Queen (first album) poll

Well, some people have an almost pathological urge to put things down.

Just had a look and I currently have two copies of "Queen", an original UK pressing - which I think is mandatory for 70's Queen - with "HUGGYPOO KISSY KISSY" (What the hell is that about?! ) and "Blair" in the tail off and I like the sound of it. It sounds positively "vintage". And has a lyric inner.

When a local dealer broke up the 2015 Studio Collection this was one of the selected albums I bought individually. Nasty purple vinyl and really nice, slightly cleared up sound. I resold most of them but I kept this, "Queen II" - which were two single sided, etched discs - and "Hot Space" (Beware! 80's Queen!!!! )

I'd love to get a gold embossed US original one day, it really enhances the artwork.

A word about the artwork; How many bands at that point in time had the nerve to stage themselves as bona fide rock gods on the cover of their first album?

It's interesting that back in 1973 this drew a lot LZ comparisons. And a real shame that there is almost zero surviving footage of those early Queen shows. But back then filming was an effort and obviously not everybody was carrying around a mobile. That's one of my biggest regrets.

 

I tried with this one, so many times, and could never get into it, at least, not to a place where I became obsessed and had to play it repeatedly. I haven't made an attempt in many years. I'm partial to Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack. This is the only 70s Queen I don't have on vinyl, funny enough. I think my CD copy is a 1991 Hollywood reissue. My cassette certainly was.

 

Early Queen & Freddie in his Leotards always my Queen favourite era - just love the rawness of those early albums.

 

Here are some great period write ups:

Reviews – Studio – Queen – Queen Archives :: Interviews, Articles, Reviews

Gordon Fletchers review from June 1973 is especially interesting. I wish I could hear "Queen" - and even if only once - like people heard it in 1973. As debut by a new band.

Because this album got dropped at the tail end of a very strong spring with - and this is just a somewhat random selection - "Aladdin Sane", "Ooh LaLa", "For Your Pleasure", "Paris 1919" and the two gargantuan efforts that are "Houses Of The Holy" and "The Dark Side Of The Moon" coming only weeks earlier.

That's the competition "Queen" faced back then. Little wonder their next album would contain a song like "Ogre Battle"!

 

What copy do you recommend? An affordable one

 

Any 70s or 80s UK pressing sounds pretty similar. Cheapest will be the Fame label 80s pressing as it was a budget label at the time, but it still has the original sleeve. It shouldn't be difficult to get this album, or any Queen albums, at a decent price.

Queen – Queen (1982, Vinyl)

 

The first four albums, with a nod to their time and what else was being issued at the time, are excellent and always will be.

 

Is this your copy?

 

This album is much better as any album followed after ANATO.

 

4/5. Some totally awesome songs, but one point deducted for being sequenced to resemble LZII.

 

Voted "very good". The first three albums and Jazz are the Queen albums I most often return to these days. The first one has some great soft-proggy tunes and some nice straight rock/pop stuff on it. But at least Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack are even better.

 

4/5. It’s very good, but „A Night At The Opera“ and „A Day At The Races“ are even better and their only 5/5 albums in my opinion

 

Very surprised to see so many people naming the debut as their favourite album. It rates as mid to bottom tier Queen for me, which doesn't mean it's bad at all, just below everything that came after, until, say, The Works. I still gave it a 4.

 

It's what I had for years, but I replaced it with a 1976 pressing (still with the shop receipt inside). I was a kid when I got the Fame one and played it a lot so I needed a better condition one. They sound pretty much the same and I'm pretty sure use the same stampers.

 

Very good, the rest of the 70s albums are better.

 

I think side one is definitely like Zep II, side two seems more like Zep I to me, with Modern Times Rock n' Roll being the mid side short and fast one. I know the Zep II like sequencing was deliberate, but I don't see anything wrong with that. A Night At The Opera was sequenced similarly to Sgt. Pepper too.

 

Right

A Day at the Races was a big step down after ANATO. IMO
My rating: 3/5

 

Now that's something I've never seen! Pics?

 

There are some UK 70s pressings with a fully laminated sleeve, but I've never seen one. I've never seen or even heard of a lyric inner for the debut. The current pressing has one though.

 

A quick check on Discogs shows none from back in the day. Maybe some foreign copies had one??

 

Possibly, but I don't think so. I'd love to find one of those UK laminated sleeve ones. They aren't first pressings, but a batch from later. There are also some pressed by Polydor.

 

Promo version, possibly? Maybe @Neonbeam can elucidate?

 

I've bought the UK Fame LP

 

Sorry for any confusion.... I've mixed that up. There are lyric inners on the boxset version and on the albums from "Queen II" onwards. My 1973 original has a plain white inner. Could it be that I've got too many records?

 

We all get mixed up when we have thousands of records! Did you get the Queen box set?