Queen II

if you were brought up on a diet of Radio Ga Ga, It's a Kind of Magic or Under Pressure, you might not see the link between this album and your idea of what Queen are about. This was the second release from a band made up of an artist, a physicist, a biologist and an electronics engineer, all of whom went on to become superstars in the world of Rock and pop. Freddie has gone, John has retired, and good luck to him - he earnt it! Roger and Brian are still going strong in music. It hit me recently that there's more time between Freddie's death and now than there was between the release of this album and the end of queen. So to the album. The band cited their influences as Hendrix, Led Zeppelin and an array of rock and roll greats. All of those are apparent here. As to is a theme of fantasy. Consider a film set in the middle ages, telling the story of a young prince, born into wealth and power, but now fighting in place of his dead father for the future of his people. You have 'Procession' and 'Father to Son'. Brian May writes a beautiful love song telling of love lost in the melancholy yet powerful 'White Queen'. This track has the feel of a Shakespearian love tragedy, and is beautiful and powerful wth the volume up. Roger chips in with a track which feels a little out of place against the plantagenet backdrop with 'Loser in the End', the tale of a young man leaving home with a sense of bitterness because his mum chose his shoes for him! Side 1 (white - side 2 is black) is imbued with beautiful, majestic guitar work. The distinctive May sound is clearly here, and the production, largely sparse in the first album, is full and thorough here. Freddie's vocals are strong and clear, but a friend of mine once commented that this was the period before his voice broke - unfair I think, but I kind of know what he means. If side white showcased the writing talents of the band, then side black belongs to Freddie... The second half of this epic is a sheer masterpiece. Sometimes raucous, loud and imposing, sometimes sweet, melodic and gentle. Always utterly imaginative. Ogre battle is self explanitory. It's a fairytale in metal. It's wonderful. In 'Fairy Feller's Masterstroke' Freddie writes a lively commentary on the painting of the same name by Richard Dadd. This poor, afflicted soul painted fantasy with detail and expression, and it seems retrospectively to be the perfect foil for an emergent Freddie. 'March of the Black Queen' is again, a fantasy based tale, with some non-pc lyrics but with power, pace, gentleness and complex multilayered sounds. A reflection of Freddie himself, maybe. Add to that the rueful 'Nevermore' , and the wall of rythmic sound that is 'Funny How Love Is', and we're nearly there. The final track, 'Seven Seas of Rye' featured as a short piano solo on their first album, but has since developed into another fantasy song which tells of a muscle flexing god. In all this is an excellent album. I've listened to it more times than I can count, and I still love it. If I'm in a particular mood for it then nothing can beat it, but it won't be for all. Technically though, it's great, and the trademarks of Brian's guitars, Roger's complex drumming and Freddie's amazing imagination are all here. Enjoy!

Bought this for my husband who is a huge Queen fan and is rebuilding his vinyl collection.

Excellent CD by a first rate band.

Queen have probably been the most difficult band to pigeon-hole in the history of rock. Freddie was a total one-off, and hard as I try, I can't pin down Brian May's influences in his playing. They were totally unique. Most folks are either a fan of their early stuff, like me, or their later stadium pop/ rock cabaret act. This album is a monster! Glam rock meets heavy metal somewhere in Fairyland! Sounds a bit dodgy, but it's one of the best albums ever made

A very solid album which, in a heavy/progressive vein, shows the band moving towards their creative peak on the next few releases. Of Brian May's offerings, 'Father To Son' and 'White Queen (As It Began) are both marvellous, rocky workouts with plenty of classic guitar work whilst Freddie Mercury dominates the second half of the album with 'The March Of The Black Queen' and the superb 'Seven Seas Of Rhye' displaying the band in all its glory both lyrically and musically. This is well worth adding to your Queen collection.

one of the best rock albums of all time. side 2 of the vinyl version is the best side ever,who can argue with ogre battle,march of the black queen,nevermore,seven seas of rhye etc. i'm replacing my vinyl with cd's surely but slowly and this is the best place to start. the bonus cd contains 2 versions of "see what a fool I've been", queen doing blues, a shame they didn't do more in this vein as it is awesome. enjoy.

This is the connoisseur's choice LP for Queen fans. I won't go on about the music because it should just be heard, preferably in one sitting. Side Two of this album is as ambitious as Queen ever got... The remastering job is awesome. There's still a few issues from the original production but not as many as the first album; and to iron these out would have required some re-recording and thank the gods that May and Taylor weren't tempted to do that! Well done Bob Ludwig, the campaign for your knighthood begins here!

Sheer Heart Attack was the first Queen album I heard back in '75 a few months after it had come out. Soon after that came A Night at the Opera and it was a while before I looked back to this album and that was when I was heavily into punk so didn't really get it. It was only when Mojo magazine did a brilliant article on Queen II a few years ago that I decided to re-invest and I'm so glad I did. You'll read elsewhere that Seven Seas of Rhye seems almost misplaced at the end of this CD and whilst thats true it's more like an encore after the main show. I recommend this album to anyone who's curious but not as a first Queen purchase. I would work backwards from ANATO and then buy Day at the Races.

Fantastic Queen album and a classic in my books. I do want to mention that I had to order this album twice as the first package contained an unrelated jazz album (which I kept as it's quite good) and the second attempt was an unsealed album shipped loose in a large box. It had a piece of very sticky packing tape holding the gatefold closed. The tape ripped a small piece of the cover when I slowly removed it. Very poor product from Amazon.

Nicely presented album, but wish to make a note that the gatefold sleeve when you open it to pull the LP out the picture is sideways - apparently this is normal from looking on You Tube (it is the same way in the Queen Deluxe Studio Box Set) at first I thought my cover had been put on the wrong way. The vinyl itself was heavier than 180g - in fact it weighed in at 208g. Some surface noise between tracks but overall a decent release.

Necessary addition for serious collectors of vinyl rock ‘n’ roll.

Quand j'ai entendu cet album pour la première fois il y a quelques dizaines d'années (profitant d'un nice price), je ne m'en suis pas vraiment remis. Un album fabuleux dont aucun morceau n'est connu du grand public, à part a seven seas of rhye, et pourtant chacun est un petit joyau. C'est un album inégalé, qui est pour moi le grand chef d'oeuvre de Queen, avec 'a night at the opera' bien sur, qui est dans un registre plus pop. C'est un album dont on ne se lasse pas même après des centaines d'écoutes. La remastérisation est vraiment excellent, et donne un son plus moderne sans en dénaturer l'esprit. Le deuxième CD vaut le coup rien que pour la version live de White Queen, preuve que malgré tout le travail fait en studio le groupe était parfaitement capable de conservé la force émotionnel de ses morceaux sans aucun artifice. On aime ou on aime pas, mais si on aime on n'en décroche plus...

Me ha gustado la rapidez de la envío. E el producto corresponde con la descripción.