Queen
Greatest Hits

THE REVIEW

Ok, I've decided: I will set aside the reviews of the so-called classics for a while and focus on albums that have never been reviewed, both by emerging bands and legendary music giants.

I have to say that I've never agreed with the release of compilations and assorted stuff, every album has its own history and you can't damage it by extracting pieces from here and there to create one big mix. That was my opinion until I listened to the "Greatest Hits" by Queen, labeled 1981. Here, there is absolutely no desecration of the previous albums with original tracks, but rather a homogeneous collection of all the Queen's great works that characterized the 70s and consecrated the band. This is exactly why it became one of the best-selling albums in England, and probably one of the first compilations in music history. Another reason to listen to it, right?

1. "Bohemian Rhapsody". The album obviously opens with the band's masterpiece par excellence (and probably the most beautiful song ever). I don't want to dwell too much on this track, because any comment seems superfluous to me. I'll just say it's a classic that defies the laws of time, as old Ozzy used to say. I leave the interpretation to you, because "nothing really matters, anyhow the wind blows".

2. "Another One Bites The Dust". One of the band's most danceable and fun tracks, mainly composed of an engaging bass riff. My favorite from the Queen's 80s era.

3. "Killer Queen". A glam-flavored gem that recalls the old glory of the early albums. Magical, fun, the ultimate expression of baroque rock in Queen's style.

4. "Fat Bottomed Girls". Extracted from Jazz, it is a hard rock piece born from Brian May's pen. This version, however, has been shortened and is not the same as the one on the 1978 album (that's why compilations are always a bit limited).

5. "Bicycle Race". Legend has it that the song was written by Freddie while watching the Tour de France. The song is also famous for the video, which was censored because it consisted of a cycling race between 65 naked women: folks, this was Queen!

6. "You're My Best Friend". John Deacon's best composition, a typical example of a very intimate romantic song played on the piano. The second track extracted from A Night at the Opera (1975).

7. "Don't Stop Me Now". Who hasn't ever hummed it on the street? A great ballad of voice and piano, to which drums, bass, and guitar are added later. Triumphal march.

8. "Save Me". Also from The Game, we have one of the most beautiful lyrics in music history. Excellent orchestration in the background (not to mention Mercury's great vocal performance). The highest peak of the early 80s.

9. "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". Queen goes back to the 50s, to the times of Elvis. During live performances, when it was played, Freddie also used an acoustic guitar for accompaniment.

10. "Somebody to Love". A love song, the first single extracted from A Day at the Races. The track features magnificent vocal sections: the band overdubbed their voices to create the impression of a grand gospel choir, of remarkable quality and great energy. This track definitely falls into the symphonic rock category: a work of art.

11. "Now I'm Here". A classic rock piece composed by Brian May. When performed live for the first time, a Freddie Mercury look-alike appeared during the opening sequence on one side of the stage, while the real Freddie Mercury appeared on the other.

12. "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy". A superb ballad (in the song, you can hear Deacon's technical and stylistic contribution creating the typical sound that made the band famous with its glamour style).

13. "Play The Game". The only track in this collection that I really can't stand. It would have been a great piece without that major use of synthesizers at the beginning. For this reason, I prefer it live, especially the version from Live at Bowl.

14. "Flash". Well, I don't feel like talking about this "song". The worst Queen track, extracted from the worst Queen album (Flash Gordon, 1980).

15. "Seven Seas Of Rhye". The piano intro gives me chills. Masterpiece, like the entire album from which it was extracted (Queen II, 1974).

16. "We Will Rock You". A stadium anthem, mainly based on a magical and charismatic foot-stomping and hand-clapping rhythm.

17. "We Are The Champions". One of the most famous rock songs of all time, and certainly one of Queen's most representative, used as the final encore at many of their concerts.

No doubt about it, their best song collection (not posthumous nonsense like Queen Rocks and such). A downside of this album is that there are too many tracks from The Game, I would have given more space to tracks like "White Queen", "Tie Your Mother Down", "Liar", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "39'. For this reason, it is probably considered a commercial operation, but overall it remains more than decent... Recommended for those who want a first approach to their music, certainly not for those who, like me, love the '73-'76 period.