Review of Greatest Hits
By Mark Lonergan
I once saw a documentary where the remaining members of Queen were recounting
the day Freddie Mercury brought “Bohemian Rhapsody” to the band. He started
off by playing the piano and singing the lyrics he had written. Brian May, Roger
Taylor, and John Deacon were all getting into it, really liking the way the
melody was developing. Then, all of a sudden, Freddie exclaimed, “And this is
where the opera part comes in!”
That quote – and that song – serves as the perfect introduction to Queen's
music. It is always over the top, but never reaches the bombastic silliness of
other 70's rockers like Styx or Gentle Giant. They have a gift for combining
numerous styles into one song, and thus negating any chance of genre typing by
reviewers like me.
Take "Flash," for example. Queen took the formula used in old James
Bond movies and wrote a song that is little more than an homage to the flick Flash
Gordon. And with all the soaring guitars and infinitely layered vocal
harmonies, they ended up with one of the best soundtrack songs ever.
Tracks like "Killer Queen" and "Don't Stop Me Now" are more
than just cheesy fun. They showcase Queen's gift for mixing rock with the
cabaret sound of singers like Liza Minelli. Hearing these songs makes me wonder
how this band didn’t turn into just another homoerotic novelty act along the
lines of Right Said Fred or Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
But just when you think you can write Queen off, "Bicycle Race" and
"Fat Bottomed Girls" (both from Jazz) demonstrate that they
could also rock harder than most. The Elvis impersonation romp "Crazy
Little Thing Called Love" further demonstrates their musical ability.
"Somebody To Love" even manages to work in a gospel choir.
Finally, no Queen collection would be complete without their most famous songs
ever: "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions." The
foot stomping, the hand clapping, Freddie's increasingly aggressive delivery,
Brian May's rousing crescendo of guitars – we all know why we love to hear
this song. Then there is the slow piano intro, the mellow vocal delivery. It all
builds triumphantly as the whole band joins in and rises to a peak. Amazingly
enough, the two tracks did not appear sequentially when they were first
released. When the record company found out that American DJ's were always
playing them back to back, News of the World was repressed with the new
and improved track order.
Sure, some of the songs on Greatest Hits will be an acquired taste. The
band will change tempos, keys, and even genres all in the course of one song.
The plus side of this is that nearly everyone can name at least one Queen song
that they like. So if you’re ever at a party with a bunch of drag queens, frat
boys, baby boomers, and sorority girls, throw in Queen’s Greatest Hits.
‘Cause this is arguably the one band they could all agree on.
Mood:
TRL
Hear it?:
Burn the CD
