I'll go with this as No. 10. Great late period album. It has the title track, 'I Want It All', 'The Invisible Man', 'Breakthru' and 'Scandal'. Great bunch of singles, not quite sure of where it holds together as an album.
9 'News Of The World' (1977)
It starts with the one-two of 'We Will Rock You' and 'We Are The Champions'. Wow! There's the title track from 'Sheer Heart Attack' (not finished at that time, but ready for this one!), 'Spread Your Wings', the blues of 'Sleeping On The Sidewalk' and 'It's Late'. Great album.
8 'A Day At The Races' (1976)
How do you follow up '...Opera'? You can't. But, they tried. We have 'Tie Your Mother Down', an absolute cracker, we calm down with 'You Take My Breathe Away', 'Somebody To Love', the hard 'White Man and the vaudeville of 'Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy'. Cool.
7 'The Game' (1980)
So, the one they give in and...use synths! It has 'Play The Game', 'Another One Bites The Dust', 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love' and 'Save Me'.
6 'Jazz' (1978)
I always loved this. It starts with 'Mustapha' - Arabic/Persian/English lyrics with an far eastern melody and rhythms - goes through 'Fat Bottomed Girls', 'Bicycle Race', 'Let Me Entertain You' and finishes with 'Don't Stop Me Now'. Delicious!
5 'Innuendo' (1991)
Some simply huge songs here. The title track, and number 1 single in the UK don't forget, mixes Zeppelin style heaviness, opera and flamenco, the oddness that is 'I'm Going Slightly Mad', 'Headlong' (man, that ROCKS!), 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives', of course, the vid and signing off from Freddie just prior to his passing.
4 'Sheer Heart Attack' (1974)
As was the way in the 70's, albums came thick and fast. Queen's 2nd album of 1974 was this one. Roy Thomas Baker doing a fine job, expanding the sound, on this. There's 'Now I'm Here' (Up there with the very best Queen songs), there's 'Brighton Rock', 'Stone Cold Crazy', 'Killer Queen', 'Lily Of The Valley', 'Lap Of The Gods'. Varied. The start of them expanding their influences.
3 'The Works' (1984)
Just over 37 minutes of end to end great tunes. So, to put in perspective, Queen owned the 70's; a fine collection of progressively wonderful, and varied, albums. They hit the 80's with the same panache but stumbled with the, how can I be nice...I can't, the sheer awfulness of 'Hot Space'. A miss-step. To consolidate their position, they created this. Their greatest 80's album. it blew up, world wide, with the exception of the USA that took one look at the vid of Queen in drag (effectively a pastiche of the UK soap, 'Coronation Street') for 'I Want To Break Free' and promptly ran a mile. Sad. It's got 'Hammer To Fall', 'Tear It Up', 'It's A Hard life', 'Man On The Prowl'...oh, I really could go on for ages.
2 'A Night At The Opera' (1975)
Y'know, what else can one say about this album that's never been said before? It's a brilliant collection of some of the most varied music on a single album that you'll ever find. 'Prophet Song'? Brian was having a tough time putting his dream into music, meanwhile Fred was finding it easier realising 'Bo Rhap', there's 'Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon', a 1920's style tune, ''39' a sci fi folk strum story with a little bit of physics in there too? Count me in! And, of course, the whole thing kicks off with 'Death On Two Legs'? A vicious slagging off of the previous manger. Ouch!
1 'Queen II' (1974)
So, it turns out that I have something in common with Axl Rose; both of us love Queen and have 'Queen II' as their best album. It rocks. There's lots of piano...but 'No Synthesisers', as they famously exclaimed. Split, in the vinyl days, of 'White Side' and 'Black Side', effectively Brian May side and Freddie Mercury side. There's 'White Queen (As It Began)", 'Ogre Battle', 'The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke', based on the painting by Richard Dadd, 'March Of The Black Queen' and 'Seven Seas Of Rhye'; very J.R.R Tolkien, lyrically, and completely bonkers and progressive musically. Brilliant. There's the iconic Mick Rock cover too.
So...there you have it. MY fav Queen albums. Feel free to discuss and pop up your thoughts...
