JAZZ

This was my first Queen album and as such it has always been held in high regard. Bought originally when I was 12 and really beginning my musical education (those were the days of our lives indeed), this album knocked my socks off. Having only heard The Game previously, I had no idea what was in store for me.

Stylistically, this is the last of the great era of Queen and it hold up remarkably well in their catalog. It features all the strengths of their great epics, 'Mustapha' and 'Bicycle Race' carrying on with the heavy bombast and multi-tracked vocals, 'Fat Bottomed Girls', 'Dead On Time' and 'Let Me Entertain You' showing they could still rock with the heaviest, a throwback to their British upbringing 'Dreamer's Ball', and the inevitable filler 'If You Cant Beat Them', 'Fun It', and 'Leaving Home Aint Easy'.

I have always appreciated how tight this band was and how unique their sound, with May's signature leads, Taylor's heavy reverb soaked drums, Deacon's melodic bass lines, and of course Mercury's vocal delivery. This album has it all in full display, almost to an extreme as if they knew they were going to head in a different direction as the next decade approached. What impressed me most is how much fun this album is, you can feel the good times coming through in the playful quality of the songs as well as their lyrical content, it never takes itself too seriously and is all the better for it.