Queen 1 - Queen > Reviews > Queen 1--A Landmark Debut

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Outstanding
Value for Money

Advantages:	Great debut album, set the tone for all their later work
Disadvantages:	Some people may not have understood it in 1973

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

Queen's 1973 debut album, Queen, was the first in a long line of successful albums that these innovative musicians produced. Listening to the tracks on this album reveal the formulas that this band would build upon to churn out good, solid rock 'n roll over what would turn out to be a twenty year career as a group. Queen took the glam rock motif that was in vogue at the time and applied formal musical training to it, creating lush chorale harmonies and beautiful guitar orchestrations. Classical musical instruments, such as the piano and the harp, were utilized by this band to create their own peculiar style of music, and their arrangements were vast and complicated.

The players are:

Freddie Mercury, vocals, piano
Brian May, vocals, guitar
John Deacon, vocals, bass guitar
Roger Taylor, vocals, drums

The tracks on the album and my comments about each are as follows:

1. Keep Yourself Alive--Queen kicks off their debut album with an hard rocking tune featuring some complicated interplay between the musicians. The gorgeous guitar orchestrations of Brian May make their first appearance, and the tone is definitely set for the songs that follow.

2. Doing All Right--A beautiful piano accompanies Freddie Mercury as he croons a delicate ballad. Those lush harmonies that were to become a trademark of Queen are present, and the arrangement of this song is very complicated, with several different movements. The ballad is abandoned twice with a vicious guitar riff, but it also has some lovely acoustic guitar parts, too. Songs like this demonstrate the musical genius and classical training of these musicians.

3. Liar--This is the first of two songs that inexplicably involve religious themes, subjects that I can't recall being addressed in any of Queen's later work. Liar actually is built around a confession to a priest lyrically (with an organ for effect), but musically it is about as complex as anything they ever did. An extended intro features great playing by all the musicians, and the vocal arrangements are magnificent, with richly textured harmonies enveloping Freddie Mercury's pleading vocals. This song has always blown me away with its' many complex movements.

4. Jesus--The beat is ponderous and relentless in this biographical tune about Jesus. Brian May turns in a huge guitar solo, and the free-form part after the solo allows John Deacon and Roger Taylor room to show off their abilities. The vocals are pretty nice too, but not as lush as some of the other vocal arrangements, although the acapella ending is a harbinger of things to come from Queen.

5. Seven Seas Of Rhye--The first song containing a reference to the mythical kingdom of Rhye--Queen was infatuated by the mystical, and they revisited this theme many times in their first few albums. This instrumental number features a classical piano part and some excellent bass guitar work by John Deacon.

6. Great King Rat--The beginning of this song is disjointed, but it gains structure pretty quickly. The beat is frantic, with Roger Taylor's drums pushing the song along, and Brian May pitches in with an intense guitar solo. His guitar orchestrations sound pretty cool, and the acoustic guitar interlude is a welcome change in musical feeling . Like so many Queen songs, this one has distinct movements, demonstrating the formal musical training of these musicians.

7. My Fairy King--Brian May starts this one out with some beautiful guitar orchestrations, and the lyrical theme returns to a mythical medieval kingdom. Queen sometimes gets a bad wrap for being pretentious and overproduced--I don't believe that's true, but it's tunes like this that bring the critics out of the woodwork. Again, the song contains several different movements, just like a classical piece.

8. The Night Comes Down--An intricate acoustic guitar line starts this one out, but it soon settles into a drowsy groove featuring Freddie Mercury crooning for all he's worth. Brian May plays some more of those gorgeous guitar orchestrations that overlay his tasteful acoustic guitar part. John Deacon plays a melodic bass line, and those richly textured, layered harmonies show up again. The end decays into some more of that involved acoustic guitar picking.

9. Modern Times Rock And Roll--Roger Taylor takes a turn at lead vocals here, and his rough, direct vocal style works pretty well in this pre-punk piece. The beat is frantic in the best punk tradition, but the tune rocks along pretty good, assisted by Brian May's driving guitar riffs. Almost as soon as it starts, the song ends, fading into...

10. Son And Daughter--The beat is heavy--Queen rocks on this one as hard as they ever will over the next twenty years. The harmonies are exquisite, and the lyrics deal with the issue of sexual identity. Brian May's guitar licks are downright nasty, and his riffs are doubled by John Deacon's bass guitar to create a Godzilla effect.

Bonus Tracks

11. Mad The Swine
12. Keep Yourself Alive (Alternate Version)
13. Liar (Alternate Version)

With their debut album, Queen set the platform for a long and distinguished career as a band. This album is a must own for any one who professes to be a Queen fan