Queen's early albums were brilliant and I had forgotten how good they were until reminded by this thread.
There are lots of reasons why Queen were so good, they gave glam rock a hard edge at the time, they experimented with musical styles, sounds and studio techniques, they composed complex songs but didn't become too self-indulgent, they told stories. I think Queen were heavily influenced by the idea of rock opera in the early days which is why you get that tremendous variation of styles/ genres and dynamics within songs right back to the first and second albums.
And then you get the covers which define everything about them, Queen l Freddie the showman caught in the spotlight and on Queen II, the iconic picture of the four together. In any history of UK rock and pop music Queen's works are nearly all required listening.
There are lots of reasons why Queen were so good, they gave glam rock a hard edge at the time, they experimented with musical styles, sounds and studio techniques, they composed complex songs but didn't become too self-indulgent, they told stories. I think Queen were heavily influenced by the idea of rock opera in the early days which is why you get that tremendous variation of styles/ genres and dynamics within songs right back to the first and second albums.
And then you get the covers which define everything about them, Queen l Freddie the showman caught in the spotlight and on Queen II, the iconic picture of the four together. In any history of UK rock and pop music Queen's works are nearly all required listening.



