Queen Rocks
| Queen Rocks | ||||
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| Compilation album by Queen | ||||
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| Label (s) | Parlophone / EMI ; Hollywood Records (USA) | |||
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Title (number) |
18th |
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running time |
70:20 |
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Queen Rocks is the fourth compilation album by the British rock group Queen , released in 1997 . In addition to older songs, it contains the track No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) recorded in the same year and published here for the first time .
The album
The album Queen Rocks contains a selection of heavier, rock-oriented and sometimes less well-known songs by Queen. These pieces, mostly written by Brian May, come from all creative periods of the band, with the album News of the World being the strongest with three titles. (Only the albums Made in Heaven , The Game and the Flash Gordon soundtrack do not include a song.)
A special feature of this compilation album is the ballad No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) recorded in 1997 , in which Roger Taylor and songwriter Brian May share the vocals. No-One But You is the only new track that the three remaining Queen members May, Taylor and John Deacon have recorded together in the studio since the death of their singer Freddie Mercury (1991).
Revised versions of three tracks by Queen Rocks can be heard. The partly newly recorded I Can't Live with You differs significantly from its original version, which was released six years earlier. When I'm in Love with My Car and I Want It All is - this is not mentioned on the album - to unpublished hybrid versions of each album and single versions.
Over the years, the original tapes of the various Queen songs have been repeatedly re-mastered to improve the sound quality. This resulted in not inconsiderable errors several times. One of them - in the form of a more than clearly audible 'click' noise - is here in the intro of Fat Bottomed Girls .
The design of the album cover, which shows a modification of the Queen logo with the zodiac signs of the band members and the phoenix on the front , was created by Richard Gray and Queen; the illustrations are by Damien Rochford. When this album was later reissued, a different image was used for the cover, on which only the phoenix floating over flames can be seen.
Commercially, Queen Rocks was not particularly successful compared to other Queen releases; its lasting importance is significantly less than that of the greatest hits compilations. In Great Britain the album came to number 7 on the local charts, in most other countries Queen Rocks was poorly placed. The single No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) , released only after the album, reached number 13 in the UK single charts.
Track list
- We Will Rock You (1977, May) - 2:01
- Tie Your Mother Down (1976, May) - 3:45
- I Want It All (Orig. 1989, Queen [May]) - 4:30
- Seven Seas of Rhye (1974, Mercury) - 2:45
- I Can't Live with You (1997 'Rocks' Retake) (Orig. 1991, Queen [May]) - 4:47
- Hammer to Fall (1984, May) - 4:22
- Stone Cold Crazy (1974, Queen) - 2:14
- Now I'm Here (1974, May) - 4:12
- Fat Bottomed Girls (1978, May) - 4:15
- Keep Yourself Alive (1973, May) - 3:45
- Tear It Up (1984, May) - 3:24
- One Vision (1985, Queen) - 5:09
- Sheer Heart Attack (1977, Taylor) - 3:24
- I'm in Love with My Car (Orig. 1975, Taylor) - 3:11
- Put Out the Fire (1982, May) - 3:18
- Headlong (1991, Queen [May]) - 4:38
- It's Late (1977, May) - 6:27
- No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) (1997, May) - 4:13
Titles 3, 5, 14 and 18 were previously unpublished in this form. - In contrast to the greatest hits albums , Hammer to Fall , Fat Bottomed Girls , Headlong and One Vision can not be heard in the single but in the longer album versions.
Reception in the media
The US website Allmusic said in their review of the album: “Queen were never adverse to commercialism [...]. It should come as no surprise, then, that just two years after the release of that posthumous record, the surviving members went back into the vaults to assemble Rocks, Vol. 1 . As the title suggests, Rocks, Vol. 1 captures Queen at their most rockin ', or, to be more accurate, their heaviest. [...] In other words, Rocks, Vol. 1 is a bit of a hodgepodge and one that most fans will be able to ignore. But for casual fans of Brian May's searing, melodic guitar, Mercury's operatic wail, and the surprisingly swinging backbeat of John Deacon and Roger Taylor, this compilation will suit their needs quite nicely. "
Chart positions and awards
Queen Rocks reached # 7 on the UK album charts and went platinum. The album was placed in the top 20 of the charts in Germany , the Netherlands , Austria and Switzerland .
| UK | DE | AT | CH | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest chart positions | 7th | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| (Weeks in charts) | (12 W.) | (9 W.) | (13 W.) | (9 W.) |
| Awards | platinum |
In the US, the album did not make it into the charts.
Single release 'No-One But You'
No-One But You (Only the Good Die Young) was released in late 1997 (e.g. in Germany) or early 1998 (e.g. in Great Britain) as the only single from the album. The cover shows Icarus , whose story from Greek mythology, according to Brian May, is one of the sources of inspiration for his song (see the line of the song "you're only flying too close to the sun").
Other tracks on this single include Rick Rubin's “Ruined” remix of We Will Rock You , which features Flea on bass and Chad Smith on drums (both members of the Red Hot Chili Peppers ). Rubin's version was originally only released in North America in 1991 as a bonus track on the Hollywood Records CD News of the World . Joshua J. Macrae's instrumental remix of Gimme the Prize for Queens's 1998 computer game The Eye was also released on the single . Some single-editions also contain the pieces Tie Your Mother Down or not on Queen Rocks represented Princes of the Universe .
No-One But You You / Tie Your Mother Down reached number 13 in the British charts . The single No-One But You came in 33rd in the Netherlands and 75th in Germany.
swell
- ↑ Stephen Thomas Erlewine: Queen Rocks, Vol. 1. Review . In: Allmusic . Last accessed on January 11, 2011.
- ↑ "Queen Rocks" in the UK charts ; British Phonographic Industry (BPI): Certified Awards Search .
- ↑ Queen Rocks in the German album charts
- ↑ Queen Rocks in the Austrian charts
- ↑ Queen Rocks in the Swiss Hit Parade
- ↑ a b queenpedia.com: No One But You (single) . Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ↑ "[...] it was part of the inspiration of the song really. […] It's a very interesting symbolic tale that has a lot to do with the song, […] “. - Brian May, in: BBC World Service: Pop on the Line, November 16, 1997 (see Queen Archives )
- ↑ Andrew Young: No One But You . Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ↑ officialcharts.com: No-One But You / Tie Your Mother Down in the UK charts
- ↑ dutchcharts.nl: No-One But You You . Retrieved January 11, 2011.
- ↑ officialcharts.de: No-one But You in the German charts