HOT SPACE

Okay, even as one of those die-hard Queen fans, I will not try to fool anyone into believing this is a great album. If we take out the "Flash Gordon" soundtrack, which I certainly am, this is the worst album of the band's career. That's not to say it doesn't have its moments!!

Some people call Queen sellouts for recording this album! Why? This is basically a funk / disco album and by 1982 discso was already dying a horrible death...thank God for small favors. This wasn't a sellout, it just wasn't very good...enough said.

As I said, this album isn't a total loss, with some heavier tracks like "Action This Day" and "Put Out The Fire" and the wonderful ballad-type tune "Las Palabras De Amor." Queen played almost all of the songs from this album in their live show, and these version are so much better, as the album horns and synth are gone, leaving the band with only the rock music left over. Go check out "Live At The Bowl" to hear some of these tunes live...not bad songs at all...just not good album tracks.

I should mention "Under Pressure" I suppose but I'm just tired of it. Sure, it is one of the album's better tracks, but it was also recorded and released in 1981 and the funk vibe hadn't yet run rampant in the Queen studio. This song was a hit even before "Hot Space" had a name!!!

I compare this to Genesis' "Abacab" and Yes' "Big Generator." There's a few songs that save face and the rest needs to be ignored. This is not an album for a casual Queen fan - so unless you are one of those people who will love it because of the brand name, leave it alone.

Hell, even the two main tracks on "Flash Gordon" are much better: "Flash" and "The Hero." Yes, I love this band...I will mark this release up to a tragic mistake...let's move on!