QUEEN II

It is just possible that this is Queen's best offering ever! Certainly it is the most progressive, a wonderful mixture of heavy guitar, interspersed with gentle interludes, hilarious, fanciful lyrics, gorgeous harmonies, and memorable melodies. I especially love the way certain tracks run into each other. There is not a single bad track here. Right through from "Procession", the album runs its stunning course, only, maybe, "Seven Seas Of Rhye" sounding slightly different from the rest. Highlights are "Someday One Day" with its understated and atmospheric guitar work, "Father To Son" (of course!) "White Queen", oh, in fact the whole bloody album! Side one is the quieter side, side two is the heavier, faster and funnier side. "Funny How Love Is" has always been a personal favourite. "Ogre Battle" oozes class, as does "March Of The Black Queen". And the lovely "Nevermore" shows just how a true ballad should be composed, short, atmospheric and tear-jerking. Wonderful stuff! I have always found it hard to choose my favourite Queen album. The first four all have their claimants. The debut I would put at number four, then the other three have to fight it out amongst themselves. At the time of writing I would just give Queen 2 the nod. Even the cover is sensational. I have the original vinyl, of course, and the simple contrast between the white and the black side, glossy et al, is visually stunning. Any one wanting to get into the true Queen, (which means avoiding like the plague the "Greatest Hits" collections and delving into the origins of the band) should purchase this. They were fresh, exciting, and appealed to many different types. These days, there are so many, so called Queen fans, who know nothing about the band except for the greatest hits. Sad really. Buy the first four, you will soon forget the rest. (Although "Innuendo", to be fair, was a good album for Freddie to go out on.)