A night at the opera, is Queen's masterpiece. All the promise and potential evident on earlier albums comes to fruition on this excellent LP. By now the band have truly found themselves and each of the band members gets a chance to shine here. The most famous song of course is Freddie Mercury's glorious epic, Bohemian rhapsody, which is without doubt one of the most imaginative, original and downright bizarre songs ever written. Elsewhere Freddie contributes the vitriolic, Death on two legs, the Noel Coward-esque, Lazing on a Sunday afternoon, and the gorgeous ballad, Love of my life. Meanwhile Brian May comes up with the prog rock of, The prophet's song, and the brilliant sci-fi country folk of, '39, while Roger Taylor chips in with the boy racer anthem, I'm in love with my car, and John Deacon comes up with the lovely, You're my best friend. A night at the opera, is a great album, a diverse and eclectic collection of rock, opera, jazz, country, pop, and whatever else they could throw at it, and it's also a helluva lotta fun.
Favourite three tracks:Bohemian rhapsody; '39; I'm in love with my car.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1975
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Rank Score:
12,636
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Queen's third album is where they really started to find their true identity. Gone are the Led Zep/Hendrix influences of the first album and the prog rock pretensions of the second, here Queen start to branch out musically and begin to embrace other genres of music. Sure, Queen are still basically a rock'n'roll band and they always be, but here they tackle American jazz(Bring back that Leroy Brown), psychedelic folk(She makes me), and anthemic balladry(In the lap of the gods...revisted). The highlights though are Freddie Mercury's superb, Killer queen, a brilliant and witty piece of writing and Brian May's ' On the road' anthem, Now I'm here. Elsewhere there's the heavy metal of, Stone cold crazy, Roger Taylor's bad boy strut of, Tenement funster, and John Deacon contributes his first song to Queen with the enjoyable but slight, Misfire. Queen had made one of their best albums and it was onwards and upwards from here on in.
Favourite three tracks:Killer queen; Now I'm here; In the lap of the gods...revisited.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1974
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Rank Score:
2,970
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Hot space, is the album that is, shall we say, the most under appreciated of all Queen LP's. At the time of it's release in 1982 you could probably find that understandable due to the fact that Queen had all but deviated from their original rock roots. But I believe now is the time for a reappraisal. After the massive success of the, Another one bites the dust, single, it was natural, as far as i'm concerned, that Queen would use this as template for their next album. This 'sound' is given over to the first side of the, Hot space, LP, kicking off with Freddie Mercury's powerful party anthem, Staying power, it's a fantastic start to the album. Mercury's approach to this record was obviously heavily influenced by his time spent in the gay clubs of Munich and the most perfect example of this is the carnal lust of the superb, Body language, a fantastically original piece of pop with a slightly risque video(I don't think May, Taylor and Deacon were too impressed with it though). As it is Roger Taylor's, Action this day, is the other standout on side one, a Bowie-esque piece of white pop funk. The other two tracks on the the first side, Dancer, and, Back chat, are fine too. And those five songs are what all the fuss was about while side two gives over to more 'conventional' Queen songs. There's Brian May's anti-firearm rocker, Put out the fire, which is followed, by no accident, by Mercury's answer to the recently assassinated John Lennon's, imagine, with, Life is real. Taylor's, Calling all girls, and, May's, Las pelabras de amour, are decent tracks, as is the laid back funk of, Cool cat. The album ends with the David Bowie collobaration, the brilliant, Under pressure. And that's it, one of the most underrated albums of all time, not just by Queen, but by anyone. It may have sounded odd at the time but today it stands up really well. And with an open mind, please give it a go.
Favourite three tracks:Under pressure; Body language; Staying power.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1982
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Rank Score:
350
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Although 1977 was the year of punk it's doubtful whether this album was a reaction to it. Having said that, News of the world, is still Queen's most stripped back and one of the most hardest rocking albums of their career. Still, the album does kick off with two of their most bombastic yet celebrated songs. We will rock you, and, We are the champions, are Queen's ultimate stadium rock anthems, and perfect for the football arenas the band would soon be playing. There are other gems to be found here though. John Deacon's, Spread your wings, is superb, as is Roger Taylor's frantic, Sheer heart attack(originally written for the album of the same name). Elsewhere, aside from the two biggies, Freddie Mercury and Brian May contribute two other prime cuts with the sweaty funk of, Get down, make love, and the epic blues rocker, It's late, respectively. Other standouts include Taylor's, Fight from the inside, and the late night cocktail jazz of, My melancholy blues. All in all, News of the world, is one Queen's most consistent albums and also one of their best.
Favourite three tracks:Get down, make love; We are the champions; Spread your wings.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1977
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Rank Score:
1,816
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Queen's second album was a much more proggy affair, but is also a lot more coherent and much more even than it's predecessor. This record, had a white side and a black side. The white(side one), is dominated by Brian May. He writes all but one including the superb, Father to son, and the lovely, White queen(as it began), while Roger Taylor contributes the stomping heavy rocker, Loser in the end. The black side(side two) is Freddie Mercury's baby. It's a complex, slightly bonkers affair, which can be seen as one long medley. Among the tracks are the live favourite, Ogre battle, the epic, March of the black queen, and the brilliant, Seven seas of rhye, which was Queen's first top ten single in the U.K. Praise must also go to, the fairy feller's master-stroke, based on the painting of the same name by Richard Dadd, and the summery, Funny how love is, possibly influenced by the Beach boys version of, I can hear music(a song that Queen minus Deacon had previously recorded under the name of Larry Lurex). Queen 2, is now regarded as one of the band's best albums and if you're looking for a more proggy, a more darker, less commercial Queen, then this is the place to go.
Favourite three tracks:Father to son; White queen; Seven seas of rhye.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1974
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Rank Score:
2,680
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1980 not only heralded in a new decade but a new era as far as Queen were concerned. For the first time in their career the band adopted the 'dreaded' synthesizer, an instrument they had made great pains about wanting to avoid. Here, it is the first sound you hear on the album. In truth though it doesn't dominate the sound as it would do on Queen's next proper studio album, Hot space, in fact, aside from a few tracks, guitar and piano are still king here. Amazingly, The game, was preceded by no less than three singles. Freddie Mercury's brilliant rock'n'roll pastiche, Crazy little thing called love (Queen's first number one U.S. single), Brian May's beautiful power ballad, Save me, and the excellent, Play the game(the video featuring Freddie with his new handlebar moustache for the first time). But the most significant single release from the album was John Deacon's superb funk classic, Another one bites the dust. It sees Queen in brand new territory, it was played on black radio stations and after having being released as a '45 at the urging of Michael Jackson it became Queen's second single to sit at the top of the American charts. There was also some decent album tracks on, The game, including Roger Taylor's sci-fi rockabilly of, Rock it(prime jive), Deacon's slick AOR of, Need your loving tonight, and May's lovely duet with Mercury, Sail away sweet sister. The game, sees Queen at the height of their worldwide popularity, especially in America (they would never be this big again in the states), and it is also one of their most consistent albums in terms of overall quality.
Favourite three tracks:Another one bites the dust; Play the game; Save me.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1980
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Rank Score:
1,616
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A day at the races, Queen's fifth album, is in a lot of ways a companion piece to it's predecessor, A night at the opera. It's of course named after another Marx brother movie and the album sleeve is a 'black' version of the 'opera' cover. As for the music, there are similarities there too. There's another Freddie Mercury vaudeville piece with, Good old fashioned lover boy(this one though is superior to 'opera's, Lazing on a Sunday afternoon), there's another sci-fi Brian May number with the lovely, Long away, John Deacon contributes another sweet pop song in, You and I, but it's nowhere near as brilliant as, You're my best friend, and Roger Taylor has a lead vocal on his own composition, the underrated, Drowse. There's another beautiful ballad from Mercury in the gorgeous, You take my breath away, although the two standouts on 'races' are May's superb rocker, Tie your mother down, and Freddie's absolutely brilliant, Somebody to love, a superb gospel/rock track with excellent harmonies. A day at the races, is a slightly more slicker album than it's twin, but after all the comparisons, opera, still stands out as the better of the two.
Favourite three tracks:Somebody to love; Tie your mother down; Drowse.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1976
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Rank Score:
1,873
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After the critical and commercial disappointment of the, Hot space, album, Queen decided that, The works, was to be a relatively back to basics affair. Brian May who played a peripheral role on the last LP is much more prominent here as his guitar. Having said that, preceding single and the opening track on the album is a synth heavy track, but it's also one of the best on the record. Radio ga ga, is a Queen classic. Written by Roger Taylor, it's big and anthemic, and it would become, alongside, We are the champions, Queen's greatest stadium rock moment. Other highlights on the album are Freddie Mercury's, It's a hard life, May's, Hammer to fall, and John Deacon's, I want to break free, although the version here is completely inferior to the single version which adds the superb intro and keyboard solo. The best of the rest is the lovely Mercury/May co-write, the intimate, Is this the world we created?, and May's party track, Tear it up. The Works, was a major success in the U.K. and Europe, but in the U.S.A Queen's commercial heights of the early eighties would plummet to an all time low around the time of this album, partly due to American audiences negative reactions to the cross dressing video to, I want to break free. Queen would never be big again in the states in Freddie Mercury's lifetime. Still, as far as the album goes, it's immensely enjoyable and it set Queen up perfectly for their show stealing moment at Live Aid the following year.
Favourite three tracks:Radio ga ga; It's a hard life; Hammer to fall.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1984
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Rank Score:
1,101
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Jazz, is Queen's ultimate party album. It's full of all the flamboyant hedonism associated with the band(well, at least one of them) at this time. It really is a hoot from start to finish epitomized by one of the greatest party anthems of all time in the breathlessly brilliant, Don't stop me now. Other highlights include the double-A-side single of, Fat bottomed girls, and, Bicycle race, two of Queen's most uniquely bizarre numbers, there's Freddie Mercury's contributions, the odd but superb, Mustapha, and the gorgeous ballad, Jealousy, featuring some lovely backing vocals. Brian May's unassuming and underrated solo spot, Leaving home ain't easy, is an often overlooked gem and John Deacon's slight but enjoyable, If you can't beat them, is another fun cut. The quality slightly dips for the second side but, Dead on time, and, In only seven days, are decent enough album tracks. All in all, Jazz, is a little inconsistent despite all the fun and games and it's certainly uneven even by Queen standards but there also isn't a more openly enjoyable one. Party on!
Favourite three tracks:Fat bottomed girls; Don't stop me now; Bicycle race.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1978
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Rank Score:
1,121
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Queen get their career of to a competent, if unspectacular start. The Hendrix, Zeppelin and Cream influences are on full show although there are hints of what's to come, especially in the wonderful harmonies but mainly it's heavy rock with a touch of prog. Some fine songs in, Keep yourself alive, Liar, and, The night comes down, and although the best is certainly yet to come there are many moments to enjoy. Other highlights include, Great King rat, Doing all right, and, Son and daughter. Roger Taylor does his best Robert Plant impression on the, Communication breakdown, copy, Modern times rock'n'roll, and if there are any weak tracks it's the biblical rocker, Jesus, and a short instrumental of the intro to what would eventually become, Seven seas of rhye, on the next album. A good start then, full of potential, but just slightly short on an identity of their own, although the signs are there, and all in all, very enjoyable.
Favourite three tracks:Keep yourself alive; Liar; The night comes down.
[First added to this chart: 07/16/2016]
Year of Release:
1973
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Rank Score:
700
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