Queen
Queen

THE REVIEW

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???...