GREATEST HITS II

since the 80's was not such a good decade for Queen's discoraphy, consequently, a collection from their work of this period is a mediocre one... the selection is good but the songs themselves are not that much... this is the pop side of the band, sth that disappointed many fans, including me... thanx to 'Under Pressure' - which is a David Bowie release - 'I Want It All' and 'Show Must Go On', this collection deserves a second star...

In 1981, "Greatest Hits" covered first decade of QUEEN's career. The songs chosen for compilation were all hits, not necessary band's highest-quality songs. In 1991 "Greatest Hits II" hit the market, and this time the terms "best" or "hit" became one. Simply because the second decade of Queen's career was not on the same level as the first one. The selection is quite good, from all the albums 3 or 4 tracks are picked (except from the weakest "Hot Space"), and if you are unfamiliar with the Queen's not-so-early-works and want to check them out, but don't want to dig through the albums, this compilation is just fine. You will miss one, two or three proggier tracks that Queen did in the 80s, but essential work is here: ballads, anthems, rock tunes and prog masterpiece - Innuendo.

Almost all the tracks are slightly different from their album version, most of them are single versions, and "I'm Going Slightly Mad" and "Who Wants To Live Forever" are slightly edited.

Two weakest tracks in this selection are "Headlong" and "The Invisible Man" (although both gained high chart positions, "Headlong" #14 in 1991, and "The Invisible Man" #12 in 1989). However, it's obvious that compilation was made for earning extra money, and expecting high-quality (progressive), non-charting tracks (like "Machines" or "Chinese Torture") would be too much. Anyway, I'm glad that awful hit "Body Language" (#25 in 1982) is not included.

Conclusion: "Greatest Hits II" is better representation of the corresponding decade than it's predecessor. The problem is, if you decide to give QUEEN a go, you will realise that essence of each album has been stolen by this huge, luxury, double LP.

I will always recommend albums rather than compilations, and this one is okay if you are willing just to lurk into the 80's and perhaps place it next to the early Queen's masterpieces.

Like I did on the first greatest hits collection I will review this song by song with ratings. Reasons see GH 1.

1. A kind of magic: 2,5 stars

2. Under pressure: 2,75 stars

3. Radio ga ga: 2,75 stars

4. I want it all: 4,5 stars

5. I want to break free: 2,25 stars

6. Innuendo: 4,25 stars

7. It's a hard life: 3 stars

8. Breakthru: 3,5 stars

9. Who wants to live forever: 4 stars

10. Headlong: 3,25 stars

11. The miracle: 3 stars

12. I'm going slightly mad: 2,75 stars

13. Invisible man: 2,75 stars

14. Hammer to fall: 4,5 stars

15. Friends will be friends: 3,75 stars

16. Show must go on: 4,25 stars

17. One vision: 4,25 stars

So that makes GH 2 a far better compiliation than GH 1. Even though that will not be noticeable in the rounded off ratingresult. Because this appears to be a 3,4 rounded down to 3 also. Special note: though maybe not the best, the 9th and 16th song are most impressive lyricwise and probably also in historical and emotional way. For obvious reasons I think. Overall conclusion about the two major collections: I like Queen best when they play the rougher songs, I think they would have made a great (hard)rockband. But as we know Queen chose a different path and it has proved to be the wise one (at least commercially).

There are a few good songs scattered here and there throughout this compilation, but overall it shows a very commercialised approach to music. 'Hammer to Fall' is top quality rock and 'Under Pressure' and 'Radio Ga Ga' are true classics, but the rest just fails to impress. There is an element of fun present of course, but very little top quality music.

Queen's pop sound.

An inconsistent compilation following on from the excellent "Greatest Hits" from 1981. This time the tracks are embedded in the 80s and suffer as a result as Queen goes synth pop. There are some catchy singles that dominated the radio admittedly that I have time for such as infectious 'A Kind Of Magic', the wonderful 'Under Pressure' with Bowie, blockbuster 'I Want It All', and the masterfully produced 'One Vision', all classic tracks that epitomised the new Queen sound.

However my heart is entrenched in the prog sound of Queen and it does not get better here than with the awesome 'Innuendo'. This is the greatest song here and may even be in the top 3 all time great Queen songs. It is well while grabbing this to hear the song if you do not own the album "Innuendo".

Other highlights are 'Hammer to Fall', the best thing on "The Works" and 'The Show Must Go On'. Other tracks tend to blend together and are dull to my ears though cleverly produced and mixed. The manufactured pop of 'Radio Ga Ga', and 'I Want To Break Free' is a stale taste but there is enough on offer on the album to maintain interest such as 'Breakthru', 'The Miracle', and 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' with Mercury at his most theatrical.

Overall this is a good compilation with some excellent material from the later Queen years.