Pros: A Classic Queen release officially available in the US for the first time ever
Cons: Their first LP Queen is not represented here.
The Bottom Line: If you're lucky enough to get a very limited edition of this, please do. It's the real Classic Queen from their earliest years. Well, not the earliest.
scapp70's Full Review: Queen's First Ep [EP] by Queen
Started in 2007, a new US holiday was born called Record Store Day. You most likely will not get a day off from school or work, it's not that kind of holiday - but you may get your hands on a limited release of one of your favorite bands. Record Store Day was created to boost the sales of independently owned music stores by offering limited promotional releases from some of your favorite bands. While Metallica was the promotional took at the first RSD in April on 2008, a slew of classic rock bands released some real gems on April 18th, 2009, including Bob Dylan, The Stooges, MC5 and Queen.
On RSD, Hollywood Records and possibly founding Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May, have decided to release a rare (for US fans) 1977 release called Queen's First EP. Now at 32 years later, it's probably more than likely going to end up as Queen's last EP as well since no other EPs were officially released after this. They limited the number of copies to 3000 which makes this a true collector's item, and with the very cool CD design resembling a 45 single with the grooves and everything makes it just that much cooler to own.
When Queen released this originally in 1977, when their global success was unquestionable and at their all-time high at that point. This was originally to be a taster for their earlier albums to make sure new fans sought out said older albums by Queen. The album begins with their most recent single Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, a song written by lead singer Freddie Mercury and taken from their 1976 album Day at the Races, released 6 months before. This is another one of Freddie's playful ragtime numbers, which he usually included on Queen's earlier releases (like Bring Back That Leroy Brown, Seaside Rendezvous or Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon). The track is one of Queen's more quirky singles, and it exhibits some amazing bass playing from John Deacon.
Representing their next album A Night at the Opera (1975) is Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...), another Freddie Mercury song, and a heavy rock track with screaming guitars, loud vocals and great lyrics. This is usually described as "venomous" by Brian May since the lyrics are less than complimentary toward their previous manager Norman Sheffield who had locked the band into an unfair contract paying the band pennies while Sheffield got more and more rich off them. Much in the same way Prince had written the word SLAVE on his cheek in 1993 to protest Warner Brothers, Freddie had done the same almost twenty years earlier through his lyrics. "Dog with disease, you're the king of the sleaze/Put your money where your mouth is/ Mr. Know-All, was the fin on your back part of the deal? (Shark)"
Tenement Funster is off of the Sheer Heart Attack album from late 1974, and written by drummer Roger Taylor. The drummer also sings lead on his track, a habit he usually followed in the early days of Queen. This is an unruly rock track with a funkier sound to the guitars, as Roger takes care of the rhythm tracks while Brian May was recuperating away from the studio from all sorts of disease.
The last song is from their second album Queen II, a song called White Queen. It's a track written by guitarist Brian May. This album represents an era for Queen when they've written much heavier material, and with a progressive rock lyrical base. White Queen is a good demonstration of this kind of music. Freddie's lead vocal is simply sublime in the whispery soft verses, and with an unmatched power that sounds as sharp as Ginsu during the chorus.
The best part about this 2009 re-release is that every song represents what the fans love about Queen. This is a very different Queen than what the world knows of them from their many greatest hits albums. This showcases the anti-Queen, which is oddly the real Queen. If you could get your hands on this four-song limited release, the do it - it's probably the best place to start when you're trying to learn about Queen. Get into the hits last.
Queen's First EP Released: 05/1977 (originally) Re-Release: 04/19/2009 (limited to 3000) Record Label: Hollywood Records Tracks 1. Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy 2. Death On two Legs 3. Tenement Funster 4. White Queen
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