Queen 40, Volume 1

Few rock bands have had the same ability to span multiple styles of music quite like Queen, or quite the same concentration of raw talent. Each of Queen's 4 members not only could play more than one instrument, each had formidable songwriting skills on their own, and 3 out of 4 of them were vocalists of a caliber where each could've fronted their own band with great success. This first collection is the strongest of the 3 "Queen 4" remaster groupings, and reflects their first 5 albums where they were consistently on spot with every release. In terms of the quality of the remastering, there is a noticeable increase in volume, but without "brickwalling" or excessive levels causing unwanted distortion. I've seen someone claim that these remasters are "too loud", but this is yet another situation where people spout out audiophile clichés like "smiley-face EQs" or "the original 1980s CD releases were the best", in an attempt to somehow sound more discerning than everyone else. While the original 1991 remasters weren't awful, they were a tad flat and thin. These remasters feel more "solid" for lack of a better word, the EQ is balanced to avoid muddiness, mid-honkiness, and gritchy high end as much as possible, and the various parts on each song are definitely more distinct. In terms of the bonuses, as others have said, the appended EP disks tend to be a tad underwhelming. For example, while there may have been issues regarding who had the rights to the songs, the long lost Smile studio sessions (this being the band that was Queen's predecessor) would have been a superb addition, as would demos such as Silver Salmon. Those alone might've generated even more sales. But alas, at least we still get a few decent bonuses, including early demo versions, and live performances.Over the course of the 5 albums included, we see Queen burst out of the gate as an entity that stood out from other heavy rock/proto/early metal outfits of the early 70s. While Uriah Heep is often cited as the archetype for the "over-the-top" approach that later metal bands would use (and critics would loathe), Queen easily put them to shame with their incredibly energetic and joyful delivery. While Uriah Heep would perform their material with an almost grimly determined aura in an attempt to reinforce the "epic nature" of what they were trying to do, Queen very much seemed to achieve the goal almost offhandedly, recognizing that being an entertainer trying to convey a sense of fantasy is by nature somewhat ridiculous, but never making fun of the audience or the material in the process of retaining that sense of humor and joy. Queen were very obviously influenced by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and the Who, but also seemed to have a spiritual link to Black Sabbath, and their trailblazing heavy metal. Another major ingredient in the mix, which would more clearly emerge after the first two albums, was a definite love of traditional, non-rock music, such as jazz, classical, 1920s dancehall music, and Broadway.But the first album did clearly focus more on heavy rock, with classical influences and a touch of the Who's wide-open sound. It was here where you can find the roots of power metal, with the gallop of "Great King Rat" and "Keep Yourself Alive", and the epic rave-up of "Liar". The air of fantasy and whimsy is also present throughout the album, with the almost foppish, delicate approach of "My Fairy King". However, this is counterbalanced by such red-blooded tracks as Roger Taylor's "Modern Times Rock 'n Roll", and the grinding "Son and Daughter". One thing for certain is that the band already established extensive and impressive guitar and vocal harmonies as a central pivot for their music. By the time they were ready to record "Queen II", the band's ambitions had become even greater, as did their confidence. The resulting album was nothing short of insanely atmospheric and over the top (ironically "Over the Top" was to be the original name for it). The amount of layered tracks present is almost absurd, and solidified their role as one of the main inspirations for power metal. Just listen to Blind Guardian's "And Then There Was Silence" back to back with "March of the Black Queen", and you'll see what I mean. "Father to Son", the crushing "Ogre Battle", and "Seven Seas of Rhye" all break new ground in the metal genre, even if dainty fare (littered with glittering harpsichords and delicate acoustic guitars) such as "White Queen", "Funny How Love Is" and "The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke" all subvert any characterization of Queen as a metal band. I can't overemphasize what an achievement "Queen II" is, as it nails the medievalisms other heavy bands aspired to invoke, but never sounded turgid or stiff in the process."Sheer Heart Attack" saw the band decide to dial back things a bit, and replace much of the medieval atmosphere with influences closer to their own time. Of course, "closer" was a relative term, and meant nods to ragtime (notably in "Bring Back That Leroy Brown") and European theatrical music ("Flick of the Wrist", "Killer Queen"). There was a greater emphasis on advancing both pop and heavy rock elements further. "Killer Queen" gave the band the hit single they needed to break through, "Stone Cold Crazy" prefigured speed/thrash metal with its distorted, syncopated and speedy riffing, while the stately "In the Lap of the Gods...Revisited" was custom-built to close a stadium rock event. A fan of power metal band "Gamma Ray" could easily see how Queen influenced them by listening to some of the guitar pyrotechnics in "Brighton Rock". But Queen's true breakthrough was the oft-lauded "A Night at the Opera". In between snippets of Great Gatsby-esque numbers such as "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon", "Seaside Rendezvous" and "Good Company" (complete with a big band section that was actually Brian May's multi-tracked, processed guitar playing), the band landed musical knockout blows with Taylor's powerful "I'm In Love With My Car", Brian May's sci-fi folk song "'39", John Deacon's earnest pop love song "You're My Best Friend", and Freddie Mercury's vindicative "Death on Two Legs". The epic "The Prophet's Song" is no slouch, providing a vocal tour-de-force midway through. Of course, there's also a little song called "Bohemian Rhapsody", which you may have heard of.After the constantly shifting approaches of their first 4 albums, the relatively familiar "A Day at the Races" may have felt like a bit of a letdown. It doesn't deviate too much from its predecessor, plumbing old-timey musical motifs in songs such as "The Millionaire's Waltz" and "Good Old Fashioned Loverboy", providing torch song balladry with "You Take My Breath Away", and refining stadium-rock anthem-making with "Teo Torriate". There's also the requisite sensitive Brian May moment with "Long Away", as well as the band's take on gospel with "Somebody to Love". And just in case you were worried they couldn't rock anymore, "Tie Your Mother Down" says otherwise. Even if none of this feels as surprising as their prior albums, it's still all...damn...good. In fact, I'd call this one of their more underrated albums, as you don't hear many people singing its praises. And so this first set closes with the band still on the rise overall. Due to the incredible consistency of each of the albums, this is the best of the 3 sets, as the band would later go through some ups and downs. While all 3 sets are worth buying, if you have to buy only one, this is the best choice. But then again, after you get this one..........how can you resist completing the story of Queen?

Excellent, Very Happy.

Well, I agree with most of the reviewers on here who say these are by far the best sounding Queen cd's released to date. Crisp, clear, full, quiet, beautiful best describes the way they sound. Yes they are louder than the 1992 releases, but no stupidly louder and their is an openness about them, i.e. they don't sound like Metallica's last release.What you wont find here are louded up compressed to hell vintage tunes with no feel or soul to them. The quiet parts are quiet, the loud parts are loud etc. They sound the way the were originally meant to only better.The second cd is cool, but nothing special. It is however a massive step forward from the 1992 releases. What was with some of those remixes? Were they trying to turn Queen into a dance band? I never understood stood some of those remixes back then and still don't to this day!Inside the ordinary jewel cases you'll find the same stuff you found on the albums with a few more pics thrown in here and there for good measure. Overall nothing special, but all good stuff just the same.As far as tunes go, I like Box set A and C better than box set B. However that's just my take and yours may vary. Box A is killer from start to finish. Box set B has two of my least favorite Queen albums. Both The Game and Flash didn't do much for me back than and still don't today. However I enjoyed Hot Space when much of the population was wondering "what the hell" lol. The first 4 songs on the game are fantastic, after that it's alright. Flash is well Flash, nuff said! Box C also has some great material on it. The only two releases that didn't do anything for me were The Works and Made In Heaven. The works has a few decent tunes on it, but overall it's lacking in my opinion. Made In Heaven which was put together after Mr. Mercury's passing is what it is, which is a final farewell with songs that were cut and spliced together from old master tapes that had been recorded months or in some cases years before hand.Queen along with Zeppelin are bands that had careers cut way to short by the tragic death of one of their members. These band along with Pink Floyd, Sabbath and a few others are what music is all about. They were creative as hell and deserve to be known as some of the best bands of all time. I don't think you'll find that the bands of today or really the last 20 years will have the kind of loyal following or staying power (to quote Queen lol) these groups have. I'm not sure if it's because they're just not as creative as those older bands were or if it's just because they can't play their damn instruments and thus are limited in what they can do? Whatever it is, they are light years behind those groups who basically got the ball rolling in the late 60's, 70's and early 80's!So in conclusion, yes their could have been more pictures and better packaging etc. However if you loved Queen, you will not be disappointed with what you find here as all three box sets have the goods and sound great.

Box maravilhoso com os cinco primeiros albuns do Queen, todos os cds são duplos (pena que nem sempre traz música inédita), encartes com fotos, letras e outras informações. O box também traz um pôster da banda.

The classic first 5 studio albums of Queen with extra bonus CDs + a mini poster in elegant sleeve box! Definitely a must-have for every true fan and real collector!

O.K.

perfeito

Ce coffret CD est EXCELLENT et je le recommande fortement pour tous les fans de Queen.Il contient les 5 premiers albums studio du groupe, soit :- QUEEN 1973- QUEEN II 1974- QUEEN SHEER HEART ATTACK 1974- QUEEN A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 1975- QUEEN A DAY AT THE RACES 1976Chaque album contient 2 CD, chaque CD ont été remasterisé en 2011. Le premier est l’album studio original et le second contient des BONUS, soit des versions EP des versions démos, des versions Session de la BBC, des versions instrumentales, des face-B ou bien des versions LIVE. Ce qui fait un total de 10 CD par coffret.Si vous êtes comme moi un collectionneur et amateur de Queen ne manquer cette chance de vous procurez les 3 coffrets pour un total de 30 CD, car ils en valent la peine. Alors vous aurez la chance comme moi de posséder les 15 albums studio du groupe original avec Freddie Mercury (chanteur et leader du groupe), Brian May (guitariste), John Deacon (bassiste) et Roger Taylor (batteur).Peut-être que quelques-uns parmi vous diront que le groupe ont enregistré 16 album studio, c’est vrai. Mais pour moi le véritable groupe Queen n’est rien sans Freddie Mercury décédé en 1991 du sida. Alors c’est pour cette raison que je ne tiens pas compte du 16ième album, car ce dernier a été enregistré avec le chanteur Paul Rodgers dont la voie est loin d’atteindre celle de Freddie Mercury, même si Freddie aimait beaucoup ce chanteur.Il est a remarqué que le 15ième album studio MADE IN HEAVEN de groupe est sortie en 1995 après la mort de Freddie. Mais cet album est constitué de sessions de chant enregistrées en 1991 et d’ébauches mises de côté lors des enregistrements précédents du groupe enregistrées avec Freddie Mercury avant sa mort.Alors ne laisser pas passer cette chance de vous procurez ce coffret de 10 CD et je vous encourage de vous procurez les 3 coffrets pour un grand total de 30 CD, alors vous aurez la discographie complète des albums studio du groupe, car ces coffrets sont de vrai bijou.Bonne Écoute!!!