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Rating: After months of reading (both reviews and comments) and never even leaving a comment, I finally decided to sign up for this lovely site.
I want to make my debut by "reviewing" (in quotes, because I am not a music critic, just a simple music lover... but when a site like this offers you the chance to play the reviewer, wouldn't you take advantage to feel a bit like someone from Rolling Stones???) the debut album of my favorite band.
Yes, I know, often reading DeBaser I've seen that Queen fans here are often considered like human beings lacking objectivity, blinded by their fanaticism, unreasonably convinced of the divine nature of their idols; and that the Queen themselves are considered an overrated, poor, and unimpressive band. As an overused proverb goes, but in the end true: "Il mondo è bello, perché è vario!"... Personally, as you might imagine, I don't think like those whose comments I often read, but I think it is right to feel different emotions and feel different in loving something specific rather than something else. I don't know how many or what kind of reviews I'll write on this site, but when and if I do, I'll try to be as objective as possible, according to my criterion of objectivity, whether it's with the Queen or any other artists that move me.
But enough with these philosophical musings that most of you probably wisely skipped, let's move on to the description of what I consider a largely underestimated (rightly so!) debut record: "QUEEN"!... (often known by "many" as QUEEN I)
When it was released back in the far but missed 1973 (oh, my beloved '70s!) it was considered "an uninteresting copy of Led Zeppelin". A perfectly fair criticism for the time, when Led (who had come out just a few months prior with "Houses Of The Holy", not excellent, but successful) were still full of that drive and hard rock that impressed massive crowds and were among the most acclaimed bands. If we then consider that '73 is also the year of "The Dark Side Of The Moon", it makes you think that the four queens of Rock chose the wrong year to release their first album. Despite the rightful dose of indifference shown to them initially, with the passing years and a slightly clearer mind free from the bright lights of the sacred Floydian prism, "Queen" appears as a good debut work, certainly influenced by Led Zeppelin (by the band's own admission!) but already showcasing the elements that would later make Queen known, at least concerning the '70s phase of their career.
"Queen" is a young and somewhat immature album, much like Freddie, Roger, Brian, and John, but it doesn't lack rock and it doesn't bore. The guitar isn't linear; it walks, runs, stops, reflects, scratches, and caresses (rarely on this record, but it does!). John Deacon is almost imperceptible here, as he often will be, but always irreplaceable. The lyrics, not the band's best, certainly reflect, in some songs, the fairytale influence of authors like Tolkien and mixed lyrics, again, between Syd Barrett of the early Floyd and a few pieces from the already mentioned Zeppelin. Nothing new, it would seem. But the Queen touch, here as light as a feather but present, consisting of overdubbing, choruses (especially Roger's falsetto ones), and a touch of originality that I think is unique in the genre.
The opening riff of "Keep Yourself Alive" presents a Brian May already impressive and a Roger Taylor at the start of his charge as a drummer, not outstanding but not to be discarded, capable of creating an unmistakable and essential drumming for the Queen sound. The song is about, if you will, the journey of life and the challenges encountered, and it repeats with an invitation to survive, because every day could be a step closer to one's grave (CHEERFULNESS!!! Mike Bongiorno would say!). After a rock start, the air already calms with "Doin' All Right," a song of past mistakes and hope, remaining serene on Freddie's piano notes, only to explode in the middle with a cheerful guitar interlude, and then end again in calm, like a cycle closing. But one does not linger long in the serene waters of quietness because the Rat King is coming: "Great King Rat" is sharp, scratching, like a great claw enclosed in a few minutes of song: the story of a sordid rat, now dead of syphilis at forty (someone saw something prophetic here...), blasphemous, a womanizer, and a bastard. All his vile character is a chase and fight between drums and guitar, a battle of blood and hate, with Mercury's voice adapted to the story of this ignoble being and John's bass highlighting its despicable nature. Riding the wave of these strong emotions, the subsequent "My Fairy King" almost begins as a musical continuation of the rat's story but then the piano affectionately slapped by Freddie begins its race towards this rock fairy tale, of fairy kings and winged beings, with something Rhapsodic (little, almost nothing, but a seed!), this time a dance of piano and guitar, a love-hate relationship, and then taking back and then hating and leaving again. Like in a lie, illusory, like that of the next "Liar", all marked by the freshness of young Brian, with an important role played by the choruses, soon to become one of the band's trademarks and a highlight of live performances.
From "Keep Yourself Alive" to "Liar", for me, unfolds the best part of the album: a succession of emotions, an imposition of not catching a breath, of staying with the skin open, because rock is not over yet. After this overwhelming start of the CD, the descent towards the end of the CD begins, a somewhat downward part, which perhaps holds up less compared to the first five tracks, but without dropping in quality, here, I repeat, not at the peak (we are still talking about a debut album!!), but already interesting and enjoyable. "The Night Comes Down", after the initial burst of sensations, offers a bit of respite, a moment of rest, but just a moment because then the short but intense "Modern Times Rock'n'Roll", a release valve and expressivity for the great Roger, follows to introduce "Son And Daughter" which doesn't leave much of a mark; while the next "Jesus", lacking in lyrics, is marked by a beautiful guitar, still scratching, but not repetitive. And after all this, the instrumental "Seven Seas Of Rhye" (which would later become the first success of the four), ends this first album of Queen joyfully, which wasn't an immediate success for them but introduced them to the world for the first time, awaiting the success that would characterize their entire career (in my opinion, very deserved!).
I know, I know: this review is long and probably boring. But forgive me, it's my first, and perhaps slowly I'll learn to be more concise. But you know how it is when I start talking (or writing) about my favorite band... And who can stop me anymore???...
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Liar (06:28)
I have sinned dear Father
Father I have sinned
Try and help me Father
Won't you let me in?
Liar
Oh nobody believes me
Liar
Why don't they leave me alone?
Sire I have stolen
Stolen many times
Raised my voice in anger
When I know I never should
Liar
Oh ev'rybody deceives me
Liar
Why don't you leave me alone?
Liar I have sailed the seas
Liar from Mars to Mercury
Liar I have drunk the wine
Liar time after time
Liar you're lying to me
Liar you're lying to me
Father please forgive me
You know you'll never leave me
Please will you direct me in the right way
Liar liar liar liar
Liar that's what they keep calling me
Liar liar liar
Listen are you gonna listen
Mama I'm gonna be your slave
All day long
Mama I'm gonna try behave
All day long
Mama I'm gonna be your slave
All day long
I'm gonna serve you till your dying day
All day long
I'm gonna keep you till your dying day
All day long
I'm gonna kneel down by your side and pray
All day long and pray
All day long and pray
All day long and pray
All day long all day long all day long
All day long all day long all day long
All day long all day long all day long
Liar liar they never ever let you win
Liar liar everything you do is sin
Liar nobody believes you
Liar they bring you down before you begin
Now let me tell you this
Now you know you could be dead before they let you
07 Son and Daughter (03:22)
I want you
to be a woman
Tried to be a son and daughter rolled into one
You said you'd equal any man for having your fun
Now didn't you feel surprised to find
The cap just didn't fit
The world expects a man
To buckle down and to shovel shit
What'll you do for loving
When it's only just begun?
I want you to be a woman
Tried to be a teacher and a fisher of men
An equal people preacher
Will you lead us all the same?
Well I travelled all round the world
A brand new word for day
Watching the time mustn't linger behind
Pardon me I have to get away
What'll you think of heaven
If it's back from where you came?
I want you to be a woman
I want you to be a woman yeah
08 Jesus (03:46)
And then I saw Him in the crowd
A lot of people had gathered round Him
The beggars shouted the lepers called Him
The old man said nothing
He just stared about him
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down
Then came a man before His feet he fell
Unclean said the leper and rang his bell
Felt the palm of a hand touch his head
Go now go now you're a new man instead
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down
It all began with the three wise men
Followed a star took them to Bethlehem
And made it heard throughout the land
Born was a leader of man
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down
It all began with the three wise men
Followed a star took them to Bethlehem
And made it heard throughout the land
Born was a leader of man
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
All going down
09 Seven Seas of Rhye (01:12)
Fear me, you lords and lady preachers
I descend upon your earth from the skies
I command your very souls, you unbelievers
Bring before me what is mine
The seven seas of Rhye
Can you hear me, you peers and privy councilors
I stand before you naked to the eyes
I will destroy any man who dares abuse my trust
I swear that you'll be mine
The seven seas of Rhye
(Sister) I live and lie for you
(Mister) do and I'll die
You are mine, I possess you
Belong to you forever (Ever, ever, ahh)
Storm the master marathon I'll fly through
By flash and thunder fire I'll survive
(I'll survive, I'll survive) Then I'll defy the laws of nature
And come out alive
(Then I'll get you)
Begone with you you shod and shady senators
Give out the good, leave out the bad evil cries
I challenge the mighty Titan and his troubadours
And with a smile
I'll take you to the seven seas of Rhye
I'd like to be beside the seaside
I'd like to be beside the sea
Where the brass drums play
I'd like to be beside the seaside
I'd like to be beside the sea
14 The Loser in the End (04:05)
Mama's got a problem
She don't know what to say
Her little baby boy
Has just left home today
She's got to be the loser in the end
She's got to be the loser in the end
Misuse her and you'll lose her as a friend
She's ma on whom you can always depend ooh
She washed and fed and clothed and cared
For nearly twenty years
And all she gets is Goodbye Ma
And the night times for her tears
She's got to be the loser in the end
She's got to be the loser in the end
Misuse her and you'll lose her as a friend
She's ma on whom you can always depend ooh
So listen mothers ev'rywhere
To just one mothers son
You'll get forgotten on the way
If you don't let them have their fun
Forget regrets and just remember
It's not so long since you were young
You're bound to be the loser in the end
You're bound to be the loser in the end
They'll chose their new shoes
That's not far to bend
You're ma on whom they can always depend ooh ooh
15 Ogre Battle (04:10)
Words and music by Freddie Mercury
Now once upon a time
An old man told me a fable
When the piper is gone
And the soup is cold on the table
And if the black crow flies
To find a new destination
That is the sign
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight
He gives a great big cry
And he can swallow up the ocean
With a mighty tongue he catches flies
And the palm of his hand incredible size
One great big eye has to focus in your direction
Now the battle is on
Yeah yeah yeah!
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight
Ah ah ah ah ah
The ogre men are still inside
The two way mirror mountain
You gotta keep down
Right out of sight
You can't see in but they can see out
Keep a look out
The ogre men are coming out
From the two way mirror mountain
They're running up behind
And they're coming all about
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south
Ogre men are going home
The great big fight is over
Bugle blow let trumpet cry
Ogre battle lives for ever more
You can come along
You can come along
Come to ogre battle
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Other reviews
By Stefano Potenza
The album already displays 'in embryo' all the peculiarities of the 'Queen-sound': grandiose arrangements, a taste for melody, and an extraordinary ability to churn out immediate and catchy tunes.
Brian May, often relegated to the limbo of gaudy and excessive artists, is certainly worth reassessing.
By Old King Cole
Queen’s debut is an excellent record, which every lover of the band should own.
The album showcases a band already mature and capable of composing good songs, sufficiently intricate and with ample space dedicated to solo parts.
By Walterstarman1
"Keep Yourself Alive" is a true anthem of glamorous joy being shaped at that time.
"My Fairy Queen" is the most beautiful piece of the album. Art=Music.
By SydBarrett96
Keep Yourself Alive: one of the best hits of this period, Brian May’s guitar intro is something indefinable, one of my favorite riffs.
I believe that this album...should be placed at least among the top 3 or 4, not for historical value, but for the experimental vision the group adopted as soon as they began their musical career.
By Roto96
This group... is destined to leave a huge mark on rock music.
'Liar' shows Queen’s very personal way of making hard rock, packed with choruses—a brilliant novelty.
