scapp70's Full Review: Queen (1st LP) [Limited] by Queen
Introducing:
Brian May (guitars, piano, backing vocals)
Roger Meadows Taylor (drums, vocals, backing vocals)
Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, piano, organ, percussion, backing vocals)
John Deacon (bass guitar)
Queen's debut album released in 1973 went virtually ignored in the good old USA. After A Night At The Opera was released at the end of 1975, people started getting into Queen, in the mainstream sense, and started discovering their, as of then, small back catalogue.
Queen sent their demo tape to EMI no less than three times and it was rejected all those times. They struck a deal with Trident Studios to record an album in exchange for testing out the studio equipment. Queen finally went into the Trident 24 track studios and recorded their album in 1972. The album had to be recorded in studio downtime. Which means, that whenever the studio was not booked by Elton John, David Bowie or Paul McCartney who was there recording his album Red Rose Speedway with his band Wings, then Queen would run in and record for a little bit before the next session would start.
Not really the proper way to record an album, but this is the deal that was made. They finished recording in November of 1972.
In March of 1973, after some sneaky finagling by Trident, Queen signed a contract with EMI and Elektra Records.
Queen was finally released September 4th, 1973, two months after it was released in the UK.
Like I said before, it was not a success, but it did not go unnoticed.
Some rock magazines have Queen in the running for Best New Band category.
Keep Yourself Alive was the single released off the album on October 9th, 1973. Written by Brian, it didn't chart here in the States. The track starts off with a single guitar with a tinge of flange. Then another guitar comes in, and then another, and then finally the band join in. The lyrics are sort of cryptic to me. I don't even know what the title of the song is trying to say. Is it a Don't Try Suicide (a song from their 1980 album The Game) type lyric, if so then the rest of the words don't portray that.
♫Well, I was told a million times
Of all the troubles in my way
I tried to grow a little wiser
A little better ev'ry day
But if I crossed a million rivers
And I rode a million miles
Then I'd still be where I started
Bread and butter for a smile...Keep yourself alive...♫
I guess the lyrics sort of have the message that you must keep on trying to succeed at your dream no matter what comes to your way.
Doing All Right is a remnant left over from Roger and Brian's previous band Smile. This song was written by Brian and Smile front man and bassist Tim Staffell. It is definitely Smile's shining moment with songwriting, as most of their other material was not nearly as coherent as this tune.
Freddie's vocals, and Roy Thomas Baker's production shine this old gem up and give it new sparkle. It starts off like a ballad with nice soft voice, piano and guitar.
It then breaks into a faster jazzy acoustic guitar with high falsetto by Freddie, then it lets loose into a dark, heavy rock crunch yet still with a jazzy feel. The harmonies are nice and are an exact replica of the harmonies done by Smile when they first did the song.
Great King Rat is the loudest on the album. The guitar riffs are addicting. The lyrics, although some here in this song work well, some are a bit..Um, I don't know. Maybe juvenile. I'm not sure, here is the first verse, you decide:
♫Great King Rat died today
Born on the twenty first of May
Died syphilis forty four on his birthday
Every second word he swore
Yes he was the son of a wh*re
Always wanted by the law♫
These look like lyrics to a poem or song you'd write when you were thirteen. But, dumb lyrics and all, Freddie sings them like he means them.
The lyrics are not very like Freddie's other songs, my guess is that this song is taken from Freddie's previous band Wreckage.
My Fairy King is Freddie's first mini-epic like song.
Brian said of this song, that if he had had any doubts of working with Freddie or Freddie's capabilities, they were squashed when he was watching Freddie record this song. Lots and lots of vocals here that are very reminiscent of Freddie's background vocal styling that appear on Queen II. Freddie is seated at the piano for this dark yet upbeat number, with equally fast bass playing by Deacky. Roger provides some powerful rock and roll screams that are in the high registers here that can kick it and soar higher than any of his rock and roll contemporaries in this day. Robert Plant or Ian Gillan, neither can really hope to go as high as Roger can. Very fairy tale, mythical lyrics maybe purposely to coincide with his newly acquired surname:
Liar is definitely a song that Freddie used to have with his old band Wreckage. It used to be called Lover. This song starts off with a drum solo for about twenty seconds, and a total musical introduction of about a minute and a half. Another heavy guitar riff driven song by Freddie, maybe worked out with Brian or it could be the same as the version with Wreckage.
My favorite part of the song is somewhere toward the middle when it's just the drums again playing a very soulful beat with mainly just cymbals. You can hear the other percussion in the background buried so deep, that if you're not listening closely, you won't hear it. The lyrics are not meaningful or heartfelt, yet they are somehow powerful all the same during this middle part:
♫Mama I'm gonna be your slave
All day long
Mama I'm gonna try behave
All day long...♫
Freddie laid down some organ for this track as well, but due to poor engineering, the instrument was buried to an almost inaudible level. Thank goodness for the bonus track included here which resurrects both the extra percussion and organ.
The Night Comes Down has one of my favorite musical intros ever. It is very bass driven and some rhythmic guitar and drums. It's very unlike Queen. This track is actually the demo that they recorded. The band did record a newer version but when they heard the playback they were too unhappy with the sound, especially the drums. Producer Roy Baker didn't hear anything wrong with the new recording, so Queen chose to include the demo that they recorded a year before. Maybe when the Queen archives are finally all accounted for, they will release the unheard version in some box set release.
The song sounds quite raw by Queen's standards, it sounds if maybe only one vocal overdub was recorded, and Brian does some guitar overdubs on the song's outro. An odd departure for the band are the lyrics, which are very much unlike Queen. They really represent the mood of the song, very serene and calm:
♫When I was young it came to me
And I could see the sun breaking
Lucy was high and so was I
Dazzling, holding the world inside
Once I believed in everyone
Everyone and anyone can see
Oh oh the night comes down♫
Modern Times Rock And Roll is Roger Taylor's first Queen contribution and it's good timing since it's Queen's debut. He has had at least one song on every Queen release, which is more than I could say for the talented John Deacon. John didn't show his song writing skills until the third album, Sheer Heart Attack.
This is a fast and short hard rocker. I wonder if they did this song live, and if they did was it Roger who sang, since he sings on the album cut?
The lyrics are sung very fast and hard to decipher, thank goodness for this Hollywood Records release.
Son And Daughter was Brian May's guitar showcase originally. Thank goodness for Roy Thomas Baker who talked him out of the four minute guitar solo, even if it was just temporarily for only a year until the great Brighton Rock from Sheer Heart Attack. You can hear the Brian May version on the Queen At The BBC CD on Hollywood Records.
This song may be the heaviest on the album. It's got a very low crunching murky guitar riff that anchors the song. The lyrics are very confusing. I think it's about a parent who wishes their son was a girl.
♫Tried to be a son and daughter rolled into one
You said you'd equal any man for having your fun
Now didn't you feel surprised to find
The cap just didn't fit
The world expects a man
To buckle down and to shovel sh*t
What'll you do for loving
When it's only just begun?
I want you to be a woman...♫
Jesus is by Freddie, and it sounds like the same chords used in George Harrison's My Sweet Lord, so I always thought that maybe Harrison's song may have inspired Freddie to write this more specific homage to God. The lyrics are respectful although safe and sanitary. The middle instrumental in this song is progressive and groovy.
♫And then I saw Him in the crowd
A lot of people had gathered round Him
The beggars shouted the lepers called Him
The old man said nothing
He just stared about him
All going down to see the Lord Jesus
Then came a man before His feet he fell
Unclean said the leper and rang his bell
Felt the palm of a hand touch his head
Go now go now you're a new man instead♫
Seven Seas Of Rhye is again written by Freddie and is the shortest track on the CD. It is mainly a quick piano finger progression in D accented by heavy guitar, bass and percussion. No lyrics on this song, but within a couple of months, Freddie finished the song and recorded and included the song on Queen II, which has a slightly different title that includes the definitive article; The Seven Seas Of Rhye.
That track signaled the end of the album back in 1973, and I guess since it did include many instrumental parts throughout the album, it may have earned Queen the description of Progressive Rock in the 70's. If this was not their first release it would have been a major departure for Queen. Then again, all of their albums are totally different from the one previous. Could it be that Queen was a total visionary of themselves? With Queen, I suppose it's possible. There are subtle elements that will surface within the next three albums, so maybe not so visionary but maybe limited in time and money. But, in any case they were truly the most consistent band apart from the Beatles. Even if Queen's focus was blurred momentarily it seems that their talent did 'will out' as Freddie said, so as they never did contribute a crappy album ever. As if some other force was always with Queen from beginning to end, directing and molding each album into a super disc.
The Bonus Tracks:
Listening to Mad The Swine, it's hard to believe that the song was left off of the original album. This song is as good as and sometimes better than any song from their first LP, yet somehow unreleased until 1991's Hollywood Records reissue of the CD with these wonderful bonus tracks. The lyrics sort of tell a tale of a three foot Jesus type. Possibly due to it's "religious" overtones, maybe Queen decided not to include Mad the Swine and Jesus would give the listening fans the wrong impression that Queen were slightly religious.
Mad the Swine was to be originally placed between Great King Rat and My Fairy King.
Again, this song is a major departure for Queen and Freddie, yet it is so addicting you'll hum it all day.
It's said that the track was left off the original album due to the fact that Freddie and Roger hated the sound production of the drums/percussion of the song, but producer Baker wouldn't hear it and refused to have the song remixed or recorded again. Freddie decided to not include the song than release it the way Baker wanted it. This 1991 remix sounds great, Freddie would have been happy I'm guessing.
Keep Yourself Alive (Long Lost Retake) is another amazing find. This is Queen redoing their first single with a lot more dynamic aspect now. Some lyrics are slightly different towards the end. Better than the original! Yes, I've said it!
Liar is identical to the original but remixed. John Luongo, who is more known for his disco remixes, did an amazing job. This is way better than the original. He brought out what Queen had already recorded, but buried in the mix. During the All Day Long middle part, he brought to the front all of the percussion that was so buried in the original. He brought the organ to a more audible position as well. He added some sound effects like flange to the opening drums, which we really didn't need. The guitars seemed doubled at points to a nice result. This remix is groundbreaking to me, I always liked this song, but now it's awesome!
So, although this most welcome Hollywood Records reissue does bring out the music slightly better than the previous CD releases, the sound production is still poorer quality than it had to be. Maybe if Queen ever get around to releasing this CD in a surround DVD format like they did with A Night At The Opera and The Game, then we can enjoy the music as it should have sounded.
Some Queen Trivia
Other songs recorded by the band during these sessions for the debut were Silver Salmon, Polar Pear, possibly Hangman. These three songs are written by members of Queen. They also recorded I Can Hear Music and Goin' Back. I Can Hear Music is a Beach Boys song from 1969, and Goin' Back is a song written by Carole King. These two cover songs were recorded by Freddie at the behest of producer Robin Geoffrey Cable. Freddie laid the vocal down while unknown session musicians performed the backing track. Brian May added the guitar solo, and Roger Taylor added some percussion like maracas, tambourines and rollicking claves. Cable released the two songs as a single, but not as a Queen single. Freddie came up with the name Larry Lurex as a mocking nod to Gary Glitter. The two songs can be found on the Freddie Mercury Box Set.
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