Queen: Greatest Hits II
The second in the series of Queen's Greatest Hits covers material from four albums from 1984 to 1991 - The Works, A Kind Of Magic, The Miracle, Innuendo and the David Bowie collaboration from 1981, Under Pressure. It very much showcases the "Queen Phase Two" years that gained the group a whole new, mainly post-Live Aid, audience.
The stadium-friendly groove of A Kind Of Magic (another fine Roger Taylor song - incredibly) is pretty impossible to dislike. It has a warm, deep and innately melodious bassline and beat and is accompanied by some fetching Brian May guitar interjections. It sounds great in its latest remastered format - as bassy and full as anything Queen did. I love Freddie's playful "a-ha-ha - it's magic!" little bit halfway through too.
Under Pressure, the studio-doctored duet with David Bowie - and also a huge number one hit - is here. It is incredibly infectious and I never tire of it. is there anyone who doesn't appreciate John Deacon's now iconic bassline? a few, maybe, but not many.
After writing some distinctly ropey songs for Queen, Roger Taylor came up with one of his finest compositions for Queen - the synth riff and synchronised handclap dominated perfect pop single, Radio Ga Ga, which melodically railed against the old enemy - the radio. Elvis Costello and The Clash had done so in the new wave years too. It tore up Wembley Stadium at Live Aid as the crowd clapped in visually breathtaking unison.
I Want It All was one of Queen's heaviest, chunky rockers, augmented after its first heavy burst by some attractive and melodic acoustic parts. It has a huge, stadium rock-friendly, fist-pumping chorus. It bristles with Queen power. This is how they should always have been. Check out the über-heavy drum and guitar freakout after about two and a half minutes. Great stuff. Let your speakers shake!
I Want To Break Free was one of bassist John Deacon's best ever Queen songs. Assisted by a now iconic video featuring the band members in full drag and doing the hoovering and ironing, it is perfect in every way. Another excellent and extremely quirky guitar solo is present along with an impressive, gritty Mercury vocal. Everyone knows this song now. It is on mainstream "hits" radio all the time. Probably quite rightly.
Innuendo is a lengthy, inventive, almost "prog-rock" in places number, with some excellent heavy bits plus a flamenco guitar part played by Yes's Steve Howe. There are also some bombastic, operatic parts. It is a song that changes mood and vibe many times throughout its nearly seven minutes. It is a superb piece of work, one of the band's last true classics. There are hints of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir in it, for me.
It's A Hard Life was a classic Mercury rock ballad with an addictive hook, as always. From a tuneful piano-led intro it breaks out into a big powerful pop-rock ballad. Its muscular riffs are as mightily notable as Freddie's vocal is contrastingly gentle and just as memorable in places. I loved it in concert sometimes when Freddie would sing "it's a bloody hard life!" in that distinctive way of his. Oh, and there's a stonking May guitar solo mid-song.
Breakthru is a fun, breathless romp when it eventually kicks in. It is another piece of dance/rock fusion and it works superbly. I love all these tracks. All of a sudden Roger Taylor started writing consistently good songs, didn't he? (Although this one was actually a collaboration with Mercury).
The plaintive Who Wants To Live Forever is heartbreakingly moving, of course, and would prove to be even more so five years later. When it breaks out into its huge rock and choral denouement it is thoroughly magnificent.
Headlong is, as its title suggests, a breathless number. It is one May had written for himself but, upon hearing Mercury sing it, decided it was better as a Queen song. It is one of their finest later-era rockers. It is simultaneously heavy and poppy.
The melodic, Mercury vocal-dominated, inventive and grandiose The Miracle is one that features some typical Brian May guitar (not all Queen songs by now did). It is one of Queen's most beautifully-orchestrated songs, featuring some lovely plucked strings and sweeping passages too. Lyrically, it is hopeful and positive. A fine song. I love the bass, guitar and drum bit at the end too.
I'm Going Slightly Mad is an intoxicating, atmospheric Mercury song. It is a camp-ish, rather amusing typical Mercury ditty. Given the circumstances of the time, though, it always sounds very poignant to me. It has some excellent Brian May guitar in it, too (now there's a surprise).
Roger Taylor's The Invisible Man is a stonking slab of Queen rock, with all four members name-checked as they solo powerfully. Despite its dance-ish rhythm it is infectious and rocks seriously at times. Well, actually, it is in its dance rhythm that its appeal lies - merged perfectly with rock. As I said earlier, Roger was coming up with some great songs in this period. That rumbling bassline is just awesome.
Now, thank the Lord above - Queen in their purest rock form, my favourite persona of the band, are back, and how! A powerful Brian May riff introduces the tour de force of rock that is Hammer To Fall. Mercury's vocal is peerless and a year later the band would storm Live Aid with this. Queen at their very best, in my view. I can never get enough of the song.
An appealing number is the anthemic, grandiose and powerful Friends Will Be Friends. This is the track that harks back to Queen's late seventies material more than any from its period or indeed its A Kind Of Magic album, just check out Brian's regal guitar solo.
The Show Must Go On is a bombastic stadium-pleaser to end the album. It has actually never been one of my favourites, although I can understand its appeal. It is a bit too melodramatic for my liking. Mind you, get a load of Brian's guitar at the song's climax.
One Vision, written about Bob Geldof, is simply one of my favourite riffy Queen rockers of all time. When Brian May launches into it - wow. Love it to death.
