The Album Review Club - *** Christmas Break Playlist (next album 7/1/26) ***

A busy evening so far gave me just the right amount of time for a first listen to SHA (drove my family into Manchester, parked up, had a pizza, they are seeing Wicked - musical, not film - I’m back home for the match and then I’ll be back into the city to pick them up again!)

Anyway, enjoyed the first listen but I’ll save anymore for the review.
 
OB1 said:
Would have loved to have seen those two gigs!

Yes, my first was ANATO @ the FTH - the second show of the evening. You may recall that due to the popularity of B.Rhapsody, they added a second show in MCR and played both on the same evening.

I doubt you will find any early Queen fans that don't think they peaked during those first four albums but I still found plenty to like on most of their albums.
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Tbh I can’t remember but I’d guess it would have been the second show.
It seems we must have been to a lot of the same gigs back then, we both were at ‘The Tubes’ and ‘Kiss’
Sadly I wasn’t one of the thousands that saw The Sex Pistols’ at the lesser Free Trade Hall nor did I go to York away!
 
Mancitydoogle said:
Tbh I can’t remember but I’d guess it would have been the second show.
It seems we must have been to a lot of the same gigs back then, we both were at ‘The Tubes’ and ‘Kiss’
Sadly I wasn’t one of the thousands that saw The Sex Pistols’ at the lesser Free Trade Hall nor did I go to York away!
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but of course, you were both at York away
 
Mancitydoogle said:
Tbh I can’t remember but I’d guess it would have been the second show.
It seems we must have been to a lot of the same gigs back then, we both were at ‘The Tubes’ and ‘Kiss’
Sadly I wasn’t one of the thousands that saw The Sex Pistols’ at the lesser Free Trade Hall nor did I go to York away!
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No I didn’t do either of those. I’m not sure why I didn’t go to York: I had it in mind to make a weekend of it.
 
This will be interesting for me.
Only album i have heard was ANATO.
Again it must have been over 40 years since i heard that.
Good couple of singles on Sheer Heart Attack so it will be intersting to hear the rest of the album.
 
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This will be interesting....can't remember the last time, or which Queen album I last listened to in full....generally a band I like a song or 2 from each album, which together would make one stunning album! Always got put off by, what I found a couple of really cringy songs (the ridiculous 'imo' Ride my Bicycle nonsense) being the worst......shame the song Sheer Heart Attack isn't on this album, as imo, it's one of their best tracks ;)
 
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Queen - Sheer Heart Attack

I think i just dont like rock stars. The most outrageous thing you can be right now is conservative. Rock sold out and what was once outrageous and challenging now appears on Jeremy Clarksons Best Road Riffs cds available in all good motorway service stations. They challenged the establishment and the establishment welcomed them in because toffs like super models and cocaine as well.

50 years post Queen rockstars are still wearing eyeliner and getting sweaty. Queen may have done it better and possibly first but looking back i cant shake the feeling that even Freddy Mercury is doing an impression of Freddy Mercury.

It is a great impression. Opening track Brighton Rock sees Mercury singing the male and female parts of a duet. When he does the descending run from the female into the male it is impressive.

Tenement Funster, Flick of the Wrist and Lilly of the Valley are presented as a medley and whilst the transitions are nicely handled it does feel like it is the cast of a west end musical performing at the royal variety show. Now I'm Here sounds like the part of the show where the main character suddenly finds the confidence to be who he is destined to be.

In The Lap of the Gods has an interesting bit where the volume drops and then the song comes back in. I would like to know what this was trying to convey. It is possible they were just cutting out an 8 minute Brian May solo.

Stone Cold Crazy is at least a bit of fun but the classic Queen choir harmonies gives it the same theatre feel which is definitely not helped by the cold opening of Dear Friends. Misfire is played over a montage of a young couple; they are painting their lounge and oh no he's put paint on her nose; now they are walking their dog in the park and it shakes muddy water all over their faces; then they are snuggled smugly on the sofa.

Bring Back That Leroy Brown is a banger but again is damaging to Queens credibility. She Makes Me is a nice enough song which fails to build to anything. I do like the outro but it needed some of the theatre of Lap of The Gods Revisited. Here the theatre i have been maligning works to the advantage of the song which is quite repetitive but enjoyable.

I so far have deliberately not commented on Killer Queen. It is a classic song with a lyrical complexity not evident on a lot of the other tracks. However its a party classic like Dancing Queen, I Will Survive and Mambo No 5.

None of this is Queens fault. Im looking back through a crowd of people like Mika and The Darkness and Waynes World. Queen are rock stars and whilst that should be subversive it is pretty vanilla these day's. I think i just don't like rock stars. Or musicals (with the exception of War of the Worlds)

6 out of 10
 
Mancitydoogle said:
Tbh I can’t remember but I’d guess it would have been the second show.
It seems we must have been to a lot of the same gigs back then, we both were at ‘The Tubes’ and ‘Kiss’
Sadly I wasn’t one of the thousands that saw The Sex Pistols’ at the lesser Free Trade Hall nor did I go to York away!
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I was also at those FTH gigs. And many more around that time, from Kraftwerk to Blue Oyster Cult (supported by Japan) Black Sabbath to ELO, and Thin Lizzy seemed to be on every other month, lol.

Queen's Palace gig was my first ever too. Saw them on every UK tour after, often more than once up to 1986 at maine Road. 16 times in total .... yes, even the Hot Space tour @jimharri ;-) (Actually the tracks from that album came across much better live. Especially Staying Power which was excellent.

They lost me on record after Hot Space, which while it didn't work, was for me the last time they tried new things. It all seemed very safe and often bland after that effort. The Gaga/Break Free/Want It All stuff ...

Though Innuendo showed glimpses of their glory days, the title track most so.

SHA is my joint favourite album alongside Queen II.
 
MCFCTrick said:
I was also at those FTH gigs. And many more around that time, from Kraftwerk to Blue Oyster Cult (supported by Japan) Black Sabbath to ELO, and Thin Lizzy seemed to be on every other month, lol.

Queen's Palace gig was my first ever too. Saw them on every UK tour after, often more than once up to 1986 at maine Road. 16 times in total .... yes, even the Hot Space tour @jimharri ;-) (Actually the tracks from that album came across much better live. Especially Staying Power which was excellent.

They lost me on record after Hot Space, which while it didn't work, was for me the last time they tried new things. It all seemed very safe and often bland after that effort. The Gaga/Break Free/Want It All stuff ...

Though Innuendo showed glimpses of their glory days, the title track most so.

SHA is my joint favourite album alongside Queen II.
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Please give it a score out of 10.
 
MCFCTrick said:
I was also at those FTH gigs. And many more around that time, from Kraftwerk to Blue Oyster Cult (supported by Japan) Black Sabbath to ELO, and Thin Lizzy seemed to be on every other month, lol.

Queen's Palace gig was my first ever too. Saw them on every UK tour after, often more than once up to 1986 at maine Road. 16 times in total .... yes, even the Hot Space tour @jimharri ;-) (Actually the tracks from that album came across much better live. Especially Staying Power which was excellent.

They lost me on record after Hot Space, which while it didn't work, was for me the last time they tried new things. It all seemed very safe and often bland after that effort. The Gaga/Break Free/Want It All stuff ...

Though Innuendo showed glimpses of their glory days, the title track most so.

SHA is my joint favourite album alongside Queen II.
Click to expand...
Yeah; I went to the Elland Road concert, May 1982. Baking hot day, Julian Cope getting bottled off the stage (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Heart were the other support acts). Fantastic concert; just a pity it was promoting such a horrendous album.
 
jimharri said:
Yeah; I went to the Elland Road concert, May 1982. Baking hot day, Julian Cope getting bottled off the stage (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Heart were the other support acts). Fantastic concert; just a pity it was promoting such a horrendous album.
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I went to that Elland road gig too.

Please leave a score for the album.
 
OB1 said:
Yes.

That'll round up nicely to 9/10.

Thank you
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You are the master of pulling these one-off posters in for a high score :)

To be fair, it happens with a lot of nominations but I think yours just land nicely with people of a certain age.
 
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