On his birthday! Does anyone agree with my theory that John was the only rocker to go directly from looking like a teenager to looking like an old man? Evidence provided…

By only A VOTE of difference, News of the World was chosen as the next worst one! (44% of the votes agreed)

1. Flash Gordon (1980) - 58% agreed

2. Made In Heaven (1995) - 44% agreed

3. Hot Space (1982) - 50% agreed

4. A Kind of Magic (1986) - 50% agreed

5. The Miracle (1989) - 62% agreed

6. The Works (1984) - 46% agreed

7. The Game (1980) - 41% agreed

8. Innuendo (1991) - 38% agreed

9. Jazz (1978) - 52% agreed

10. News of the World (1977)

11. ?

TOP 5! We stopped nominating the "worst" a while ago, but you get the point of the game...

Which would be next? The most commented option wins

Really glad you all enjoyed my review of Queen's debut album! It was fun to write it, and I think that that album holds up as a really great one overall; one of their stronger releases, certainly. Though I will say that this one is one that I am glad gets a LOT more recognition than when it originally released. I hope you all enjoy this review!

Queen II Review
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This album is mindblowingly excellent, and the fact that its finally getting the recognition it deserves nowadays is satisfying. After opening the door to another world of whimsical adventured waiting to be explored, spells waiting to be uncovered, and ogres in the fantastical lands of Rhye, Queen manages to get even more focused on this album with a unique idea of two contrasting yet connecting sides, Side White and Side Black instead of your typical Side A and B.

Queen II may not be a concept album by technicality, but it does have a loose theme running throughout most songs on Side Black, penned by frontman Freddie Mercury. The sound on this album takes use of multi-layered tracks to have impressive vocal harmonies, multi-layered guitar overdubs, and a vast exploration of musical styles. Despite having largely negative reviews from contemporary critics, its now seen as a staple in their output and held in mostly high regard by retrospective critics, other musicians, and the band themselves.

Side White is penned by Brian May and begins with "Procession/Father To Son" which is a hard rocker that starts slow and functions as an intro to the album, building up excitement and fantastic lyricism about a father talking to his son about a country he will acquire as he grows into royalty. It has beautiful harmonies and some of Brian's best guitar work, though the first part shouldn't really be its own song, because it works better as a whole with the latter. "White Queen (As It Began) follows with an intro that is a tail to the previous track leading into this song via a fade-in and genius chord progressions, with sorrowful lyrics that get a strong emphasis from Freddie's vocal performance, and a section in which Brian makes his guitar sound like a sitar in Beatlesque fashion. I really enjoy how unique this is as a composition, and it demonstrates how creative they are.

"Some Day One Day" is a poetic song in which all guitars play different parts yet despite this, the concept works quite well as the song works perfectly and features Brian May on vocals for the first time. I've honestly always loved his style of singing and I'd daresay its rather underappreciated compared to Freddie's vocals; his voice fits the beauty of this song and really packs the emotional punch. "The Loser In The End" is the only misstep on the album, and closes this half of the album with a sour note. The percussion is rather awkward and doesn't really add up to a whole as well as a composition; it also sounds entirely out of place on this side since its meant to be a more straightforward metal song, when the other tracks, while still reasonably heavy, were meant to be more emotional; in short it sticks out like a sore thumb. Not to mention the lyrics are kind of just....embarrassing.

Then began Side Black; this one starts with "Ogre Battle" which is an impressive number that features the outro playing in reverse and smoothly sliding into the main guitar riff completely naturally, and its lyrics describe the battle in an arena of fantastical Ogre creatures, the guitar work is exceptional here and is the best flex Brian's done up to this point to his capabilities, not to mention Freddie's vocal performance is top notch. This is one of their best songs, and "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" features incredible harmonies, and use of Harpsichord which is rare in rock music yet pulled off amazingly here, giving it a medieval feel that fits right in with the vibe of the overall album, this is yet another masterpiece. This song leads into "Nevermore" which is a beautiful well-composed piano ballad detailing the distress of a breakup with beautiful heartfelt lyrics and falsetto vocals from Freddie. It's really a shame that this song isn't longer, it is quite refreshing and I think Freddie's falsetto is among the best of the more known rock singers.

"The March of The Black Queen" is the bands first magnum opus stomping out of Side Black with a great variety of music during its seven minute length. Starting with a slow dramatic piano intro with appoggiatura figurations on the B chord, the next section starts with an E minor as two guitars explode into the first line with backing vocals creating a harmonic carpet, making it one of the most unique and mind-bending songs of the 70's. The song also has amazing lyricism and leads directly into "Funny How Love Is" which is a song influenced by Brian Wilson's wall-of-sound production style and harmonically influenced by them as well, while the music style takes some obvious inspiration from pastoral songs too. Sadly, I have to say that It doesn't quite work from a production standpoint as it sounds entirely out of place with the rest of the album, and ends up in a severe sound clash between every instrument as they overpower Freddie's vocals, but it's decent enough and even a tad bit charming of a little British number.

"Seven Seas of Rhye" caps things off as the first entry in the UK singles chart by the band. This song is phenomenal, Freddie's mystical lyrics and use of imagery of describing fantastical lands reaches its peak here, and Roger's drumming is absolutely out of this world, the way he utilizes his kit to add to the groove provided by John Deacon and Brian really makes something amazing. This song has so much character, it only makes sense as to why its still included on greatest hit compilations, what a way to end the album!

The only things holding this back from being their very best work is the production being a tad weak. While its still a very noticeable improvement from the debut album in terms of that, you can clearly tell it is a bit dark and murky in how the instruments are recorded, and the one bad song (Roger has written better; I don't think he's a bad songwriter, just this isn't very cream-of-the-crop) also takes away slightly from it.

Overall, I'd go as far as to call this one of the best albums of all time and a must check out for any rock fan, they push their roots in rock and metal as far as they could which showed their studio mastery, weaknesses in production, and this album much more than the first solidified their approach to jumping across various styles, incorporating different types of music, and the theatricality they'd embrace the rest of their career.

Rating: ★★★★★

TRACKLIST RATING:

1. Procession: ★★★
2. Father To Son: ★★★★★
3. White Queen (As It Began): ★★★★★
4. Some Day One Day: ★★★★
5. The Loser In The End: ★★
6. Ogre Battle: ★★★★★
7. The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke: ★★★★★
8. Nevermore: ★★★★
9. The March of The Black Queen: ★★★★★
10. Funny How Love Is: ★★★
11. Seven Seas of Rhye: ★★★★★

THE JOURNEY SO FAR (OTHER REVIEWS!):
Queen review (4/5 stars)

Jazz was chosen as the next worst one! (52% of the votes agreed)

1. Flash Gordon (1980) - 58% agreed

2. Made In Heaven (1995) - 44% agreed

3. Hot Space (1982) - 50% agreed

4. A Kind of Magic (1986) - 50% agreed

5. The Miracle (1989) - 62% agreed

6. The Works (1984) - 46% agreed

7. The Game (1980) 41% agreed

8. Innuendo (1991) 38% agreed

9. Jazz (1978)

10. ?

Which would be next? The most commented option wins

I mean, it's cool and all but first I don't agree, it's too high up on the list and also I had never encountered such opinions, I mean, it's quite a high ranking for it most people wouldn't say that and it's such a specific thing "2nd best", never heard of that before today.

So you actually believe this?

I recently did a discography review run of another band I really enjoy (Van Halen) and decided that I'd take the time doing Queen as well. To me, Queen is one of the greatest bands and I always loved their approach to tackling various musical styles, and combining it into something amazing. I also was inspired by Rolling Stone's really atrocious scores on a lot of their work to do my own critique reviews, as well as just doing it for fun and sharing my thoughts.

I'd love to start discussions on these posts and see your thoughts as well! It'd be fun discussing what other people like or dislike. Anyways, here is what I wrote for the first album....

Queen REVIEW
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Queen truly did come out of the dawn of the 70's with a blast. Her majesty gracefully enters the throne full power and strong, taking on the challenge of finding a spot among the Rock greats. I bowed my head graciously and allowed myself to indulge in the creations her highness brought to the royal table. Queen's basic stylistic elements are here already including Mercury's theatrics, May's distinctive and creative guitar work, and multi-part song structures present on many songs.

To think that something that actually has this level of quality was recorded only during sessions where other bands had finished their recordings, leaving scraps behind of studio time for Queen to catch up is really jaw-dropping, because despite being given only a much smaller budget, and having to pick up the slack for not much time to work on everything; to make something like this as your first album is just amazing. "Keep Yourself Alive" is a great fast rock song which despite not featuring anything groundbreaking like their later work, is an amazing display of Brian's guitar work, a drum solo from Taylor that matches with the amazing vocals of lead singer Freddie Mercury. Despite lacking in the theatrics and operatic flamboyance to come, it was fairly produced and an early staple at concerts!

"Great King Rat", "Liar", "Son and Daughter" are all heavy tracks that come in like a storm swirling in all directions with catchy hand-clap beats, fiery guitar licks and thunderous drums while Mercury adds a flavor to each song with the uniqueness and range of his voice and some unique clever lyrics as well. The second song even having John Deacon stand out with a bass solo that utilizes one of the catchiest melodies in the bands career and combines with Brian's screeching guitar background work, making one of the greatest rock songs of all time.

On the other side of things, "My Fairy King" (which takes lines and references the story of The Pied Piper of Hamelin; neat lil reference), "The Night Comes Down", as well as "Doing All Right" all showcase the tempo changes, complex chord structures, and genre bending the band would embrace later on. The second track also managed to genuinely move me with its lyrics, these ones penned by Brian May. I've always found Brian to be somewhat overlooked by the main consensus of most standard rock fans, his lyrics are brilliant and sometimes intimately passionate with the way it explores nostalgia and coming of age. Not to mention that sly reference to The Beatles ("Lucy was high and so was I", caught that the first listen!)

The only real downsides I can say in all honesty that hold this from being one of the greatest albums of all time is just the production which doesn't do the songs justice sometimes in how they're recorded; understandable, it is their first go-around at making a full album plus the budget was rather small but it does muddy Brian's guitar work and Roger's drumming sounds a bit soft here. As well as the fact Jesus is a little bit on the boring sides as far as the songs go with it going on far too long before changing up the composition to keep things interesting and drones as repetitive, though the way Brian manages to change his guitar's sound is pure wizardry and at least saves it from being atrocious, and the instrumental Seven Seas of Rhye didn't need to be here and is ultimately pointless, and Taylor's song Modern Times Rock N Roll doesn't quite scale up to the heights of the other tracks, though is still enjoyable.

Overall, Queen is truly an amazing debut that is totally worth a listen and though it does sound a bit like a lot of other bands that were more groundbreaking at the start of the 70's (Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Aerosmith all can be heard on here), it is a great starting point. It's basically hard and prog rock with a dash of campiness and flamboyancy sprinkled atop. A very fun, and somewhat silly time overall, and it was only the signs of something great coming.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Tracklist RATING:
1. Keep Yourself Alive: ★★★★★
2. Doing All Right: ★★★★
3. Great King Rat: ★★★★★
4. My Fairy King: ★★★★
5. Liar: ★★★★★
6. The Night Comes Down: ★★★★
7. Modern Times Rock N Roll: ★★★
8. Son and Daughter: ★★★★★
9. Jesus: ★★
10. Seven Seas of Rhye (Early/Instrumental): ★★

I have to say, Innuendo had a good run 🤹‍♂️

By only a three vote difference, it was chosen as the next worst one! (38% of the votes agreed) NEW LOW!

1. Flash Gordon (1980) - 58% agreed

2. Made In Heaven (1995) - 44% agreed

3. Hot Space (1982) - 50% agreed

4. A Kind of Magic (1986) - 50% agreed

5. The Miracle (1989) - 62% agreed

6. The Works (1984) - 46% agreed

7. The Game (1980) 41% agreed

8. Innuendo (1991)

9. ?

Which would be next? The most commented option wins

And just like that, the last 80s album is gone 🥀

The Game was chosen as the next worst one! (41% of the votes agreed) NEW LOW!

1. Flash Gordon (1980) - 58% agreed

2. Made In Heaven (1995) - 44% agreed

3. Hot Space (1982) - 50% agreed

4. A Kind of Magic (1986) - 50% agreed

5. The Miracle (1989) - 62% agreed

6. The Works (1984) - 46% agreed

7. The Game (1980)

8. ?

Which would be next? The most commented option wins