I was active on Twitter about 5 years ago, and I recall a lot of young 'uns on my feed following Roger Taylor and posting Freddie tributes. Taylor was very active and would run silly "caption this photo" contests, which I thought was a very smart move on his part.
Queen 1 Starting out with the stuttering relentless rhythm and moving into a song far too good for a brand new band and also containing Brian May's signature harmonised guitar, which sounded very new at the time and still very original now... keep yourself alive is pure gold. Doing alright starts like a big seventies ballad, moves through some semi psychedlia and then back and then errupts into a big lead break and then back into the seventies big ballad... then explodes in a power chord frenzy with another lead break ... this is a majorly schizophrenic song and really paints a picture of Queen's m.o. for years to come. Great king rat comes at us with some raw guitar and then busts into the picture with some great Taylor drumming. There is a nod back to the late sixties semi-psychedelic rock bands. Such a raw sound on this track. My fairy king is certainly an interesting song and carries some sixties ideas into seventies ideas and creates its own environment to exist in. The guys were stretching structure to the limit here. Liar is somewhat of an epic. Starting off with some percussion and bringing in a cool bit of riffing that carries a good groove we wind our way into the song. We get some signature Queen harmonies and some great movements between sections. Mercury moves from growling vocals to delicate sweetness with ease. Another great song. The night comes down musically reflects its title well and then moves into a rock ballad structure with Mercury singing over a wide octave range. Modern times rock and roll brings us our first Taylor vocal and this song is a b@//$ out rock song that wastes no time in getting itself across, over and out. Son and daughter starts with those harmonies and then moves into a dirty groove. Queen probably didn't do this kind of dirty groove enough. Jesus comes in with a strut and broaches a topic very rarely handled with this confidence and more importantly accuracy. It's certainly interesting that they would choose to write and record a song such as this on their debut album ... a pat on the back, just for having the b@//$ to do that. Seven seas of rhye ... i guess this is almost a preview of the second album. I'm not sure what the reasoning behind this was, but it works well as an instrumental and closes the album out well. All in all a great debut and as (to me at least) their albums just got better and better, it dispells this myth they were a singles band.
Could somebody point me in the direction of the best sounding CD releases of their albums? I wasn't sure whether to just go for the most recent remasters or something older. Queen are a band that, for some reason, I never got around to getting into properly even though I like quite a lot of their songs. I made up a semi random playlist on Spotify last week and was pleasantly surprised by how many songs I liked. Particularly ones I'd never heard before.
You won't be disappointed i don't think. I enjoy the 5 cd box sets i got. I am not sure of their current availability though, or how folks rate the mastering
https://www.amazon.com/Queen-40-1/d...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1543790607&sr=8-2 Queen - Queen 40. Volume 2 - this one seems to be out of print and fairly expensive now Queen - Queen 40. Volume 3 - this one is either out of print or very close. Amazon.com: Buying Choices: The Crown Jewels Box set, Limited Edition Edition by Queen (1998) Audio CD - I had this back in Australia and I liked it well enough ... the five disc sets are all double discs .... but for the albums in a nice imitation velvet box, it's pretty cool crown jewels 1998 5cd sets 2011
For the record ... if you like 5.1 A night at the opera is magnificent in surround ... I think the bluray audio is still available There is a regular dvd with dts 96/24, that has video put with it and a making of disc, that may still be available And a dvd audio that is more than likely available, but at out of print prices. I recently replaced my "the game" dvd audio, which i much prefer in 5.1, but it cost me 50 or 60 bucks
Crown Jewels was good except for the way they mangled some of the cover art. The individual Japan CDs with the same mastering were much better presented. The worst one from memory was News Of The World where they put a pale green border around the artwork for no justifiable reason whatsoever. If thats not important to you, then its a good enough set.
My to go and preference is the original EMI CDP's the remasters for me did not sound right louder and too much compression !
I don't like the riaa eq on first issue cd's, it was made for vinyl and cd has a much broader sound field with less rumble from the friction, but each to their own
I've read this before, but it's been doing the rounds in the media for the last couple of days... Elton John shares moving story about Freddie Mercury in his final days fighting Aids
Some of the 2011s were alright(ish), but others weren't. I made direct comparisons with the original UK vinyl albums. Queen, Queen II were good (or as good as compressed, loud remasters can be). I didn't like that remaster of Sheer Heart Attack, the bass sounded muddy and bloated. A Night At The Oprea was good, as was Hot Space (though again, loud and compressed, and this can be fatiguing). But not The Game, that was way too heavy on the bass. The Works wasn't good at all (but then, you won't find any CD version of The Works that compares to the first UK vinyl pressing). Anyone who's heard the first UK pressing of The Works on vinyl should know how great it sounds (really punchy and open). They're not my go-to for Queen on CD (apart from Queen II). Overall. I won't go OTT with this - the 2011's aren't that terrible, despite how I've described them above, but they're not my favourite versions for the reasons I've mentioned. You might be fine with them, but then you did ask for the best versions... When it comes to which ones I listen to, generally, I prefer the 2004 Japan mini vinyl CDs. Here's an example of one. Innuendo: Queen - Innuendo The 2004 Japan mini vinyl CDs are easy enough to find too btw. In the Discogs search bar just put "TOCP" in the search bar (no quotes), and the name of the album you're looking for. They always have the grey and white diamond OBI. The 2004 Japan mini vinyl of Sheer Heart Attack is very good, but the 80s CD is closer to the original UK vinyl (EMI CDP 7 46206 2), and this is my go-to for this album: Queen - Sheer Heart Attack (CD, Italy, 1986) For Sale | Discogs Either version is good though, the 2004 Japan mini vinyl or the 80s EMI CD. However, when it comes to The Game, which is one of Queen's best sounding albums, unfortunately, the 2004 Japan mini vinyl is a let-down. This is my go-to for this album: Queen - The Game For Queen II, I listen to the 2011 version.
Does anyone have any information about this Re-Release? Queen - Jazz Both Hollywood Records & Virgin appear to offer a 2-lp version. I'm gonna stick with the single disc version (Virgin/EMI). Just wanted to share and get some thoughts about it.
Yeah, the Hollywood site is even less helpful. I'm thinking it's a slow roll out of their discography again. I see The Game being released in December.
Queen definitely is way up in the list of my most favorite bands. Love all their albums, especially the early ones.
That's the problem. I can't find any info on this release. Based on the sales price my guess is it's 33rpm . https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-LP-Quee...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=FY1HD4JG8VJDVV68ZXZC
