Weak moments aside, Queen’s eponymous debut is an impressive feat from a band whose record-crushing and outrageously garb are not too far off. The vocals are disconcertingly weak when compared to the album that ultimately developed. The “Liar” demo has merit if solely for the fact that it reveals just how bad some of these tracks could have been. The bonus demos are frequently more worthwhile, offering interesting twists on a few of the stronger tunes. The band tries their hand at a few other tricks, and the sludgy “Son and Daughter” is a forgettable foray into Black Sabbath territory.
May’s searing guitar lines weave in and out of the speakers with a three dimensionality that could only be hinted at in the original release. With the remastering, the band’s self-proclaimed effort to create a sense of immediacy with the record finally becomes fully realized. “Great King Rat,” “My Fairy King,” and “Liar” are all impressive in their own right and have the musicality and ferocious instrumentation that validates lyrics about dirty old men dying of syphilis and lands where horses are “born with eagle wings” and “honey bees have lost their stings.” The latter, in particular, is one of the first examples of a penchant for flawlessly weaving theatrical operatics into rock accessibility, as the harmonized chants of “liar” recall a Greek Chorus piercing through Mercury’s soaring vocal range. The next three tracks, probably largely unknown by many self-proclaimed Queen fans, are telling precursors to what the band was capable of. However, the band’s stylistic experimentation provides for some floundering, as “Doing All Right” brings the energy down into dull, sunny ’70s pop land, comparable to a Carpenters’ B-side, perhaps, proving a disappointing lead into some of Mercury’s most underrated material. Brian May’s lovingly dubbed “Red Special” is given first utterance, and the multi-tracked guitar lines are a fitting introduction to a sound that would become as quintessentially Queen as the group’s vocal harmonies and Freddie Mercury’s arresting voice.
The disc opens with “Keep Yourself Alive,” the fist-pumping first single that may actually be the strongest track on the album. The big ideas that would later grow into trademark Queen are in the working stages, and what comes through is an oftentimes jerky display of potential. In retrospect, the album is not the band’s finest moment. After extensive repeated listens to both original and remastered versions (I now dream in rich vocal harmonies), I’ve come to some conclusions.īefore the sold-out arenas, before the number one hits, before anyone had stopped to wonder at Mercury’s excessive use of words like “dahling,” there was a promising debut album from an unknown English rock band trying to make it big.
While original producer Roy Thomas Baker was not involved in the project, guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor were.
Along with a remastering from the original source material by legendary American engineer Bob Ludwig, a bonus disc with bootlegs, rarities, and live tracks aplenty is included with each album to keep diehard fans salivating. On May 17, and as part of Queen’s 40th anniversary, Hollywood Records reissued the band’s entire 15-disc catalogue.