Great Debut

Some debut albums grab a lot of attention when they're released, such as those by Boston and Bad Company, while others go sadly unnoticed in their own time. Sadly, this was much the case with this album. Queen's self-titled debut offers a glimpse of the musical genius they were soon to become known for. Setting out to combine sounds from Led Zeppelin and Yes, they created a sound all their own. From the frenetic sounds of "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" to the mellow dulcetness of "Doing All Right" and "The Night Comes Down" - from the nastiness of "Great King Rat" to the proto-metal of "Son and Daughter" - and lastly, the bombast of "Liar" (itself a preview of such lavish, bombastic productions as "Bohemian Rhapsody") - the whole album is a preview of what whould prove to be a brilliant and storied musical career.

Queen's Debut Is Great

Queen's debut CD is great. The opener, "Keep Yourself Alive", could be a fitness anthem, and there is some great metal here, including "Great King Rat" and "Son & Daughter." There are also many other styles present, including piano ballads and pure pop. This album shows a great young band before lead singer Freddie Mercury's showbiz ideas started to take over. Here, Queen just ROCKS.

Solid Debut

As an avid Queen fan, I was quite impressed with Queen's debut album. The opening track, "keep yourself alive" is the strongest, while the album also contains other strong, heavy tracks such as: "liar", "great king rat", and "son & daughter". Another highlight to the album is Roger Taylor's short, but upbeat rock song, "Modern Times rock n' roll". I wouldn't suggest you buy it if you're new to Queen though.



Song by Song:



1. Keep Yourself Alive: The best song off the album which has a brilliant guitar intro into the song. One of Queen's best. 10/10



2. Doing Alright: A pretty ballad, with a very nice piano intro. At times it drags on though. 8.5/10



3. Great King Rat: A powerful, heavy rock song from Queen that is of excellent quality. 9/10



4. My Fairy King: A nice, high pitched tune which is very strong in tone. 9/10



5. Liar: An energetic, fast moving rock song that gives you a different chorus each time. 9.5/10



6. The night comes down: A strong intro with the guitar getting heavier and heavier. However, the song weakens near the end. 8/10



7. Modern Times Rock n' Roll: One of Roger Taylor's best despite the short length of the track. 9.5/10



8. Son & Daughter: A heavy rock song which offers nothing you see from Queen as the years go on. 9/10



9. Jesus: Bad. I'd rank it Queen's worst song if it weren't for the guitar riff at the end by May.4/10



10. Seven Seas of Rhye: Seemingly pointless as they hadn't developed this song on its release for this album. This version is only 1 minute long and contains no lyrics. 8/10



11. Mad the Swine(previously unreleased): There is a good reason that they didn't release this when they first put out this album. Far from Queen's style, it is more of a Christian pop-rock tune. 4.5/10



12. Keep Yourself Alive(long lost re-take): A very strong re-take which offers a totally different sound. 9/10



13. Liar(1991 bonus remix): This isn't a strong remix because there are very minor, practically unnoticable changes. 8/10

The one that started it all!

Originally released 1973, in Japan by Elektra/Warner Pioneer, this edition by Toshiba-EMI. The remixes are the same as on the U.S. version.