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Rating: THE REVIEW
So, the queen of rock starts to slip a bit in 1978 with Jazz, but the record is good. In 1980, The Game is released, and it's clear that something in Queen is no longer working so well if the most interesting tracks are Taylor's rock'n'roll pieces. Then 1982 arrives, and the four of them sink. Hot Space is an album that leaves one puzzled, as it clearly shows that the early seventies group will never return, but more importantly, it highlights a deep crisis in trying to find new sounds to reinvent themselves in the eighties with a new face.
Despite having a good producer like the German Mack, the album seems to be put together in a hurry, and the choices of new sounds close to disco-funky (Staying Power, Back Chat) and "hot" lyrics appear poorly developed, with everything being suffocated by gratuitous synthetic sounds. Tracks like Dancer or the terrible minimalist music of Body Language can hardly demand more than a quick listen.
The four seem lost in a state of acute confusion; alright, Mercury's voice is still fine, but the others offer little. Brian May is barely perceptible in many tracks, and Roger Taylor tries to find something good in the synthetic sounds of the electronic drums without achieving anything.
In the end, the second part of the album is saved, Put Out The Fire seems to foreshadow Hammer to Fall and Taylor's Calling All Girls is the most interesting thing on the record, both for its lyrics with the anthem to universal love and for the music: rock'n'roll tinged with disco. Las Palabras De Amor and Under Pressure lift everything up but suggest that the experimentation with certain sounds is not for everyone and that for Queen, it's better to return to good old rock.
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Summary by Bot
Hot Space reflects Queen's uncomfortable shift towards disco-funk and synthetic sounds in the early 80s. The album seems hurried and confused, with many tracks underwhelming. Freddie Mercury's vocals remain strong, but the band overall feels lost. Some tracks like 'Calling All Girls' and 'Under Pressure' stand out, suggesting a partial return to form. Ultimately, the album reveals a band struggling to reinvent itself.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Queen
British rock band formed in London in 1970. Core classic lineup: Freddie Mercury (lead vocals), Brian May (guitar), Roger Taylor (drums) and John Deacon (bass). Known for genre-crossing albums and stadium anthems such as "Bohemian Rhapsody", and for legendary live performances (notably Live Aid 1985). Freddie Mercury died in 1991.143 Reviews
Other reviews
By claudio1
"Rather than calling it an unsuccessful album, I prefer to describe it as a necessary transitional album for Queen to achieve complete musical maturity."
"Put Out The Fire is a rock gem, too underrated, in which Brian explicitly opposes the Falkland war."
By frank1979
A gigantic immense missed opportunity from a group incomparable in its genre.
INDEED I WOULD SAY THEY ARE AT THEIR ABSOLUTE LOWEST!!!
By Walterstarman
"Hot Space represents the most marked rift in Queen's career, a division that still divides opinions."
"Under Pressure is so 'baroque' in architecture yet so catchy, making it a top 10 Queen song."
