Queen (Deluxe Edition) [Remastered]

iTunes Review

Coming of age in 1973 at the heart of the glam era and armed with an album recorded over the course of a year with the masterful producer Roy Thomas Baker, Queen were an English quartet determined to contend. From guitarist Brian May’s elaborate guitar layering and brilliant tone to singer Freddie Mercury’s theatrical lead singing roles, Queen stood out at inception. “Keep Yourself Alive” was an energetic opening blast, while the compositional intensity and brain-expanding guitar solos of “Great King Rat” and “Liar” made clear a new age of arena rock was about to sweep the scene. “My Fairy King” is ornate and playful, jammed with gratuitous bass runs, fancy drums rolls, quick piano trills and vocal arrangements that interweave and derail. Their excesses were their charm. This Deluxe Edition features re-mastered sound and the original demo tape they shopped to record labels in 1971 and 1972, as well as the bonus track, “Mad The Swine”. The demo tapes show just what a great rock band they were at their core. Early comparisons to Led Zeppelin are due to their similar firepower. The sound here is astonishing.