ABSOLUTE GREATEST

Every Christmas, there is a lot of compilation albums around. Most of them are rehashes of previous compilation albums and brings nothing new to the market. But they sell like hot cakes because they are inoffensive and good Christmas present ideas for people who have run out of ideas or simply want to give their loved ones inoffensive presents. A compilation album from Queen is a very good allround Christmas present. Both the receiver and the record company are pretty happy today. In particular the record company.

So this compilation album made it's way to my castle in the freezing fog among the giant haggises.

I got the CD version without the box and the book. This compilation album contains nothing new and nothing exciting. Which is fine by me. The music here is the teenybopper pop/ teenybopper hard rock anthem version of Queen. Noone of the progressive rock stuff they released is included. Or should we regard Bohemian Rhapsody as a prog rock masterpiece ? This song is now played to death and I have problems taking it seriously. But I guess is should be regarded as a progressive rock song. Anyway, it is closing this album and it is the best song here. Too many of the tracks is taken from their final Freddie Mercury's Queen albums. That means pop. The rest is teenybopper hard rock and rock anthems.

I have big problems making up my mind about Queen. Is it a teenybopper hard rock/rock anthem/pop band or a serious band ? Queen is the band I am having most problems with in PA family of bands. I am very fond of the Live Killers album which I think is by far their best "compilation" album and superior to this album. I am not so fond of the far too many compilation albums their record label have released since Freddie Mercury's untimely death. This compilation album is one of their worst albums although it contains their greatest hits (but where is Bicycle Ride ?). OK, end of rant.

This album is sadly a cash in on Freddie Mercury and Queen at Christmas time. It is a rehash of previous compilation albums and the songs here have little value to a proghead. The songs are still good, but nothing more. I cannot recommend this to anyone. But I am glad I got it to Christmas as a reference source.

2 stars