Awesome Collection

This is very Definitely a great selection of QUEEN'S heavier side. However, it is not a "stripped down" version of Queen's audio work. We Will rock, Hammer to Fall, and etc., are all layered guitar works. The Brilliance of QUEEN lay in this over the top working of just about anything they did. In this respect they were worlds ahead of their time. The multiple guitars come into their own in the world of multi channel recordings. The real kicker about what Brian Did, is that he could achieve a semblance of the multi-layer sound in live concerts with an effect that allowed him to play over lines he did ( as in the solo in WE WILL ROCK YOU on dvd, WEMBLEY, and one other concert).

There is never anything simple about what QUEEN did, except that they appealed to many on a raw level. Their work is deceptively simple in fact. Even the dropped tuning on the bass guitar for fat bottomed girls sounds superb.

It's a compilation, but hell, is it brilliant. And ONLY THE GOOD DIE YOUNG is so very true, and such a brilliant piece by the remnant of QUEEN.

Freddy Lives on in his recordings. A Master Craftsman taken too early, and an interpreter of the collective consciousness of QUEEN that was intense,subtle, beautiful, and totally original.



ENJOY

Good collection of Queen's heavy rock songs

Queen, like a lot of 1970s rock bands like Styx, Boston, and Cheap Trick had plenty of tools in their audience-pleasing arsenal. While they could pop out radio hits with the best of them, Queen also recorded some of the tastiest metallic rock ever to leave England's shores. This anthology rounds up some of the best of them, including gems like "It's Late," "I'm in Love With My Car," and "Tie Your Mother Down." Of more interest to diehard Queen fans is the post-Freddie song and the re-recording of "I Can't Live With You." Those of you who read the liner notes will also realise that Freddie Mercury (as essential as he was) wasn't Queen's only songwriter - many of these heavy wonders were created by Brian May and Roger Taylor.



My only qualm with this collection comes from some surprising omissions. "Brighton Rock," one of the best guitar workouts Brian May ever gave us, is curiously absent. So is virtually everything from Queen's first two albums. Yes, we get "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Keep Yourself Alive." But more suitable songs like "Modern Times Rock and Roll" and "Son and Daughter" aren't here.



It's easy to criticize Queen for creating another anthology after their Greatest Hits packages, but onlike some of their British peers (the Stones, the Who), Queen have never released virtually identically collections under different names. Buy this CD if you're a more casual Queen fan who prefers their harder side and doesn't want to have more than a few Queen CDs in his collection.

Queen - 'Rocks,Vol. 1' (Hollywood)

Nice eighteen track compilation of the heavier,more uptempo Queen songs.Best cuts include "I Want It All","Stone Cold Crazy","Fat Bottomed Girls","Sheer Heart Attack" and two of my personal all-time Queen favorites "Put Out The Fire" and the ass-kickin' "Tie Your Mother Down"(remember when Lynch Mob covered this song?).You know,after I thought of some of their material that didn't make onto this CD,like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love","Another One Bites The Dust" and "Bohemian Rhapsody",for starters.It made me realize something.Boy,Queen had a lot of hits,late night FM staples,etc.According to the Billboard Book Of Top 40,Freddie Mercury and crew had 14 hits.Long live Queen!