Queen - Greatest Hits and Classic Queen

A couple of months ago, I made the decision to start going back through my collection of music that I have accumulated over the years and actually begin listening to it.  I know that it is a novel concept but with the pathetic state of FM Radio these days and realizing that there is only so much of "Mike and Mike in the Morning" that you can listen to on the iPhone, I opened up the proverbial vault and begun digging in.  I choose to begin with Queen due my kids wanting to hear the "mama mia; mama mia" song and thankful they were not talking about ABBA.  In the 1990's when artists were converting their catalogs onto CD, Queen's catalog and especially their Greatest Hits were noticeable absent due to the fact that they had no US label to release any albums.  Queens' Greatest Hits which originally came out on record and cassette in 1981 was one of the top selling Greatest Hits albums but was only available as a pricey import  from the UK.  In 1991, they signed with up Disney's Hollywood Records and now had distribution in the US.  The two albums were released after Freddie Mercury's death and Hollywood Records split off Bohemian Rhapsody from the UK version of Greatest Hits and released "Classic Queen" first.  Besides Bohemian Rhapsody, Classic Queen concentrated primarily upon the songs that were released in the 1980's through 1991 and mixed in a few older songs "Stone Cold Crazy", "Keep Yourself Alive" and "Tie Your Mother Down" for good measure.  If Classic Queen showed anything it was that Queen has the ability to write and construct great songs which should have received airplay in the US.  In the early 80's, Queen achieved unparalleled success with "Another One Bites the Dust" by crossing over to R&B stations.  Whether it was this crossover or Queen's abandonment of rock oriented music (see Flash Gordon soundtrack and Hot Space) that led to Queen's decline in the US, songs like "Hammer to Fall" from The Works,  "A Kind of Magic", "One Vision" from the Iron Eagle soundtrack, "I Want it All" from The Miracle or  "Headlong" from Innuendo should have mustered greater airplay than they did.  Innuendo was released by Hollywood Records and Queen did see the beginnings of a resurgence in the US thanks to a outstanding album and for being prominently included in the "Wayne's World" movie and soundtrack.  Unfortunately, Freddie Mercury's death in November 1991 ended any comeback that Queen was mounting.  The Greatest Hits album was released second and contained the remaining songs from the UK Greatest Hits and added newer songs "Body Language", "Don't Stop Me Now, and "I Want to Break Free".  Between the two compilations the only song that should not be included is "Body Language".  "Body Language" is not only a bad song but the only without any discernible guitar, acoustic drums or bass, it does not qualify as a Queen song.  Otherwise, the album is flawless showing off Queen's hit making ability without "selling out" their sound.  Both disks are a good appetizer to Queen's full menu and should be an introduction to some of their best albums; Night at the Opera, Day at the Races, News of the World and The Game, just to name a few.  Since Freddie's passing, the Queen catalog has been remastered and suffered through the release of multitude of greatest hits compilations.  Queen - Classic Queen is out of print and has been reconfigured into "Greatest Hits II".  If you are searching for an introduction to one of the innovative bands in recent history, I would strongly recommend these two albums, Queen - Greatest Hits and Queen - Greatest Hits II as a beginning point into an outstanding catalog of music.

'Til Tuesday - Welcome Home

In 1985, 'Til Tuesday were a band that were quickly rising to the levels of stardom that most bands hoped for.  The title track from "Voices Carry" was receiving solid rotation on the radio (102.7 WNEW), the video for the emponymous track was part of the Mtv (remember when they played music) regular video play list and they were opening for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers on their "Pack Up The Plantation" tour.  The stars and planets seemed aligned for Aimee Mann & Co.  They released their second single "Love in a Vacuum" which did not garner the same attention as "Voices Carry" and shortly thereafter the music industry moved on.  This is where the tradegy begins for 'Til Tuesday.  While a large number of groups/performers have huge breakout success with their debut releases and then hit that proverbial "sophomore slump" both commerically and creatively.  'Til Tuesday's second release "Welcome Home" shows remarkable growth musically by the band and lyrically from Aimee Mann.  Add to this top notch production by Rhett Davies, "Welcome Home" should have solidified 'Til Tuesday's position as a group worth listening to and their musical careers.  From the opening track "What About Love", you immediately hear the pain and angst in her voice as she strains to sing "What about Love/What about making room for two/What about love,baby/What about you".  As with most of Aimee's songs, they take on an autobiographical tone.  On the opening track, the guitar playing of Robert Holmes is more prevelant than at any point on "Voices Carry".  The lush keyboard textures that Joey Pesce add enhance and do not overpower.  "Coming Up Close"  should have been the song that put 'Til Tuesday over the top instead of being largely ignored.  The next four tracks; On Sunday, Will She Just Fall Down, David Denies and Lovers' Day are probably the best songs that Aimee Mann and company had written to date.  To me, David Denies is the best track on the CD.  It has a power that had not been performed on any 'til Tuesday track previously but did not loose the sense of yearning and heartbreak that Aimee communicates.  The remaining tracks; Have Mercy, Sleeping and Waking, Angels Never Call and No One is Watching You Now round out the album well.  While the songs do not have the power and intensity of the first six tracks they do well on their own merit.  Aimee Mann is the type of singer and performer in the same mold as Chrissie Hynde when the Pretenders first hit the scene, she did her type of music because it pleased her and whether anyone liked it or not did not matter.  It was up to you get a board.  This CD is one of my 10 desert island discs and should be one of yours as well.  'Til Tuesday - Welcome Home

Emerson, Lake & Powell

This was supposed to be the Emerson, Lake and Palmer reunion album but due to Carl Palmer's commitment/obligation to ASIA, Cozy Powell sat in on drums (with Carl's blessing).  From the first track, The Score, it is evident that Cozy Powell is not Carl Palmer and to a large degree that is a good thing.  Cozy Powell was a traditional hard rock drummer having played with Rainbow and Deep Purple to name a few bands and he brings a new found energy that had been lacking on the last recordings (Works Vol.1 & 2, Love Beach) before they had broke up.  Also, while I conisider Carl Palmer a good drummer, I have found after listening to ELP, Asia and few other recordings of his, that he has difficulty keeping simple 4/4 or even 3/4 time.  Sometimes the ability to keep it simple is the best method.  The first five tracks, The Score, Learning to Fly, Miracle, Touch & Go (only song to get any radio play) and Love Blind are fast paced, prog rock mixed with hard rock drumming listening that make you not realize that couple of songs are 9 and 7 minutes long.  Unfortunately, it is the last three tracks; Step Aside, LayDown Your Guns and Mars, The Bringer of War, where the wheels fall off.  Step Aside is a jazz tinged number with Cozy Powell playing the brushes on the drums and he sound out of his element which in my opinion he was.  Lay Down Your Guns just plods along and when the song is over, you are thankful it is.  Finally, Mars, the Bringer of War is actually a remake and was first done by King Crimson in the early 1970's which Greg Lake was a part of.  The song is prog rock at its glory, it is bombastic, over the top and complex to it is core.  My CD version has two extra tracks; The Loco-Motion, a remake of the 1960's tune which was first destoyed by Kylie Minogue and does not offer anything special here.  The other track is an outtake, Vacant Possession, which is a good song but understandable why it was left off the record.  So why buy this CD?  In truth, you don't need to like every song on a disc to own it.  As I mentioned, the first five tracks are great and I would bet that anyone familiar with Touch and Go can have the opening keyboard sequence play in their head as you read this.  The disc can be purchased here: Emerson, Lake and Powell