THE WORKS

A lot better than Hot Space, Queen found their way again. There are pop songs on The Works but by far superior to those on their previous album. The album starts with Radio Gaga, a Roger Taylor song, poppy and full of synths, but inspired and catchy, overall an enjoyable track. Tear It Up is a nice rocker, written by May. It's a Hard Life is a great Freddie Mercury number, amazing vocals IMO. Man on the Prowl is a rock'n'roll song in the manner of Crazy Little Thing Called Love from "The Game" album. Machines is a collective effort, electronic, full of synths again but also with some great guitar from May; Freddie's vocals are amazing (again). I Want to Break Free is one of the most popular songs ever written (thank you John Deacon), amazingly enjoyable, a great treat. Hammer to Fall is another Brian May rocker, one of the best songs of the album. My favourite song for the moment is Keep on Passing the Open Windows; it is indeed one of Queen's best songs ever. The album closes with Is This the World We Created, a sensitive ballad with sensible lyrics, nice acoustic guitar from Brian May and great vocals from Freddie.

Queen's The Works is a great pop-rock album, but it won't work for prog purists. There is a lot to enjoy on this album to satisfy the listener, rockers or prog-rockers. This album is an excellent addition to any music collection, but prog purists had better stay away from this one.