RSSQueen [extended]
- Queen II [Elektra, 1974] C-
- A Night at the Opera [Elektra, 1975] B-
- News of the World [Elektra, 1977] C
- Jazz [Elektra, 1978] C+
- Greatest Hits [Hollywood, 1992] A-
- Return of the Champions [Hollywood, 2005] D+
See Also:
Consumer Guide Reviews:
Queen II [Elektra, 1974]
Wimpoid royaloid heavoid android void. C-
A Night at the Opera [Elektra, 1975]
This is near enough to the reported mishmash to make me doubt that it sells for what's good about it. Which is that it doesn't actually botch any of a half-dozen arty-to-heavy "eclectic" modes--even something called "Prophet's Song" sounds OK--and achieves a parodic tone often enough to suggest more than meets the ear. Maybe if they come up with a coherent masterwork I'll figure out what that more is. Maybe if they come up with a coherent masterwork they'll figure out what that more is. B-
News of the World [Elektra, 1977]
In which the group that last January brought us a $7.98 LP to boycott devotes one side to the wantonness of woman and the other to the futile rebelliousness of the doomed-to-life losers (those saps!) (you saps!) who buy and listen. C
Jazz [Elektra, 1978]
Despite the title--come back, Ry Cooder, all is forgiven--this isn't completely disgusting. "Bicycle Race" is even funny. Put them down as 10cc, with a spoke, or a pump, up their ass. C+
Greatest Hits [Hollywood, 1992]
It took me years with periodic pep talks from my daughter to admit with more delight than I would have figured that while I'd never warmed to the art-rock glitz of these international standouts, most of these 17 songs are good-humored rather than melodramatic--played not for laughs, but for ebullience and sprezzatura. I assume that no matter how many alternate versions of the 1992 Hollywood-label best-of have surfaced here and there (some of which including my own would seem to do without "Bohemian Rhapsody"), the lead tracks here are universal from "We Will Rock You" to "We Are the Champions" to "Another One Bites the Dust"--and also that "Fat Bottomed Girls," "Bicycle Race," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" are for normal humans every bit as enjoyable. Just in general the grandiosity that always annoyed me about them from a distance is played not for laughs, but to highlight an unmistakable joie de vivre very much bound up in Freddie Mercury's loud and joyous clarity. A-
Queen + Paul Rodgers: Return of the Champions [Hollywood, 2005]
Where Freddie Mercury was a true queen, Paul Rodgers is a big disgrace. And that's not even counting the Bad Company cover, the Free cover, or, facts is facts, the HIV song. D+