Queen album by Album thread

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Beatles Floyd, Feb 11, 2017.

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  1. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    That guy really knows his Queen!
     
  2. Bananas&blow

    Bananas&blow It's just that demon life has got me in its sway

    Location:
    Pacific Beach, CA
    Anyone have any advice for the best sounding version of Queen II? I have a 70's pressing I'm not fond of. I have the 2011 remastered CD. Any better versions out there?
    Hope this post isn't out of line in this thread.
     
  3. I don't know what's the absolute best but the original EMI CDs are much better than the Hollywood remasters.
     
  4. kaztor

    kaztor Music is the Best

    It was recorded at the same time as the debut.
     
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  5. 12stringbassist

    12stringbassist Location: Irrelevance.

    Location:
    Manchester UK
    A friend of mine forced Queen II on me at every available opportunity when it was released and I simply hated it.
    I mean REALLY HATED it with a passion. It was just a horrible cacophony to me.
    They threw the kitchen sink into a lot of the tracks. It was all too much.

    Then Sheer Heart Attack came out and I really liked that and bought it and also the first album. Listening to those as much as I did actually acclimatised me to Queen II and it soon became my favorite album of theirs. Listening to it now and I still find something new about it most times I listen to it.
     
  6. Sondek

    Sondek Forum Resident

    The 2011 remaster of Queen II is about as good as it gets really (that one was the best of the 2011 remasters, some of the others weren't too great at all). The 2004 Japanese mini vinyl is pretty good too, but not as loud.
     
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  7. slop101

    slop101 Guitar Geek

    Location:
    So. Cal.
    Yeah, QII is a weird album that reveals itself over time (as most great albums do). I didn't hate it at first, but I didn't quite love it all that much either. But the more I listened to it, the more I fell in love with it. It also never got old, like some albums do.
     
  8. Rose River Bear

    Rose River Bear Senior Member

    Lots of great info on Queen II. Thanks.

    Some comments on the songs-

    Procession
    A fantastic instrumental by Brian May out of the British Classical book. The piece serves as an intro and exposition of some of the themes in Father to Son.

    Father to Son
    Opens with Who like chords (Tommy) but then goes into heavier territory. I like how the chord progression leads to a key change in the Zeppelin like guitar break.

    White Queen
    Modeled after Led Zeppelin's arrangement of Babe I'M Gonna Leave You. Starts with an acoustic guitar progression very similar to Page's work on Babe. "A Minor" key also to boot. Goes to heavy chorus based on the verse chords just like Babe but still I like the song a lot. Freddie really lifts the song and later there are some fine sections with fantastic vocals and guitar work.

    Some Day One Day
    A fine folk type song. Kinda corny lyrics maybe but still not bad.

    The Loser In the End
    A heavy Taylor song.

    Ogre Battle
    Amazing Freddie guitar driven song that is almost a template for what would become thrash metal. Changes key in the bridge and then again in the guitar break. The guitar break is fantastic with cacophonous screams from both Freddie and Brian's guitar. Incredible song. Ends with a gong to boot.

    Fairy Feller
    Another great Freddie song with lots of contrasting sections. Strategically placed key changes break the song into descriptive sections and highlight the story.

    Nevermore
    Gorgeous melody from FM. Floored me the first time I heard it. Beautiful descending scalar pattern on the piano classically influenced. Fantastic stuff.

    Black Queen
    I still am not sure what the key of this song is....regardless Freddie's first prog masterpiece. Starts out taking a while to get to the verse with twists and turns along the way. After the guitar break we get amazing variations on the verse and chorus. When I heard this song I realized how brilliant Freddie's songwriting abilities were. The coda is Brian Wilson inspired with its standalone production.

    Funny How Love Is
    Phil Spectorish touches highlight this Motown inspired tune. Neat song.

    Seven Seas
    British folk inspired tune that is a fine closer.

    An amazing album IMO. This album showed that Queen would become a world class group.
     
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  9. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    Queen II is my favourite Queen album. Er, no it's not it's A Day At The Races. Or both. Dammit, I can't decide which one's better!

    Queen II for me is an almost perfect album. I say almost perfect, because the only thing that lets it down is that God-awful Roger Taylor song jammed in the middle. It completely ruins the flow of the other songs, and the intro is a horrible jolt after the soft, acoustic fade out of Some Day One Day.

    I know they probably had to have one of his tracks on there, but he could've at least tried to write a song to fit the rest. It should've been relegated to b-side status.

    OK, rant over. The rest of the album's stunning, from the opening Procession to the 'I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside' outro of the LP's only single (And Queen's first chart hit) Seven Seas Of Rhye. Disregarding TLITE, Queen don't put a foot wrong, throwing in more harmonies, guitar overdubs and tempo changes in one album than most other bands entire discographies.

    If I had to pick the best songs though, for me Some Day One Day would top the list. I just love the lush wall of acoustic guitars that Brian weaves in and out of the backing track, and the sympathetic drumming of Roger's.

    My other favourite is the Spectorish Funny How Love Is. I wish there was a full standalone version of this track available, as it's slightly annoying having the final aahs of The March Of The Black Queen incroaching on the beginning of this track. Oh well, it's still a great track!.

    As I said though, apart from one track, the rest of the album's brilliant and well worth getting!

    I Love This Album :love:
     
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  10. mj_patrick

    mj_patrick Senior Member

    Location:
    Elkhart, IN, USA
    Queen II is a masterpiece of an album, one of my desert island discs!
     
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  11. Maidenpriest

    Maidenpriest Setting the controls for the heart of the sun :)

    Location:
    Europe
    I am sure i have 'Funny How Love Is' on Japan Cd single of Seven Seas Of Rhye that is a standalone version ?
     
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  12. NothingBrightAboutIt

    NothingBrightAboutIt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    Queen II has always been my favourite Queen album. From the start, it's like you're transported into another world, it's a symphony of the time Camelot is set in from another planet.

    Since everyone else is doing reviews, here's mine:

    "Procession" - Great start to the album, really gets the mood going for Side White, despite being a very dark funeral march.

    "Father To Son" - One of the highlights of the album, I always get chills listening to the chorus ("kings will be crowned, the word goes around, from father to son, to son"), it's like we're being introduced to the story on the album, being told of things to come.

    "White Queen (As It Began)" - Sad quiet love song, the real highlights are the sitar sounding acoustic guitar and the parts the guitar solo leads into. I've posted it on here before, but the part right before Freddie's vocals come back ("my goddess hear my darkest fear") might be one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard.

    "Some Day One Day" - If there's any way to describe Side White, it would be medieval. You can almost imagine Brian May singing this song, in full knight dress, while on his horse. The song fades out quietly as you're in a dreamlike state...

    "The Loser in the End" - ...until Roger Taylor's song breaks you out of it and brings you back to 1973 (or 1974 when it was released). You can feel the anger in his vocals, in Brian's guitar, and in the drumming. Not a terrible song, but it doesn't fit on the album and it's kind of a terrible ending to Side White.

    "Ogre Battle" - We're introduced to Side Black in Freddie Mercury fashion, High falsettos, backwards guitars and a vengeful and pulsating riff. I've always thought of this as the first real Freddie Mercury song on the album, even though he sings the first two songs (with vocals), they're written by Brian May and even though they showcase his vocal abilities, it's not until "Ogre Battle" that you really feel like this is Freddie Mercury. All of the sudden you're back to the backwards part you heard, and BOOM... like that the song is over, except for a ticking noise which becomes...

    "The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke" - The entire album has a medieval feel, but while the dominantly May side has more of a King Arthur vibe, Mercury's side is more of a mysterious psychedelic dark side. After some chord changes with the harpsichord, you're suddenly taken to Main St. of the Side Black ("ploughman, Wagoner Will, and types"). Great harmonies, which finally lead to...

    "Nevermore" - The calm before the storm. The harmonies from the previous song carry over, and for one second we're alright.

    "The March of the Black Queen" - From the second this song starts, you know this is going to be a trip. Easily the darkest and most ambitious thing Queen ever did, and in my opinion their greatest song of all time, it keeps the steady beat ("why do I follow you, where do you go") until it descends into chaos. The beat goes faster, keys are hit that you wouldn't imagine, and it's like everything this album was building up into, this is it. After reaching a key that it keeps for some time, with some witty lyrics, we're back into chaos. The harmonies reach their highest point, the guitars are fierce and everything for a moment is chaos. Then it stops. And we're reprising points of the album, almost like "Nevermore", I've always thought of this part as the entire album in retrospect. Then, just as we began a quieter part, we're back to that previous key, the battle continuing and not giving up ("I reign with my left hand, I rule with my right"). After that part, the piano signals that the song can't last anymore and has to wind down, but not without another guitar riff. And as the song quietly winds down, you think it's finally over, but not without another coda leading to...

    "Funny How Love Is" - A great way to finish the suite that is most of Side Black. The Wall of Sound sounds great, even though it might be too "cheesy" for some people.

    "Seven Seas of Rhye" - The epilogue, and the song we've been waiting for since the preview at the end of Queen. A great way to end the album, it doesn't sound tacked on and ends things on a high note.

    And there you have it.
     
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  13. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    I have that too. Mini-single, bought for See What a Fool I've Been in the days before bonus tracks and after years of trying to find the original single.
     
  14. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    Cheers for that. :D

    mind you, it was released in '91. Bet it'll cost a fortune now!:yikes:
     
  15. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    Well there's always Youtube and Audacity...
     
  16. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    hehe, but that's naughty :shh: shhhh!
     
  17. Zach Johnson

    Zach Johnson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    I love how Queen II ends with I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside, and then Sheer Heart Attack opens with it being whistled.

    Continuity like that from album to album is always cool.
     
  18. NothingBrightAboutIt

    NothingBrightAboutIt Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    And A Night at the Opera ends with the final gong in "Bohemian Rhapsody" (other than "God Save the Queen"), then A Day at the Races starts with a gong.
     
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  19. KevinP

    KevinP Forum introvert

    Location:
    Daejeon
    And Queen II was supposed to open with Seven Seas, tying into the previous album, though they went with Procession again, and rightly so.
     
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  20. Zach Johnson

    Zach Johnson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    Never noticed that...And of course ADATR starts and ends with the same guitar shepard tone.
     
  21. Zach Johnson

    Zach Johnson Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario
    Well I guess it still ties in, given that both were the final tracks on each album. The idea of developing a song over multiple albums is an interesting one.
     
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  22. johnsiddique

    johnsiddique Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Yorkshire
    Queen II without a doubt is my favourite Queen album. I loved it since I first heard it at the end of the 1970's. My first Queen lp was Jazz, and Queen II was my second. I don't know what it is about this one, but from 1st listen it became and stayed one of my favourite records by any band ever. I too love the linking together of the 1st three lps, perhaps they all take place in the land of Rhye. I'd not considered that ANATO & ADATR were also linked by gongs. Just makes me love things even more.

    Am loving this thread. am travelling in India right now so not able to write here as much as I'd like, but please keep this one going, I can get peeks of it on the dodgy wifi here and it's getting my musical juices going for when I get home next week, the I can break my old vinyl of each of these out.. agree too that the 2011 remaster of Queen II is a big improvement on the original. I have it as a 24bit download, and it is very good indeed.
     
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  23. yesstiles

    yesstiles Senior Member

    Side Black is my favorite Queen side. Just amazing. "Fairy Feller" and "Black Queen" are genius works of songwriting. Just eye-popping stuff. Side White however, wouldn't make my list of Top 10 Queen sides. Still good though.
     
  24. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    Heh. Just got the new remastered CDs Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack in this morning's post. Gonna have me a great Queen session today. :pineapple:

    I've already got A Night At The Opera, so it's lay on the bed with headphones, crank up the volume and enjoy! Yeah!

    :unhunh:
     
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  25. greelywinger

    greelywinger Osmondia

    Location:
    Dayton, Ohio USA
    My favorite tracks from Queen are...
    Doing All Right
    Liar

    My favorite tracks from Queen II are...
    Father To Son
    March Of The Black Queen

    Darryl
     
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