 Stars
Queen is, without question, one of the greatest rock bands of all time. With their incomparable lead singer Freddie Mercury and their canon of some of the greatest songs ever to hit the airwaves, Queen are legends. And of course, with most legendary bands, they have several greatest hits collection out on the market for casual fans. In 1995, Hollywood Records released the two disc collection "Queen - Greatest Hits Vols. 1 & 2". It contains 34 tracks, is digitally remastered and has most of their hits. How does it hold up? Read on for the positives and negatives.
Positives:
-If you're a casual Queen fan who is only interesting owning their biggest hits, than this is an almost ideal collection, as you will find "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody To Love", "We Are The Champions", "Another One Bites The Dust" and all the other classic Queen hits.
-You will also get a lot of rarely heard tracks such as "Seven Seas Of Rhye", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Now I'm Here", "Save Me", and "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy".
-Disc two contains a lot of excellent European hits that the North American audiences might not be familliar with, such as "Radio Ga Ga", "I Want It All", "The Show Must Go On", "I Want To Break Free", "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "Who Wants To Live Forever".
-The liner notes are excellent.
-All of the songs sound absolutely fantastic.
-It's relatively cheap and easy to find.
Negatives:
-The first disc does not fill the eighty minute time limit, clocking in at a mere 58:29. That means there was enough room to include "Tie Your Mother Down", "Keep Yourself Alive", "Stone Cold Crazy" and possibly "Body Language".
-If I'm not mistaken, "Bicycle Race" is edited.
-Disc two failed to include what might be my favorite Queen song ever, "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". I would've knocked off "One Vision" to include that song.
-Hollywood Records also has two single disc Queen collections out on the market, "Classic Queen" and "Greatest Hits". On their own, they don't really stand their ground, as both are missing a great many Queen classics. But when purchased together, you could not ask for a more comprehensive Queen collection, as they are even better than this collection. They include all the missing songs I mentioned as well as some other interesting gems. The only downside is that those cds do not include "Breakthru", "The Invisble Man", "Friends Will Be Friends", "Innuendo" and "It's A Hard Life". My advice is to get the two single disc collections and download the songs I just mentioned, so that way a casual fan will have all the Queen he or she will ever need.
Bottom line: as great as this collection, I recommend "Classic Queen" and "Greatest Hits", both purchased together. Download the songs on here that are missing from those two and you'll be set.
Free Music Review: They Will Rock You
Hit: 5 Stars
If ever there was a bigger than life rock band that epitomized the meaning of "Rock And Roll Band", it is Queen. No questions asked. Queen was incredibly different. They could have wild, loud rockers one minute, and the next they would have a pretty ballad, or even better, they would have some bizarre song that was filled with their british charm. Freddie Mercury was one of the greatest ever. They broke the mold when they made him. This 2 CD set is all that you need. It has everything you could possibly want. A review down below is laughable saying that a 2 CD set is too much. I guess that guy doesn't realize that the band has had a lot of songs. All of the classics are here. The arena rock of "Tie Your Mother Down", "Stone Cold Crazy", "I Want It All", and more. The ultimate classics in "We Will Rock You", "We Are The Champions", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Under Pressure", "Another One Bites The Dust", and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". There are some songs on here that aren't on other greatest hits packages, like "Breakthru", "The Invisible Man", and "Friends Will Be Friends". It would be great if there is an updated re-issue that includes some of the songs off their last album, "Made In Heaven", back in 1995. The best thing about this band is that they didn't take this too seriously at all. It was all about the fun. The show. The performance. They were there to simply have fun and give people some entertainment. Their mission succeeded. The other good thing about this band is that they were good guys. Queen were also real trailblazers in music videos. Some of them were real cool and ahead of their time. Queen was more successful in the UK than in the U.S., but they did pretty darn good here. Sadly, the world lost one of the most influential frontmen and voices in rock history, when Freddie died in 1991 of AIDS at the age of 46. Such songs as "The Show Must Go On", and "These Are The Days Of Our Lives", were great and sad songs all at the same time. There will never be another one like him. One only wonders what fun and entertainment he could've given us in the future. We'll never know. A musical is in the works of the band. That should be interesting. So, here it is folks. A great introduction to the band. This is as good a place as any to start. Maybe the only place to go since Queen was more of a 'singles band' than an 'album band'. Get this and let Queen rock you. They are the champions.Free Music Review: Queen's Gems.......
Hit: 5 Stars
If you are looking to add the music of Queen to your CD collection, this is the album to buy. Queen was (and is) one of the greatest bands of all time and it isn't difficult to hear (and see) why. For starters, their late, great front man Freddy Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara) had a larger-than-life personality and charisma to match his larger-than-life voice. This man's range as a vocalist was genre-defying (he easily made the transition between triumphant rock ballads like their brilliant, classical music-inspired opus, "Bohemian Rhapsody" to ragtime-inspired "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" to gospel-inspired "Somebody To Love"). What's more, he easily moved from his lower register into high falsetto without missing a beat. Plus, he was a brilliant songwriter (penning: "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Bicycle Race", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and "Play the Game," all featured in this collection, among others). Band members Brian May (guitarist), Roger Taylor (drummer), and John Deacon (bassist) match him note for note with their great artistry and genre-bending expression.
We not only hear the best of Queen on these two albums, but, we get a sense of their evolution, instrumentally. While the 1970s showcased the band's range in fusing rock & roll, jazz, soul, classical and heavy metal music (to name a few), they went on to incorporated more synthesized sound and harder percussion (one of Queen's most well-loved songs from that era is "Under Pressure" recorded with David Bowie). Listening to the band's magnificent songs, regardless of era, is truly a cathartic experience. Queen's musical artistry was second to none, and they also knew how to poke fun at themselves and had a terrific sense of humor, which only added more to their songs. Be sure to read the liner notes (complete with photos of the band in their Glam Rock glory, as well as their various stage personas that changed from album to album) that come with this musical collection. This album is nothing short of brilliant.
Free Music Review: Queen Fans REJOICE!
Hit: 5 Stars
I suppose I may be behind the trend here, but I didn't become a full-fledged Queen fan 'til 1980...why did I wait so long? Well, it isn't so much that I waited, but I just did not have access to the radio like my older siblings did because all the radios were THEIRS, and as the little bro to everyone else, I rarely (if ever) got a chance to dictate what to listen to (and yet I ended up IN radio...who knew THAT was gonna happen?).
While I really didn't get into Queen until '80, fortunately my older sister WAS already a huge fan, and I got a lot of my initial interest in the band via my contact with her--lucky me. I instantly fell in love with Bohemian Rhapsody LONG before Wayne & Garth. I liked the unusual vocals of Freddie Mercury, and while you either loved or hated him, there is almost ZERO debate that the man could sing. The incredibly diverse sound that Queen produced was another in a long string of reasons why you can (and should) love their music. Seriously, how can you get more different than 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'Fat Bottomed Girls'?
Some of their music is best described with a giant ?, but by and large, they rocked, pure and simple. Some of their lesser known hits, to all the radio standbys, Queen simply marched to the beat of their own drums, and we are all the better as a result. 'Another One Bites The Dust' became a staple at sports arena's--as did 'We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions' but let's not pass by the bands last studio album, finished just prior to Mercury's death, featuring 'Headlong', another instant classic. I can't help but wonder what were they thinking when they recorded, 'Radio Ga Ga' (as did most of the Western World in general) but there is just NO denying their impact on the world of Rock & Roll.
While debates rage on about the definitive collection of Queens Greatest hits, for the average to above average Queen fan, you simply cannot go wrong with this selection here. Want something more? Go buy their individual CD's and get a pure representation of what this band was capable of producing--not to mention it'll be money well spent.
Free Music Review: Long Live Queen!
Hit: 5 Stars
Where do I start? It's hard to say what I loved most about this CD. I definitely love Freddie Mercury's voice. Who doesn't? I think he was a brilliant songwriter. His voice is so electric, and Brian May's guitar is awesome! I especially love the songs "We Are the Champions," "Killer Queen," "Play the Game," "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy," and "Don't Stop Me Now." Those are just my favorites. I hope that whoever reads this considers buying it, because it is such a great CD. If you love Queen as much as I do, you'll want to buy it today! When I first heard Queen, it was "We Are the Champions" and I thought, "Who's that?" I wanted to know some more of their music and along the way I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody" and loved it! I thought that song was so creative, sad, with great guitar. There is a story in the song and I thought Freddie's voice was so beautiful. That's how I came to love Queen! I guess I should tell you about why I like the songs I said I love. I think that "We Are the Champions" is a classic. It's a song that can make you feel good when your day isn't going well. "Killer Queen" is cool and has really good lyrics, although I'll be honest when I say that the first time I heard it I couldn't understand him through the whole thing. "Play the Game" has a soft touch to it. I like the tone in Freddie's voice and I like the feel of the song. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" is a great song, and the thing I love most about it is the idea of him being a really smooth guy and how he'll take a girl out and have a good time. "Don't Stop Me Now" reminded me about Freddie's life, how he was going too fast and he didn't slow down in time. It just seems rather ironic to me when I hear it. I hope this has been in a way helpful to you. I wanted to be helpful, but at the same time I wanted to share with you my love for the most diverse band that ever lived!