THE WORKS

A huge step in the right direction!!!!! For this release the band decided to leave the disco and the rockabilly alone and do what they do best, hard rock and melodic balladry! At most times, the hard rock on this disc is slightly diluted (listen to something from Queen or Queen II and see what mean) but nowhere near shabby. Although the band was still deeply rooted in poppier matieral (Radio Ga Ga, I Want To Break Free, Keep Passing The Open Windows) there are enough rock moments on here to call some of the older fans back.

"Tear It Up" is certainly one of these heavier tracks, and it remained in Queen's setlist until their final concerts in 1986. "Hammer To Fall" is possibly one of Queen's best rock tracks EVER!! The album mix is much better than the mixes that showed up on several of Queen's compilations over the years! For a real treat, track down the Hammer To Fall Headbanger's Mix!! I doubt if it was ever released on CD, but if you can find it on vinyl it's well worth it: it's heavier folks, with added guitar fills and much heavier drumming!!!!! This is still played live today, although updated, it is even better now than before.

Now, you also have several other album tracks that are just wonderful, including the mechanized rock sound of "Machines (or Back To Humans)" and the Freddie ballad "It's A Hard Life." The one ommission from the original vinyl releases was the wonderful B-side "I Go Crazy." It was added to the CD remaster in 1991 and proves that if this made the album it could have been the best track there...certainly the heaviest track Queen had done for some time!!

One note on the extended mixes which appear on the CD!! There are dozens of these, some which made the remasters and some which did not. There is usually nothing good about these 12" mixes and they were generally mixed for a dance audience. Although there are a few great extended mixes out there, Hollywood Records failed to add them to the remasters. Today, most can only be found on the original 12" vinyl singles.

Anyway, this is the beginning of modern Queen and it was a step in the right direction after the monstrous "Flash Gordon / Hot Space" nonsense. If you can tolerate a more pop / rock sound than give it try.