HOT SPACE

It is quite hard to write a review for Queen's Hot Space. At least not on a prog-rock site. First of all it's not a prog-rock album (prog-related as their 70s albums). And during early 80s, 70s rock heroes often fail to create exciting music. The examples are many, unfortunately; from the prog-rocker's perspective, Hot Space is a worthless pop effort, unworthy of any attention. The problem is that I will not judge from this perspective because as it is, poppy and commercial, subjectively speaking, I will always have a soft spot for Hot Space. It's the first Queen album I've ever heard (this may sound weird but in 1983 communist eastern Europe, listening to something like that was something awesome and also sort of forbidden fruit).

As you may already know most of the albumwas written by Freddie Mercury and John Deacon, Brian May and Roger Taylor being dissatisfied with what was going on throughout the creation and recording of this material (from what I've read) and I can clearly see why; Freddie was so excited by the dance-pop scene of those times that he decided to put these rhythms in Queen's music, alienating many fans. Some gave up on the band, others waited for other materials. Fortunately, Queen realised their mistake and came back with better albums. These being said, let's see what do we have here:

Staying Power: just a pop track written by Freddie Mercury; nevertheless great vocals from Freddie and good bass playing.

Dancer: another pop song but with a twist this time; Brian May does some great guitar work here IMHO.

Back Chat: my favourite track of this album. Again, on a pop beat, Brian May provides a great guitar solo. Interesting.

Body Language: the popiest song of the album. I used to like it a lot as a kid/teenager, now I don't like it that much, I rarely listen to it.

Action this Day: another favourite of mine; a Roger Taylor song. Great song IMHO.

Put Out the Fire: one of the few Brian May song, great guitar, also great vocals from Freddie.

Life is Real: probably the best song of the album, a tribute for John Lennon

Calling All Girls: a pop song but with some nice acoustic guitar, a catchy and enjoyable track.

Cool Cat: what a surprise, you can hardly recognize Freddie on this one! He's singing on top of his voice, accompanied by some nice bass rhythm from Mr Deacon.

Las Palabras de Amor: a ballad, another Brian May song. Catchy in my opinion. Good guitar and synths.

Under Pressure: the most famous song of the album, a collaboration with David Bowie, nice song.

There is little bit for everyone on this pop-rock album. The main problem with this album is that they rather lost identity, they "cleared" their pop act later; as it has been previously said: you have to be a die-hard fan to enjoy this. I rate this album three stars: it's good but then again not essential to your Queen collection.