Greatest Hits Vol.1 - Queen

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Standard
Quality and consistency of tracks	A couple of weak links
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Well, its Queen, and their Greatest hits are on it .  .
Disadvantages:	Their worst track is also on it, taking a valueable space .

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

----Writers Notice----
First of all, obviously, I do not have ANY copyright or official proof on ANYTHING about Queen or any of the members, I am not responsible for what they say, and I am NOT taking responsibility for what I decide to quote or decide to leave out. Any details given not directly related to the CD are to inform you about the artist, and to add to your understanding.

----Terms----
DFL & AFL - Even though Queen is not a 1 man band, Freddie Mercury, the lead vocalist was obviously the most important person from this band, and that is why I talk about DFL (during Freddie's life) & AFL (after Freddie's life)

Swell - Speaks for itself I would say, when music swells, or guitar swells, drum swells, or anything else swells, it just means that it is gradually taking a more prominent position in the overall sound.

Backing … - Backing vocals, backing guitar, backing bass, in general it means that it adds to the music, and the music would sound bad without it, but it is not the prominent part of the music. For example, backing vocals can give a much prettier sound, but it's the main vocals you will hear doing the screaming, stretching tones and it's the backing vocals you will probably just hear repeat the text, or sing other text, but you hardly ever hear backing vocals do things with their voices that the main vocals will.

----Band Members History----
I am aware that Queen existed of more than 2 members, but I do not consider them to be a big influence, even though the drummer wrote their biggest hit 'Another One Bites The Dust'

--Freddie Mercury
--Brian May

-Freddie Mercury- (Singer)
Farrokh Bulsara, as Freddie was called when he was born in Zanzibar on the 5th of September 1946 studied in Bombay, and was excellent at cricket, field hockey, table tennis and boxing. Especially since he was left handed he could give a nasty punch while boxing. In college he started with his first band, called 'The Hectics' for who he played piano. He decided to go with the name Freddie there as well, living in India with his grandmother and aunt. When he returned to Zanzibar his stay was cut short, because he had to flee the country in 1964 (he was 17 then) because revolution kicked in. Clear sign of his geniousity was when he just started to go to college, and eventually finished with a Diploma in Art and Graphic Design. After being in 2 failed bands he joined up with Brian May and Roger Taylor. Even though the band was not that sure, Freddie chose the name 'Queen' for the band. He changed his name legally then.

He wrote ten out of the seventeen songs on this album: "Seven Seas of Rhye", "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "Somebody to Love", "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", "We Are the Champions", "Bicycle Race", "Don't Stop Me Now", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Play the Game". Throughout his life he was great, getting respect from everyone because of his awesome voice, with a huge vocal spread. However, as somehow always the cause for great artists, they never die a 'normal death' ( Think of Elvis, Kurt Cobain, John Lennon ). This was also the case for Freddie. He was diagnosed with HIV in May '87, which quickly leaked. Denying the whole thing, he got severely stalked by rumour seeking magazines. On the 22nd of November 1991 he called over the manager of their band, Jim Beach. On the 23rd of November this public statement was made:

'Following the enormous conjecture in the press over the last two weeks, I wish to confirm that I have been tested HIV positive and have AIDS. I felt it correct to keep this information private to date to protect the privacy of those around me. However, the time has come now for my friends and fans around the world to know the truth and I hope that everyone will join with my doctors and all those worldwide in the fight against this terrible disease. My privacy has always been very special to me and I am famous for my lack of interviews. Please understand this policy will continue.'

About 26 hours later he died, cause of death: bronchial pneumonia resulting from AIDS. Singers Elton John, David Bowie, and the remaining members of Queen attended the funeral. The Greatest Hits album, this one got produced in 1994, so Freddie was not there to see his legacy, selling over 300 million copies. A tribute concert, which took place at Wembley Stadium for an audience of 72,000, featured a wide variety of guests including Elton John, Metallica, David Bowie, Annie Lennox, Guns N' Roses, Elizabeth Taylor, George Michael, Def Leppard and Liza Minnelli. The concert was broadcast live to 76 countries and had an estimated viewing audience of 1 billion people. That means 1 out of 5.4 people was watching, and then I am including the people that did not know him, did not have television or did not live in a country where it was broadcasted, safe to say that 25% of the people that could watch it did so.

-Brian May- (Lead Guitar)
Brian Harold May, who was born on the 19th of July 1947 in Hampton, was and to my EXTREME annoyance still is the lead guitarist of Queen. He went to Hampton school, where he finished with 10 GCE 0 levels, and he achieved 4 four A Levels in Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics and Additional Mathematics. Not the kind of person you would expect to make music right? Since his father died of smoking, he does not smoke and strongly dislikes it. During the recording sessions of the Queen album The Miracle, he was splitting up with his wife Chrissy, his father died, and the news of Freddie Mercury's illness cut in deep. He has 3 children ( Jimmy, aged 29/30, Louisa, aged 26/27 and Emily Ruth aged 20/21 ) He used to be a geek, but he left that when Queen became popular, only to pick it back up in October 2007. He completed his Ph.D. thesis, entitled A Survey of Radial Velocities in the Zodiacal Dust Cloud. Once again, how did this guy become a musician? In 2004, he announced that he and drummer Roger Taylor were going on tour for the first time in 18 years as "Queen", along with Free/Bad Company vocalist Paul Rodgers.

No matter how genius this guy is, I am seriously ticked off that he went on with someone else, like ANYONE can replace Freddie? Go play outside Brian... Most of May's guitar work was done on the homemade Red Special. However, he has used a lot of different electric guitars, including a Burns Double Six, a Gibson Les Paul, a Gibson Flying V, a Fender Telecaster, an Ibanez JS, a Tōkai Hummingbird Acoustic and a Parker Fly. He also presented and played in the 'Guitar Legends' concert, featuring himself, Joe Satriani (AKA God) Steve Vai (AKA fellow God) and more.

----Discography----

-DFL
Queen (1973)
Queen II (1974)
Sheer Heart Attack (1974)
A Night at the Opera (1975)
A Day at the Races (1976)
News of the World (1977)
Jazz (1978)
Live Killers (1979)
The Game (1980)
Flash Gordon (1980)
Greatest Hits (1981) ~ that's this one.
Hot Space (1981)
The Works (1984)
A Kind of Magic (1986)
Live Magic (1986)
Barcelona - (1988)
The Miracle (1989)
Innuendo (1991)

-AFL
Greatest Hits II - 1991
Live At Wembley '86 - 1992
Freddie Mercury (Solo Album) - 1992
Back to the Light - 1992
Classic Queen - 1992
5 Live EP - 1993
Live At the Brixton Academy - 1994
Made In Heaven - 1995
Queen - At the BBC - 1995
Queen Rocks - 1997
The Crown Jewels - 1998
Another World - 1998
Queen Greatest Hits III - 1999
Freddie Mercury Solo Collection
1973-2000 - 2002
Queen on Fire - Live At the Bowl - 2004
The Platinum Collection - 2004
Return of the Champions - 2005
The Very Best of Freddie Mercury - 2006
Stone Cold Classics - 2006

----Intro----
As you can see, Queen has been quite busy, and there has been a lot of resampling old tracks, to compose albums without Freddie. HOWEVER, They really made me angry when they continued without Freddie, should have respect enough to let it rest, its not like selling 300 million copies and being in the charts for 10 years and 9 weeks in a row with this album did not earn you enough right? But yeah, this is a compilation of their greatest hits, as they put it, since all of the tracks have been in the top 10, but to me all their songs are worthy of being on this CD. The album is from 1981, so yes, all the tracks are between 27 and 35 years old. Behind every title of a track it says who wrote it.

----Tracks----
1 ~ 'Bohemian Rhapsody' ~ Length: 5:58 ~ Mercury
Really calm original intro to a CD, it's a multi voice intro, After a minute you have the piano and only Freddie's vocals, and boy is it enjoyable. Great start, and its just a genius written song, and when the drum comes in gently, you know the guitar can't be far away, the riff at 2:45 proves that. At 3 minutes the track changes drasticly, hardly describeable how this goes, basicly a very cool way of playing with the singing and text. You feel a outburst coming, and boy are you right. At 4:15ish you get a great break out, and Freddie starts singing again, freaking treat to the ear. The guitar is being used well, the entire track is pretty perfectly worked out and performed, this CD starts of well.
Rating: 9/10

2 ~ 'Another One Bites the Dust' ~ Length: 3:37 ~ Deacon
Really special intro, can't really describe it. They use a synthesizer I think. The backing sound becomes quite repeatative, but it does not matter with the vocals, giving me goosebumps. The guitar is used very subtle, but at the right times, and they experiment with a soundmachine, but that's okay. However, it sounds like they are stopping the song at 2:15, and then you get such great singing you forgive them for using the same sound in the background 90 times.
Rating: 7/10

3 ~ 'Killer Queen' ~ Length: 3:02 ~ Mercury
Such weird lyrics, 'Dynamite with a laser beam', but the entire track is weird, but at least you are not seeing the video they directed for this song. The music is good, and the guitar from 1:25 to 2:00 makes me dance, seriously so great. At 2.25 you have heard all the text 3 times already, but it does not matter, this song is another example why this CD is so great to listen in the car.
Rating: 7/10

4 ~ 'Fat Bottomed Girls' ~ Length: 3:25 ~ May
Probably one of their weirder songs, but its great. The vocals are great, the lyrics are fun to sing along, the music is great, and the way they work together are great. Its repetitive without being annoying, which I find impressive, another track perfect for singing in the car. Yes you will look like a goof.
Rating: 8/10

5 ~ 'Bicycle Race' ~ Length: 3:04 ~ Mercury
Never heard anyone so serious about his bike..
The lyrics are funny, and you hear a lot of different sides every time you listen to it. The singing and way its performed is great, but even though the text is weird, this song truly is a genius performed thing. The Bicycle bell solo is weird, but it fits right. The verse following on that is so much fun, and the forceful way they sing the song with is great, you can feel that he really wants to ride his bicycle.
Rating: 9/10

6 ~ 'You're My Best Friend' ~ Length: 2:52 ~ Deacon
Repetitive yet very enjoyable, the lyrics, the singing, the combination, the drums, the guitars, I can not really say that much about this song, its just really great, and the guitar outbreak at 2:07 is really enjoyable. Not their best track, but it is a really good one.
Rating: 7/10

7 ~ 'Don't Stop Me Now' ~ Length: 3:32 ~ Mercury
Singing intro, so enjoyable, slight piano backup, after about 32 seconds the song changes extremely, in a good way. The lyrics are fun, the singing is perfect like always, Freddie's voice is just so extremely good. And when at 2 minutes the drums swell, and the solo at 2:15 really makes you feel bubbly, or at least I felt bubbly. The song feels longer, but its not. The outro is really enjoyable as well.

'Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go go go there's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky yea
Two hundred degrees that's why they call me Mr. Fahrenheit
I'm travelling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you'

Rating: 8/10

8 ~ 'Save Me' ~ Length: 3:49 ~ May
Pure perfection, I can't say anything else really, every aspect of this song is awesome, and in the right place, just pure awesomeness.
Rating: 10/10

9 ~ 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' ~ Length: 2:44 ~ Mercury
Find it to sound reasonably un-Queen if that makes sense… The music flows, Freddie is again singing like only he can. May is really great with the guitar ( Directed by Mercury, shows how great May is with the guitar. )
The instruments and the singing seem to be doing a duet, really funny to hear them sing a little and then hear the guitar 'sing'
Rating: 7/10

10 ~ 'Somebody to Love' ~ Length: : ~ Mercury
Same as track 8… Pure perfection, I can't say anything else really, every aspect of this song is awesome, and in the right place, just pure awesomeness.
Rating: 10/10

11 ~ 'Now I'm Here' ~ Length: 4:15 ~ May
Sung intro with backing guitarplucking, I like the way this is done. At 40 seconds you get more vocals, the song really gets started at 55 seconds. Funny thing is that the music seems quite like Ozzy Osbourne at times. But then the vocals are so much better there is no way you can be confused for long. The lyrics don't really do much to me, but the vocals, instruments and teamwork do make this a worthy track.
Rating: 8/10

12 ~ 'Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy' ~ Length: 2:56 ~ Mercury
Calm intro, again great vocals on the piano, but that gets replaced for singing of 3 voices, with as main voice Freddie. I like the lyrics of this track, and how they are sung. The music is calm, and stays calm, but it does not really annoy you or feel calm, and with the guitar gently in the back, and the interactive solo at 1:55 (He makes it sound like 2 guitars are talking to each other)

'When I'm not with you
I think of you always
(I miss those long hot summer nights)
I miss you
When I'm not with you
Think of me always
Love you - love you

Hey boy where do you get it from
Hey boy where did you go ?
I learned my passion in the good old
Fashioned school of loverboys'

Official notice, there is NO good old Fashioned School of loverboys.
Rating: 8/10

13 ~ 'Play the Game' ~ Length: 3:33 ~ Mercury
Experimental Intro, and then all of a sudden, just for a part of a second dead silence, and then the singing starts, with a gentle piano and guitar. Annoying though is that his vocals are freaking great, and then they feel they have to back up Freddie, pretty much leeching of the awesomeness. Around 2 minutes the track becomes quite experimental again, and is quite rough around 2:15, solo at 2:30, really enjoyable. The vocals are great, the music is great, drums, synthesizer, guitar, teamwork, and most of all… The lyrics are so awesome, I love them, another track great to listen in the car.

'When you're feelin' down and your resistance is low
Light another cigarette and let yourself go
This is your life
Don't play hard to get
It's a free world
All you have to do is fall in love
Play the game everybody play the game of love

My game of love has just begun
Love runs from my head down to my toes
My love is pumping through my veins (play the game)
Driving me insane
Come come come come play the game play the game play
the game play the game'

Rating: 9/10

14 ~ 'Flash' ~ Length: 2:48 ~ May
I know this is for a movie and all, but for some reason about every second of this track annoys me. Sure it fits great in the movie, outside the movie it fits great in the trashcan.. Really should have a other track to take this tracks place, honestly.
Rating: 2/10

15 ~ 'Seven Seas of Rhye' ~ Length: 2:51 ~ Mercury
Really happy piano intro, with a little bit of May's special guitars sounds. The singing is happy too, I love how everything works together. Sometimes the vocals and guitar go really high. Sounds like a commercial/program intro music. The part they don't sing, pretty sure I heard it in a commercial, I really like this track, mainly because it is for once NOT repetitive at all, pleasure to the ear, good for car drives.
Rating: 8/10

16 ~ 'We Will Rock You' ~ Length: 2:03 ~ May
Well, even though this is these days one of the most used songs, boy do I dislike it. The chorus is repetitive, the backing vocals are not impressive at all, the singing is not impressive, and the 'knock knock clap' that is being repeated like every second (123 times) is obviously repetitive.. Please don't snap my neck for this, but I really find this Queens most worthless song, low quality, lack of inspiration and the only reason I put it on is to see HOW repetitive it was again.. Waste of my 123 seconds..
Rating: 0/10

17 ~ 'We Are the Champions' ~ Length: 3:01 ~ Mercury
Calm! Intro, Freddie is singing awesome like always, really gentle piano, until 25 seconds, where he starts with the well-known and overquoted sentences: 'We are the champions, no time for losers, because we are the champions of the world' Just like track 16, way too commercialized for my taste, but hey. The music is good though, the vocals rock, it fits really well together, basically everything around the chorus rocks, I like everything about this song except for the chorus.
Rating: 7/10

----Album Art----
Really nothing special, a picture of them, obviously old, not original at all, and it's the CD that is interesting, the cover really is nothing impressive. The logo of Queen however is a reason to cheer, really well made...BUT they did not freaking put it on there! All in all a 6.

----Rating----
17 tracks and 1 CD-case, so how many points out of 180 did it score?: 130.
That is a 7.2, mainly because 'Flash' and 'We Will Rock You'. But hey, I am alright with a 7.2, but it really is because of those 2 that the rating is so low. Still a great purchase I can recommend to everyone, but if you are the kind of person that likes 'We Will Rock You' I recommend you listen to something else, because the rest of the tracks are actually quality music.

----For Sale @4?----
@Amazon.co.uk 4 £6.98 BUT £8.44 including ordercosts
@Play.com 4 £10.99 WITH free delivery.

----Dedication----
I dedicate this review to Julie/Headcase 44. She is by far the biggest Queen fan I know, and one of the most awesome people I have met. Foster Ninja with a polka dot suit, like a real ninja, with a special flavour ;). PS, if ANYONE posts 'I bet I am a bigger fan', I am not here to argue, so please spare me, I don't do rededicating…