Favourite Queen Album

Yes!!!

This is what I think in general (part 1).

Queen (1973). It somehow sounds a bit like a demo, probably because they didn't have as much studio time as with their subsequent works. The trademark layers of guitars and vocal harmonies are missing, or just more basic. Also, the songwriting is a bit mixed, and some songs lack a clear melodic focus ("Jesus", "Modern Times Rock'n Roll", and the otherwise much praised, but in my estimation rather overrated "Keep Yourself Alive"). One could say that the album has an aura of spontanity about it which the later, more elaborate productions are missing. In any case, the basic elements are there, the musicianship is excellent, and you can hear right away what band it is. No other guitarist truly sounds like Brian May. And of course Freddie's vocals are superb as always, but he somehow sounds a bit cautious to me, maybe because the melodies tend to have a smaller range, or because he is still in the process of fiding his sound. In any case it's an enjoyable listen with many good ideas. Favourite tracks: "Doing Alright", "Great King Rat", "Liar".

Actually I'm in the camp that it's so bad it's good and for once I really enjoyed Queen's musical soundtrack for the film which is so campy it suits the style of the film. Why they got a football player to star as lead is a mystery to me. He is so bad.

And there's "Life Is Real" - the greatest ballad of those based on the minimalist riff. 

 

There's nothing worse than a bad rap.

Queen II. Their proggiest album, so it's no surprise many have it as their favourite here. Personally I do like it a lot, but I think they have made much more accomplished albums. The album is a giant leap forward in terms of production, and we get the trademark Queen elements such as the layered guitar parts, vocal harmonies, creative stereo pan, and so on. But at timees I feel the music has a bit too many ideas for its own good ("The March of the Black Queen" is probably the best example here), also it sometimes sounds like they haven't entirely matured as songwriters yet. I think they reached a better balance between complex production and compositional craftmanship on A Night at the Opera.

Many songs on Queen II are however considerably stronger than those on Queen. "Some Day One Day" is a great folkish song, Roger Tayor's "The Loser in the End" is a big improvement from "Modern Times Rock'n Roll", "The Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke" is probably Mercury's best song on the album - very strong composition - and "Funny How Love Is" shows them from a more poppy side with its harmonic and melodic sequencing. Lyrically I can't really relate to the fantasy universe. I don't know what to do with white and black queens, ogres and fairies, so on Queen II the music is clearly the main attraction for me.