Read Online Queen: The Complete Works by Georg Purvis - Free Book Online
Authors: Georg Purvis
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called it a “thrusting, dynamic, forceful, not to mention heavy” debut, while Melody Maker said, “Their first album is a series of amazingly different songs, from faster-than-fast rockers to soft ballads. Traces of Yes and Black Sabbath can also be found but structurally it seems to sound original,” continuing that “a single, ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, has been released in hopes of giving the band some early chart success. Like the album, it’s commercial in a progressive kind of way.”
“Singles are important to us and to have a hit now would help the band,” Freddie said. “We’ve more to offer than bands like The Sweet: we’re not just pop, because our music covers a wide area.” He continued, lamenting that “We’re worried that the name Queen will give people the wrong impression. We want to be a good British regal rock band and we’ll stick to that way of thinking. Our music should override the image, because we’ll concentrate on putting out a good product the whole time. Teenyboppers will probably like us and we might get a bit of a ‘pop’ tag, but it won’t last. At the moment we’re just interested in creating a reaction among those who come to see us.”
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone likened the result to a passing of the torch from Led Zeppelin to Queen: “There’s no doubt that this funky, energetic English quartet has all the tools they’ll need to lay claim to the Zep’s abdicated heavy-metal throne, and beyond that to become a truly influential force in the rock world. Their debut album is superb.” The reviewer also made special mention of the rhythm section of Roger and John, declaring it “explosive, a colossal sonic volcano whose eruption maketh the earth tremble.” The notice concluded with “There’s a song on the album (remarkably reminiscent of ‘Communication Breakdown’) called ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, and that’s exactly what Queen’s music is. They’re the first of a whole new wave of English rockers, and you’d best learn to love ’em now ‘cause they’re here to stay. Regal bearings aside, Queen is a monster.” Such glowing opinions from Rolling Stone would not last too much longer.
Brian was always displeased with the original mixes, telling BBC Radio Two in 1998 that “There was a classic case where everything got messed up on the first album, ‘cause we did [it in] basically dark time.” In 1991, the album was remastered as part of Hollywood Records’ recent acquisitions, bringing the album up to aural standards of the early nineties. Additionally, three bonus tracks were included: a remix of ‘Mad The Swine’; a 1975 retake of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ (though it was erroneously believed to be an alternate studio take from 1972); and a remix of ‘Liar’, heralding the first of many superfluous remixes that would grace Queen’s reissued albums that year. Happily, twenty years later, with the purchase of Queen’s catalogue by Universal Records, their discography was once again overhauled, with noted sound engineer Bob Ludwig remastering the original tapes yet again, for the ultimate experience in clarity. What drew the most criticism was the bonus discs from this run, each containing five or six tracks per disc; the fabled anthologies had been decided as “book-end” projects, to be released only when Brian and Roger had exhausted their need for the Queen name. But the “rarities” presented on these deluxe editions were hardly essential, and the liner notes were barely informative (though they replaced purely abysmal essays by noted comedian and Queen fan Rhys Thomas, later published on Queenonline.com and drawing well-deserved criticism). The first album fared the best, with the five demo tracks from De Lane Lea Studios remastered and released for the first time; though the inclusion of ‘The Night Comes Down’ is puzzling at first, considering it was released on the album proper, it’s obvious that the band sweetened up
“Singles are important to us and to have a hit now would help the band,” Freddie said. “We’ve more to offer than bands like The Sweet: we’re not just pop, because our music covers a wide area.” He continued, lamenting that “We’re worried that the name Queen will give people the wrong impression. We want to be a good British regal rock band and we’ll stick to that way of thinking. Our music should override the image, because we’ll concentrate on putting out a good product the whole time. Teenyboppers will probably like us and we might get a bit of a ‘pop’ tag, but it won’t last. At the moment we’re just interested in creating a reaction among those who come to see us.”
Meanwhile, Rolling Stone likened the result to a passing of the torch from Led Zeppelin to Queen: “There’s no doubt that this funky, energetic English quartet has all the tools they’ll need to lay claim to the Zep’s abdicated heavy-metal throne, and beyond that to become a truly influential force in the rock world. Their debut album is superb.” The reviewer also made special mention of the rhythm section of Roger and John, declaring it “explosive, a colossal sonic volcano whose eruption maketh the earth tremble.” The notice concluded with “There’s a song on the album (remarkably reminiscent of ‘Communication Breakdown’) called ‘Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll’, and that’s exactly what Queen’s music is. They’re the first of a whole new wave of English rockers, and you’d best learn to love ’em now ‘cause they’re here to stay. Regal bearings aside, Queen is a monster.” Such glowing opinions from Rolling Stone would not last too much longer.
Brian was always displeased with the original mixes, telling BBC Radio Two in 1998 that “There was a classic case where everything got messed up on the first album, ‘cause we did [it in] basically dark time.” In 1991, the album was remastered as part of Hollywood Records’ recent acquisitions, bringing the album up to aural standards of the early nineties. Additionally, three bonus tracks were included: a remix of ‘Mad The Swine’; a 1975 retake of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ (though it was erroneously believed to be an alternate studio take from 1972); and a remix of ‘Liar’, heralding the first of many superfluous remixes that would grace Queen’s reissued albums that year. Happily, twenty years later, with the purchase of Queen’s catalogue by Universal Records, their discography was once again overhauled, with noted sound engineer Bob Ludwig remastering the original tapes yet again, for the ultimate experience in clarity. What drew the most criticism was the bonus discs from this run, each containing five or six tracks per disc; the fabled anthologies had been decided as “book-end” projects, to be released only when Brian and Roger had exhausted their need for the Queen name. But the “rarities” presented on these deluxe editions were hardly essential, and the liner notes were barely informative (though they replaced purely abysmal essays by noted comedian and Queen fan Rhys Thomas, later published on Queenonline.com and drawing well-deserved criticism). The first album fared the best, with the five demo tracks from De Lane Lea Studios remastered and released for the first time; though the inclusion of ‘The Night Comes Down’ is puzzling at first, considering it was released on the album proper, it’s obvious that the band sweetened up
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