Queen: A completist listening of their oeuvre

[Hollis]

In chronological order. Currently up to 'News of the World'.

Has to be said it's been more hard work than I was suspecting...the first two 'Queen' and 'Queen II' really are odd and hard work. Things only seem to kick in with 'A Night at the Opera'..

 

[Hollis]

Here are Freddie and the boyz giving 'Sheer Heart Attack' -off the 1977 album 'News of the World' a quick blast.
Like the punk overtones..

 

[nagapie]

My 13 year old currently loves listening to Queen and thinks Freddie is the greatest thing to have walked the planet.

 

[friedaweed]

My 13 year old currently loves listening to Queen and thinks Freddie is the greatest thing to have walked the planet.

My 9 yr old Nephew has just moved from Michael Jackson to Queen. I've told my brother to hide his old Bros albums.

 

[Magnus McGinty]

It’s another band that I only ever listen to Greatest Hits. Of which theres a lot. Is the rest of it worth it?

 

[Hollis]

Must have done something right - Bohemiam Rhapsody - over 2bn streams on Spotify, 24th most streamed songs, and oldest on top 100 by release date.

 

[Monkeygrinder's Organ]

It’s another band that I only ever listen to Greatest Hits. Of which theres a lot. Is the rest of it worth it?

You'd need a pretty high tolerance for whimsy to get through a listen of their full back catalogue tbh. That said they're pretty diverse - if you like the hits you'd find some bits you like I'd think.

 

[Hollis]

You'd need a pretty high tolerance for whimsy to get through a listen of their full back catalogue tbh.

One album a night maximum.

 

[hitmouse]

Initially read this title as "Queen: A completist listing of their oeuvre". Not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like:
Post 1: Keep Yourself Alive
Post 2: Doing All Right
Post 3: Great King Rat

etc etc

 

[DaveCinzano]

Initially read this title as "Queen: A completist listing of their oeuvre". Not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like:
Post 1: Keep Yourself Alive
Post 2: Doing All Right
Post 3: Great King Rat

etc etc

Great minds etc

 

[stavros]

I presume you've properly planned this out.

 

[Hollis]

Initially read this title as "Queen: A completist listing of their oeuvre". Not sure what I was expecting, maybe something like:
Post 1: Keep Yourself Alive
Post 2: Doing All Right
Post 3: Great King Rat

etc etc

Completely agree. This thread could be so much better.

 

[DaveCinzano]

Needs more spreadsheets

 

[Lazy Llama]

Must have done something right - Bohemiam Rhapsody - over 2bn streams on Spotify, 24th most streamed songs, and oldest on top 100 by release date.

View attachment 360038

Wayne’s World. So much to answer for.

 

[Hollis]

Thread shoud've started at the beginning. Each album probably justifies a week's discussion and analysis in its own right. That should take as to late April when we can all be singing along to 'Made in Heaven'.

 

[Gerry1time]

In chronological order. Currently up to 'News of the World'.

Has to be said it's been more hard work than I was suspecting...the first two 'Queen' and 'Queen II' really are odd and hard work. Things only seem to kick in with 'A Night at the Opera'..

I know what you mean, although Sheer Heart Attack is probably the earliest place you spot the Queen they went on to become. Especially the Brian May guitar extravaganza in Brighton Rock.

Don’t forget that they had been playing in different bands for quite a while before their first Queen album, so Queen 1 for example contains some material from Brian and Roger’s earlier band ‘Smile’ as well as Freddie’s band ‘Ibex’. I often see it and Queen 2 as them getting out of their system and onto tape all the music they’d carted round with them live for years beforehand, before they then went on to become more established in what Queen became.

That said some of the backstories to the songs in those first two albums are worth reading, songs like the Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke, My Fairy King and White Queen for example. Both albums take a good few listens to get into though, and I still don’t often revisit them.

As well as the above defences of those albums, I’d also encourage you to hold some of your displeasure back for when you reach Hot Space. The Game is a few good tracks interspersed with nonsense as well. The band went through some odd times in the early 1980’s, thanks to some of Freddie’s extravagances. See also their memories of recording the video for It’s A Hard Life.

Still though, now you’ve listened to all of Night at the Opera, which do you think is better, Bohemian Rhapsody or The Prophet’s Song?

 

[Ted Striker]

Must have done something right - Bohemiam Rhapsody - over 2bn streams on Spotify, 24th most streamed songs, and oldest on top 100 by release date.

View attachment 360038

Hardly a fair comparison, it's had 15/20 years longer on the streaming platforms than the others!

 

[weltweit]

Enough chat

Where is the music?

 

[Hollis]

Still though, now you’ve listened to all of Night at the Opera, which do you think is better, Bohemian Rhapsody or The Prophet’s Song?

Giving my Queen collection of vinyl an airing:

 

[Hollis]

In particular the double gatefold:

Probably the opener by Freddie..'Death on Two Legs'... is my favourite.. other than Bohemian Rhapsody..

 

[Hollis]

For those pining for a completist listing of tracks... look no further:

A list of Queen albums and tracks

 

[Hollis]

Some really cool data about to come up.. you don't want to go anywhere.

 

[Hollis]

 

[Gerry1time]

For those pining for a completist listing of tracks... look no further:

A list of Queen albums and tracks

Excellent, but can I be controversial and suggest adding Freddie's Barcelona album into that list? It's not technically Queen, but it's the most Queen like of any of the members' solo outputs by a very long way. That, and it's awesome.

 

[Steel Icarus]

I listened to Queen loads as 15/16 year old but other than Greatest Hits, The Works, A Kind of Magic and Live Magic I didn't delve into their albums, even though I was a full album listener with Marillion and Dire Straits at the time.

 

[DaveCinzano]

I didn't delve into their albums, even though I was a full album listener with Marillion and Dire Straits at the time.

We're not your therapist, dude

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Marillion were a weird band. Fish? What on earth was it?

 

[DaveCinzano]

Fish? What on earth was it?

Like chicken but with fewer wings

 

[Steel Icarus]

We're not your therapist, dude

Y'all kind of are tbf

By the time The Miracle came out I was almost exclusively listening to The Cure, and by the time of Innuendo I was full punk/glamorous indie rock and roll

 

[Magnus McGinty]

Y'all kind of are tbf

By the time The Miracle came out I was almost exclusively listening to The Cure, and by the time of Innuendo I was full punk/glamorous indie rock and roll

Sounds wonderfully wonderfully wonderfully pretty.