Queen Rocks - Obviously (Queen Rocks - Queen)

Member Name: The Solid Grey

Product:	Queen Rocks - Queen
Date:	06/10/02 (540 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: All Utterly Terrific Tracks

Disadvantages: You Must be Joking

Of all the music in all the world you?ve just got to love rock/rock ?n roll. I mean its got everything you need and its everywhere, it makes you feel good, its got power, and it can really help you to work out your anger. I love a lot of music, but there?s one band in particular I love almost as much as the Beatles and what?s more most people I know also like their music, the music of Queen.

I only started to take an interest in the band after Freddie Mercury had died, not that I didn?t know about them before hand, I mean I knew some of their songs if I didn?t actually know that they were theirs. Once I did start to take an interest I found that my friends liked them too, and I find that a lot of people do, and a lot of them are people I wouldn?t expect to.

These days I have pretty much all their albums, videos, and some of their solo work, and I love it all. There is something about their music, you?d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn?t know a song of theirs. They had a knack for writing songs that brought people together, songs that you can sing along to, songs you can sing at people. The music is good and though its mostly rock, it does vary from time to time.

Queen Rocks is a collection of their more rock songs, it was released in 1997, and has 18 tracks which are :-

1. We Will Rock You
2. Tie Your Mother Down
3. I Want It All
4. Seven Seas Of Rhye
5. I Can?t Live With You (?97 remix)
6. Hammer To Fall
7. Stone Cold Crazy
8. Now I?m Here
9. Fat Bottomed Girls
10. Keep Yourself Alive
11. Tear It Up
12. One Vision
13. Sheer Heart Attack
14. I?m In Love With My Car
15. Put Out The Fire
16. Headlong
17. Its Late
18. No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)

Most of the tracks are written by Brain May, simply because he wrote the more rock stuff, but its worth mentioning that the other three members, Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor and John Deacon, we
re all good song writers and all four members wrote hit singles for the band, not that all the tracks on this compilation were all singles, its simply a collection of their best rock stuff.

The cover is a striking design - a drawing of the Queen crest (designed by Freddie Mercury), being blown apart. All the lyrics, track info you need are on the inlay card.

And so....

We Will Rock You
Com?on you must know this, its one of their greatest, that beating - dum, dum, dah, dum, dum, dah, the chanting - we will, we will rock you, and of course that great guitar work, I love it, any song with chanting in people like. Its a real power song, that?ll really get you in the mood to win. Fantastic stuff.

Tie Your Mother Down
Another great song, though besides the title lyric, its hard to actually remember any other lyrics, why? - I don?t know. Again another lively track that makes you want to move, great rock guitar. Super stuff.

I Want It All
One of their later works and writing credited to the band as a whole, its got a harder sound than usual for Queen, probably down to Brian May. An interesting thing to listen out for in this track is the middle eighth chorus bit where Brian sings but Freddie does a sort of second vocal with it, quite nice.

Seven Seas Of Rhye
One of their very early pieces from Freddie Mercury. A good track, with great piano work at the start and through the song, as well as good drumming and guitars for that matter. A pretty good song, but perhaps not the most striking.

I Can?t Live With You (?97 remix)
Specially re-mixed for this compilation, this album track for the last album before Freddie died, is again credited to Queen as a whole. I can?t say I noticed it much on the album, but then it was never singled out for attention, like singles are. Its a little different as you?d expect - if you have the album that is, again a nice piece of music, quite rocky with a little be b
op thrown in, actually good lyrics.
?I can?t live with you?
?But I can?t live if you go away?

Hammer To Fall
A really great song, great rock guitar, the kind of beat you?ll clap along to, a good live song.
?Oh every night, and every day?
?A little piece of me is falling away?

Stone Cold Crazy
Another early song of theirs and for that time rarely credited to being written by Queen. Not a single, though you might have heard it if you?re a Metallica fan, for they have covered it. Quite a rocky song with a good beat, if not a little experimental, pretty good.

Now I?m Here
Takes a very little while to get going, some good vocal work, its a nice little song, with some contrasting parts.
?Whatever came of you and me?
?America?s new bride to be- don?t worry babe I?m safe and sound?
?Down in the dungeon, just Peaches ?n me?

Fat Bottomed Girls
One of my absolute favourites, good vocal work at the start, its a more hard sound than most, bit of a rock beat with the guitar, not so much fast as paced.
?Fat bottomed girls?
?You make the rock?in world go round?

Keep Yourself Alive
This is a song that I?d love this to be played at my funeral, simple because of the meaning - the title, its a great feel good one this. The guitar at the start is great, it more of a glam rock song, and really gets going, very lively, great vocals, and you may notice that Roger Taylor sings a couple of lines.

Tear It Up
An album track and also a b-side, its a pretty simple song, enjoyable - good guitar sound.
?Give me your mind baby give me your body?
?Give me some time baby let?s have a party?

One Vision
Again credited to Queen and used in the film Iron Eagle. It has a great beginning that builds up and gets going. Good music, fairly simple lyrics, another you?ll want to move to.

Sheer Heart Attack
A Roger Taylor track, written a while after they named an a
lbum with the title - confusingly, a very fast track, enjoyable.

I?m In Love With My Car
Written and sung by Roger Taylor and used as the b-side to Bohemian Rhapsody, and also appears on the album. As the title suggest it is about what the title says - slowish, hardish, and Roger does good vocals.
?I?m in love with my car?
?I?ve got a feel for my automobile?

Put Out The Fire
An album track on their only not so good album (in my opinion), I wasn?t really aware of this song before this compilation. Its actually quite a nice song, rocky, but not their best, but still a lot better than some bands manage.

Headlong
A great little song, great beat and music, I have the Brian May live album and he does a really good live version - If Queen were still around and touring this would be a great live song for them. Another credited to Queen, again you?ll want to move to it.
?When a red hot man meets a white hot lady?
?Hoop diddy diddy -hoop diddy do?

It?s Late
I hadn?t noticed this one before another album track, slowish, but rocky.

No-One But You (Only The Good Die Young)
The song written and recorded after Freddie died, written by Brian May, about Freddie Mercury and Lady Diana. Released as a single it?s only otherwise available on this collection and the greatest hits III package. Sung by Brain and Roger (John Deacon never liked to sing), a good song, good lyrics, good music. Weather it belongs on this album is another matter, not because Freddie wasn?t involved but because, its not so rocky, but it has quite a hard sound in places.

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Overall Opinion
Though I?ve got all the tracks already, with the exception of the re-mixed one, its still worth forking out the money for this. One - because there all on CD, two - because it makes for a great rock CD and, three - because it gives me another reason to listen to all the music I love, and it is great good feeli
ng music, you can?t go wrong.

Its never really heavy, there no swearing, no bad feeling, when you look back on the music of Queen its great to know that they brought a little happiness in to peoples lives.

I?ve said this elsewhere but I find that I forget how good music is, anytime I hear a Queen song, and haven?t done so for a while, I fall in love with it all over again, there is just something about it, something unique. I can put on a Queen album and have a great time. Like The Beatles who sang about peace and love, the music of Queen, for the most part, is about love, having a good time or nothing really, its all positive stuff - perhaps that?s why people love them.

The music is always up beat (with the odd exception OK), if you watch a live video of theirs you?ll see how much the audience are involved - singing and the sprit of the thing. The last words Freddie Mercury said on a Queen video were ?I still love you?, isn?t that great?, I think it really sums up the point of Queen.

I love my music, its a very important thing to most people. I've been thinking about the death of John Entwistle - the bass player of The Who, who I also like, I went into work and told everybody when I heard. Its quite sad, when, for want of a more apt word, a hero dies, George Harrison died not so long ago, another rock/rock ?n roll hero I loved, I never got to see Queen live, Freddie Mercury having died before I discovered them. If I had one wish it would be to see Queen with Freddie live, I guess a lot of people who?ll discover The Who will be saying the same thing for John Entwistle.

There is a metal cupboard at work where I sometimes beat out the beating of ?We Will Rock You?, it sounds so much like the record, and everyone recognises it.

Queen are my favourite rock act, there?s no other rock music that matches them for sheer enjoyment and feel good factor. Two of my bosses (past and present) in their 60?s love Queen, two
people I work with, in their mid thirties, went to see them live (I?m so jealous), a bloke who was a coupe of years below me at school, loves Queen. Its something we can all relate to and talk about.

There?s a song Queen did at their gigs, ?Love Of My Life?, not really rock, and played on an acoustic guitar, the whole audience would sing it, its such a wonderful thing, so many people brought together, you can watch the videos and join in and feel you?re a part of something great - and you are.

In the song ?Radio Ga Ga?, a line says ?Someone still loves you?, in ?These Are The Days Of Our Lives? there?s the line ?I still love you?, they make you feel wanted and worthwhile and that you?ve always got a friend. How good?s that?.

So wether you rock off or rock on, one things for sure, Queen Rocks.

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