July 13, 1973 - Queen and Queen

That's right, on the exact same day that "A Passion Play" was released, another new English band was releasing their first album when Queen came out with their debut album "Queen" on July 13, 1973. But who are Queen? They were a 4-piece rock band formed in London, England with members John Deacon (bass), Roger Taylor (drums, percussion), Brian May (guitars) and Freddie Mercury (lead vocals, keyboards). Though their debut is in 1973, they formed in 1970, but originally had trouble getting a record deal (can you believe that?!). They were offered to use Trident Studios only when no one else was there, so it was largely recorded in the middle of the night. Queen were inspired by progressive rock and early metal, but also add their own style. Let's give it a listen!

Side one begins with "Keep Yourself Alive" which kicks off with a catchy bass riff by Deacon before May's guitar takes lead with some cool licks. Mercury's voice sounds great, something that Queen has going for them all the time. Taylor and May sing backup in the chorus, and May's guitar is quite catchy in this one. Taylor plays a sweet little drum solo, followed by a decent guitar solo by May, who plays more great stuff as the chorus is repeated until the end. The next song is called."Doing All Right" and starts with slow piano and high vocals by Mercury thatbsound kind of Jon Anderson-esque. May plays some cool acoustic guitar, but it picks up after 2:00 with a nice rock riff with some cool electric guitar. This sticks around once it slows down again and they alternate a couple more times. The fast parts are cool, slow ones are just alright I think. Track 3 is titled "Great King Rat" and some pretty cool electric guitar by May starts it off, and he switches to acoustic for the verse. Mercury sings quickly and sounds just fantastic! Taylor's drums sound great as does May back on electric guitar. His first solo is fairly long and has some pretty sweet stuff! The next part is cool as well, Mercury shows off his range a bit, and we hear another verse. May's second guitar solo is also really good, and he seems pretty talented! There's a false ending but the guitar keeps going, and there'san awesome drum ending as well to this fantastic song! How could these guys not a record deal?! The final song on this side is "My Fairy King" and Mercury plays some catchy piano and screams quite high! The lyrics are about a Medieval fantasy land Mercury created, and this song is mostly just him on piano and singing, which sounds pretty good. A cool piano song to end the side.

Side two starts with "Liar" and drums and claps kick it off. May comes in with some pretty good guitar and Mercury's voice sounds wonderful. May and Taylor scream "Liar" in the chorus and the former's guitar solo is pretty good, while we hear another nice drum bit by the latter that backs Mercury. We hear more great guitar to close it out as May is really shining. Track 6 is called "The Night Comes Down" which has a cool opening and Deacon's bass is solid. Slow acoustic guitar leads the verse as Mercury hits high notes with ease. No serious flash on this one, but still a good song. The next song "Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll" has Taylor singing lead on this one and his singing is quick and ok, but nothing compared to Mercury. It's a quick beat that's pretty rockin', as the name would suggest, and has a great guitar solo by May! Track 8 is titled "Son And Daughter" and a catchy bass riff by Deacon carries the song as the guitar wanders a bit. Synchronized singing by Mercury, May and Taylor sounds pretty cool and we hear some trippy, high-pitched keyboards by Mercury as well. The next song is called "Jesus" and Mercury sings quickly in the verse, slows it down for the chorus. It's a bit of an odd song about going to see baby Jesus. It has a pretty good instrumental bit with some more great guitar by May, but the verses are so-so, Jesus is an overused subject for songs. The final song is a short one called " Seven Seas Of Rhye..." which is led by some super catchy and great piano. May adds cool guitar as well in this neat 1-minute instrumental that ends the album.

That is the end of "Queen" and I thought overall it was a pretty good album. "Great King Rat" is my favourite, but "Liar" and "Keep Yourself Alive" are also both solid songs. There's a couple songs that don't offer a whole lot, bit for a debut I thought it was a solid album. This just leaves room for improvement, and I look forward to hearing Queen try and improve their unique rock sound. What a great day for music!