STONE COLD CLASSICS

This is yet another Queen compilation album. It contains a decent collection of their greatest hits, but the only reason to purchase this CD is if you are a newbie to Queen or a collector of all things Queen. It does contain two bonus live songs featuring Paul Rodgers singing two of his classic songs, which at least provides something different than what you might find on their other compilation albums, but these are taken from the live album Return of the Champions, so if you already have that than there is no reason to get this. As with any compilation album there are a number of other songs that could have been included (For prog fans, nothing was included from their first two albums). Personally, I am a Queen fan and I enjoy every one of the songs included on this compilation, but the only reason that I purchased this CD was because I found it in the used bin and thus it didn't cost all that much so I figured why not add it to the collection.

It is virtually impossible to be a newbie to Queen, because who hasn't heard We Will Rock You or We Are The Champions blaring from the loud speakers at any sporting event, as well as possibly hearing Another One Bites the Dust, which has gotten some play over the loud speakers as well. Bohemian Rhapsody is arguably their greatest song and of course was prominently featured in the male testosterone classic movie Wayne's World. I was actually first introduced to the track Stone Cold Crazy from a cover song done by Metallica, which just blew me away. Of course, I had to run out and find Queen's version as soon as possible after hearing Metallica's version. However, if these are the only songs that you might have heard from Queen, then this CD will also introduce you to some of their other pop song hits like Tie Your Mother Down, Fat Bottomed Girls, Crazy Little Thing Called Love (which has been featured on many movie soundtracks), Radio Ga Ga, The Show Must Go On, These Are The Days of Our Lives (a beautiful ballad), and I Want It All.

In conclusion, this is a good compilation for listening but is absolutely not necessary to own unless you are a collector of all things Queen. And for Newbies to Queen, I would search out their Greatest Hits I, II, and III, before purchasing this CD, but if this is what you find and it isn't too expensive, it will provide you with a good introduction to the band.

Review Nº 876

"Stone Cold Classics" is a compilation album of Queen that was released in 2006. It was made in conjunction with the broadcast of an episode of the U. S. television series American Idol, in which the contestants performed songs taken from Queen's catalogue. "Stone Cold Classics" has a decent selection of some of the greatest hits of Queen. Besides that, it has two bonus live songs too, "All Right Now" and "Feel Like Makin' Love" featuring Paul Rodgers singing them.

"Stone Cold Classics" has fourteen tracks. "Stone Cold Crazy" is from "Sheer Heart Attack". It's a heavy metal rock song with many and sudden musical changes and great guitar work. This is a great rock song. "Tie Your Mother Down" is from "A Day At The Races". It's a good hard rock guitar based oriented song, where Brian May shines. It was also a big success on the rock radios. "Fat Bottomed Girls" is from "Jazz". It's a good rock song based on an open tuning guitar riff based in blues and hard rock. It has also a great choral work. This is a great song with a slight country touch and excellent vocal harmonies. "Another One Bites The Dust" is from "The Game". It's an interesting song with a mix of styles, rock, funky and disco. It has a great bass line. This isn't one of my most favourite songs of them, but I like it very much. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is also from "The Game". It was written as a tribute to Elvis Presley. It's an interesting song that sounds different from the rest of "The Game". It sounds like a 50's rock song. This is a nice tribute song. "We Will Rock You" is from "News Of The World". We are in presence of a great rock song that soon became one of the best known and most popular songs of Queen. This is a very powerful short song that works very well as an introduction for "We Are The Champions". "We Are The Champions" is from "News Of The World". Like "We Will Rock You", it soon became as one of their most famous and popular songs. It also remains among rock's most recognizable anthems, even in our days. "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions" were issued together and became a worldwide top ten single. "Radio Ga Ga" is from "The Works". It's a protest song against the growing influence of the music videos on the record sales against the musical quality. This is an excellent song, probably the best song written by Roger Taylor for the band. "Bohemian Rhapsody" is from "A Night At The Opera". It's the most known and probably the best song made by Queen. It was released as a single and soon became a huge commercial success. It's perhaps the most progressive single of all time. It's incredible that such complex song may have been so successful, one of the greatest rock songs ever. "The Show Must Go On" is from "Innuendo". It's an extraordinary song full of drama and emotion. This is one of the most beautiful, dramatic, touching and emotional songs of Queen. It was the last song composed by Freddie Mercury. "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" is also from "Innuendo". This is a very emotional song. It represents one of the last farewells of Freddie Mercury. That is particularly noticed on the music of the video, when he whispers "I still love you" at the end of the song. "I Want It All" is from "The Miracle". This is a great rock song full of mood changes and some nice guitar solos. It's a kind of a classic Queen's hard rock song that satisfies almost all rock fans. The thirteenth track "All Right Now (Live With Paul Rodgers)" isn't a song made by Queen and it has never been released on any studio album of them. It's a rock single recorded by the English rock band Free and was released in 1970. It also originally appeared on the third studio album of Free called "Fire And Water" released also in 1970. Free was a band formed by Paul Rodgers in 1968 that was disbanded in 1973. This live version is a version recorded on Queen's live album and the DVD with the same name called "Return Of The Champions", both released in 2005. The fourteenth and last track "Feel Like Makin' Love (Live With Paul Rodgers)" isn't also a song made by Queen and also it has never been released on any studio albums of them. This is a rock single recorded by the English rock band Bad Company that was released in 1975. It also originally appeared on the second studio album by Bad Company called "Straight Shooter" released also in 1975. Bad Company was a band formed by Paul Rodgers in 1973 after Free was disbanded. This live version is also a version recorded on Queen's live album and the DVD "Return Of The Champions".

Conclusion: "Stone Cold Classics" is a good and honest compilation album of Queen. It has a set of some of the best hits from Queen from a friendly radio perspective. This isn't a strange thing if we think this compilation was made in conjunction with an American broadcast television to the series American Idol. So, "Stone Cold Classics" covers only songs from a straight commercial perspective. And seen by that point of view, it's good and complete with songs taken from many and of their studio works covering almost their entire musical career. However, if we see it in a progressive perspective, it has practically nothing real to offer, especially regarding the early more progressive albums by Queen. Finally, if we see it in a global perspective, we can say that "Stone Cold Classics" is a good compilation from the band.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)