A retrospective - Allan Holdsworth's 'Metal Fatigue'

Allan Holdsworth is without question one of the most influential and accomplished guitarists of the last 35 years. A legend, a perfectionist, a music pioneer. This is the guitarist who played with legendary progressive rock groups like Tempest, Tony Williams's 'Lifetime', Soft Machine, Gong and UK. He is the sound force of wailing emotion and power on Bill Bruford's 'Feels good to me' and 'One of a kind'.  Many great musicians, irrespective of whether they play guitars, drums or keyboard point to Holdsworth as the master. Back in the 80's Zappa, Santana, Phil Keaggy, Neal Schon and Van Halen all raved about Allan. Thirty years later and professional musicians are still in awe - just ask Alex Machacek, Steve Lukather, Virgil Donati or Derek Sherinian (who has played with many of the great guitarists including Lukather, John Petrucci, Al di Meola, Zack Wylde and Joe Bonamassa).


I have most of Allan's solo albums and main recordings with the bands already mentioned above. I love his playing on all of them even though Allan himself is dismissive of probably three quarters of his own discography, such are his perfectionist tendencies. To me and many other reviewers, even when a composition of his is ordinary, there is something that evokes both excitement and beauty listening to his playing. His playing is often lauded because of his incredible speed and dexterity - but there are more important attributes that makes up his unique sound. His smooth tone combined with the choice of notes and bends gives the guitar an organic sound like as if the instrument has a singing voice. This combined with shimmering bell-like chords presents a unique guitar aural experience that etches patterns on a listener's mind. It's an acquired taste that soon has you longing for more.


So as a retrospective I am going back to the early days of his solo career in 1985 to the album 'Metal Fatigue'.   This may be a quarter of a century ago, yet this album is as fresh and mindblowing as when I first listened to it. I realise that have always been 'in love' with this album. 


Since its release I cannot think of another album that demonstrates the ability of a guitarist to squeeze, wrench and create the wonderful tones that Allan Holdsworth does. This demonstrates how a whammy bar in the hands of an artist can cajole and caress emotion laden sounds from the electric guitar. What Van Halen and Vai have done with the whammy is fun and impressive. What Holdsworth has achieved is artwork of a master. 


It is a short album but four of the six tracks are arguably some of the finest fusion-rock recorded. I use this term loosely as an attempted label for the reader who may not have heard of Allan Holdsworth. This music is hard to define - far too complex for the label rock, yet too distorted and straight to be labelled jazz. 

If you love something then you savour all aspects, so even the striking Francois Bardol artwork of that Judgement-day scrap heap reinforces the album title. The blue neon rays across the cover and Allan's photograph are all supportive of what makes a listener treasure the artistic product - which is more than just a recording. 


I love the production and although AAD, it is a crisp, rich recording. I still think the quality of the drum recording is the best on this album out of all of Holdsworth's 80's and 90's albums. Both Chad Wackerman and Gary Husband are incredibly inventive and adventurous in their respective tom and cymbal work yet supportive of song structure. This album introduced me to these two wonderful drummers and to the phenomenal bass work by Jimmy Johnson and Gary Willis. 


The opening twenty-five seconds of the album are so startling that after many repeated listenings I still have a wry smile and marvel. You are assaulted with an aggressive riff of other-worldly guitar sounds which is then joined by Jimmy Johnson's in-your-face bass and Wackerman's drums. This mesmerising opening leads into a strangely beautiful song with lyrics that perplex sung by Paul Williams.



"Look in my eyes and you will satisfy yourself
So many lives I can describe
Look at the picture of the sanctifying light
So many words to justify


How long? How long can this go on? How long?
It's heavy metal fatigue.
It's heavy metal fatigue."



And as Williams finishes the line with 'How long?' so the opening riff crashes in once again. That opening track finally comes to a blistering halt and the sublime sounds of a person's laughter in a pub juxtaposed against the achingly mournful guitar chords are as gentle as what the opening track is aggressive. 'Metal Fatigue' into 'Home' is a triumph. And the amazing journey continues into 'Devil take the hindmost', a Holdsworth tour-de-force. This track more than any other shows Holdsworth's legato style as the notes cascade off his finger tips in a powerful torrent. 


There are Williams's strong vocals on two of the tracks providing some variety and intrigue but most of the time you are waiting for the guitar to be unleashed. The solos throughout are powerful and beautiful. In some ways it insults Holdsworth's ability to say he 'plays solos' as the guitar is interwoven throughout - a tapestry of sound. Listen again to the first four tracks and realise that no keyboards or synths are used - the wonder of Holdsworth is his stunning chord work that creates this tapestry of sound. 


Indeed the heart of the album is the 14 minute 'The un-merry-go-round', an intricate suite of music with repetitive guitar and drum rhythms over a bed of keyboard sounds played by Alan Pasqua (ex-Lifetime, and the rock group, Giant). Over these rhythms we have the initial crying of the guitar which leads to a lengthy Husband drum interlude - some would say this is a solo but this drum piece is integral to overall composition as it prepares you for the next section. The composition then moves to a slower, gentler ebb and flow leading ultimately to Allan's guitar sweetly soaring. The final section brings in a more sombre mood and the drums build connecting back to the initial timing of the piece. Finally you have just the swell of guitar and the journey ends.


All the compositions bare repeated listening, including the lighter 'In the mystery' and 'Panic Station'.  


For guitarists out there, if you have never heard a Holdsworth album - this is the album to buy. Exciting, beautiful, emotion-laden and so melodic - this is an amazing album that has stood the test of time.


(For any of his earlier recordings, I highly recommend 'Feels good to me' and 'One of a kind' where he plays in Bill Bruford's band with Jeff Berlin on bass. His best progressive rock outing must be the debut album of UK and other solo albums worth getting are 'Secrets', 'Sand' and 'Sixteen men of Tain'. His best jazz offering is the overlooked 'None too soon' with the recently passed away pianist Gordon Beck (friend of Allan's), Gary Willis on bass, and Kirk Covington on drums).

Derek Sherinian's 'Oceana' - quality rock fusion

Firstly thank you Mr Sherinian for being so prolific in your output. You do provide your audience with a wonderful range of different styles to listen and choose from - Planet X, Black Country Communion, solo metallic insanity to this quality rock fusion offering.


Although much of this material may sound derivative - a little like a Jeff Beck album, a little like a rocking Toto instrumental album, or maybe a Los Lobotomys outing, there is not enough of this style of hard fusion rock played by quality players. The compositions are structured and never too long to invite meaningless wandering. Even on first listen I found these catchy and stirring in the style of rock fusion.

After the first three tracks I was already relaxed knowing that more was to come. Firstly just listen to the quality of the recording and hats off to Simon Phillips for once again knowing how to record and mix this intense fusion. How do I describe the overall sound other than Simon Phillips achieves a warm, rich mix without any loss of clarity or punch. And then if that wasn't enough, he is the master fusion rock drummer. Interestingly he plays the same monster 7/8 'Space Boogie' drum pattern that he played for Jeff Beck on the 'There and Back' album on the second track of Oceana, 'Mercury 7'. This is accompanied with impressive/breath-taking MacAlpine guitaring. As this is Simon Phillips recorded some 21 years after his Jeff Beck recording, the drum mix is so much better. (I'm glad I've got the album for this track alone).


The opening 'Five Elements' is a scorcher with a wonderful organ backdrop behind some menacing MacAlpine guitar sizzle. This is probably the best track of the album which bridges to some unusual Sherinian jazzy piano before returning to the menace. Steve Lukather plays on three of the tracks and the quality shines through with wonderful interplay between spacey keyboard sounds and Lukather's guitar tones. 


'Ghost Runner' for all its great playing is too derivative of Beck and Hammer and particularly 'El Camino Diablo' which starts promisingly and then rips off almost note for note the exact riff from 'You know what I mean' on Beck's 'Blow by blow'  album - it's even in the exact key. Maybe I am missing something but this was definitely too close for comfort with the Jeff Beck classic and Jan Hammer tones and runs (although outdoing anything Jan did!) I'd have preferred them to have just played a great Beck cover like they did on 'Inertia'. Nothing wrong with a cover paying tribute.


This is a guitar festival of maestros - Tony MacAlpine, Steve Lukather, Steve Stephens, Joe Bonamassa and Doug Aldrich all backed by the legendary session bassist Jimmy Johnson (primary bassist for Allan Holdsworth, Michael Landau and James Taylor). These guitarists all work to support the overall album rather than trying to win a guitar battle - highly commendable. And the tracks are striving for that something more. Using the second last track as an example, 'Seven Sins' a dramatic building rock outing finally goes into a bridge where Derek plays a magnificent solo that culminates with the rest of the band coming in however it returns to the light melodic head and never seems to regain the intensity. The album ends with 'Oceana' a track that could almost pass for a Joe Satriani ballad other than this has more richness with combined keyboard, bass and guitar lines.


Overall this seemed like the sister album to Derek's earlier solo album 'Inertia'. It is a good 4 star outing because of the quality of musicians,compositions and recording and because of the unselfish supportive nature of Sherinian. This may be a solo keyboard album but he has produced a stellar rock band offering. Yes, you hear the entire gamut of jazzy piano to B-3 Hammond organ and spacey keys but always to intertwine with lead guitars producing rich tones and sonic delight. 


For Sherinian, Lukather, Phillips, Jeff Beck and rock fusion fans - don't hesitate - this one you'll return to for many enjoyable listens. I would pay 'top dollar' to see a tour of these legends! Which means I'd fly to Sydney from New Zealand for this one. What about a tour 'down under' to Australia...? 


PS: Read an excellently written review of this album. See Raffaella Berry's review in the Dutch Progressive Rock Page. This is incisive , punchy writing and my appreciation for this album increased. Wish I could write like this!

Want to try a little jazz fusion?

This review on Chick Corea Elektric Band's 'To the stars' has been written for those who like rock and progressive rock but cannot find anything interesting in jazz. This album is then for you.

But first an explanation to this strange slant on this review. My musical journey began as a child with listening to Simon and Garfunkel, hymns, bagpipes and later in my teens, The Beatles and Queen. Yes, I know...a weird combination. All these albums opened my ears to new sounds and musicians. After thinking that the group Kansas were the most amazing musicians I had come across till that point (then 1979), a friend asked me to listen to Al di Meola and Steve Gadd on the album 'Casino'. He then introduced me to Bill Bruford and Allan Holdsworth. I started dabbling in other genres like the fusion world of 'Return to Forever'. Initially I was very puzzled and could not get into albums like Chick's 'Three quartets' but the music bug had got a hold of me.

Not surprisingly many Chick Corea fans hate this album and find it clinical and with little swing. That's because it is often closer to an instrumental rock album - what I refer to as extreme fusion jazz. In many ways this is like some of the earlier 'Return to Forever' and 'Mahavishnu Orchestra' sounds. What is common to all is uncompromising, excellent musicianship. This album showcases five top music legends who have played together at various times for the last 25 years. The intrepid leader, composer and master keyboardist, Chick Corea showcases his talents and those of Frank Gambale, the sweep picking electric and acoustic guitarist, Eric Marienthal, top alto saxman, John Patitucci, the most sought after all-round jazz bassist for a quarter of a century and finally the greatest fusion drummer of the last twenty years, Dave Weckl.

This album rips open with 'Check Blast' a flurry of intense drumming, piano stabs and exchange of a few bars of short sharp solos from each of the five that culminate into some 'unplayable-by-most-others' in unison riffs that shift in and out. Each piece is connected by what is referred as a 'Port view' of edgy keyboard bed of sound. This is a concept album telling the story of a science fiction saga and Chick's inspiration. For proggers the idea of a concept album that has each track linked is certainly closer to their world.

The following tracks 'Mistress Luck - A portrait' will probably be a challenge to rockers as here the swing and samba rhythms come to the fore. I will say though if this is distracting, focus on the guitaring of Gambale who duets his way through and shreds during the 'Mistress Luck - The party'. However it is tracks like these that will introduce you into the delights of jazz and marvelous musicianship.

'Johnny's landing' has a cool sax dominated groove that reminded me very much of a 'Weather report' track all over a delightful percussive Weckl tour-de-force. Just when it seems a little bland, there are some amazing dark aggressive runs that builds to a long Gambale solo and later an organic Marienthal solo and more combined lines with sax and guitar together ending with Weckl at his best doing what Peart, Bruford and Portnoy dream they could do.

'Alan Corday' is in the style of latin infused jazz with more acoustic sounds. This will be a more challenging listen to prog rockers. So too will be the 'Hound of Heaven' another 'Weather report' like calypso-edged track with African township sax sounds. It has a mean fusion distorted Gambale solo that will be of interest to rockers although I think would have fitted better on acoustic. Be patient, more is to come.

'The long passage' is majestic, complex track that builds with some intriguing twists and turns along the way including some choral vocal sounds. A number of guitar sax combined lines keep linking the keyboard interludes as the musical tension slowly increases. Marienthal plays a brooding, challenging solo that will disturb which is followed by Gambale and ultimately this all combines.

`Jocelyn - The Commander' begins like a soundtrack to a movie with unusual sound effects behind a repetitive piano and rhythmic Ravel-like motif. The drums and sax weave into the mix. Gambale then plays one of his greatest solos that ultimately soars with the rest of the band. The album ends with a crescendo of musical themes coming together followed by captain Chick alone on the piano.

I love the sound production on this album - the way all instruments can be heard even during the busiest and loudest pieces. Weckl's drumming is particularly well recorded and I prefer his contribution here to his often over-playing on his solo albums.

Here is an album that grows on you with each repeated listen. If you've not listened to jazz fusion before, give this one a try...and if this doesn't work at least go back and listen to the original masters on the majestic remastered Return to Forever 'Romantic Warrior'.

Planet X - extreme progressive rock - 'Live from Oz'

Awaiting with eager anticipation for the delivery of Sherinian's new album, 'Oceana',  I listened to the Planet X 'Live from Oz' again. This may have been a bad idea as this is such an amazing live rock instrumental album it puts much of Sherinian's studio output in the mediocre camp. What it did was have me revisit a review I did on Amazon a number of years ago, revise and share it here.

This album deserves a listen! If you like progressive rock with a metal twist then hunt this album down. It is an intense exciting roller coaster ride of complicated and stirring compositions. It has an energy and aggressive drive throughout. Much of this is probably because it is live as these same compositions on the studio album are not as convincing. The recording is outstanding for a live recording and credit for this must go to Simon Phillips (producer mixer and drummer extraordinaire) who did the mixing. 


This album is of a super group that is still to be recognised - Derek Sherinian (Black Country Communion, ex-Dream Theater), Virgil Donati (monster session musician) on drums, Tony MacAlpine (solo artist and session muso) on guitars and Dave Larue (Steve Morse band) on bass. Everyone of these musicians are at the top of their craft, seasoned and admired and (employed!) by other musicians who know how brilliant they are! Clearly Vai knew who he needed to back his DVD 'Live at the Astoria' as both Tony MacAlpine and Virgil Donati were his number 1 support musicians. 

John Petrucci, Steve Morse, Mike Portnoy and now Derek Sherinian all knew who would best fill the bass role for their respective solo efforts, so although not part of the Planet X band as such, Dave Larue is the special guest bassist for this tour and his note for note runs that follow Tony and Derek are more complicated than your average rock lead guitarist can play!

Okay - so the word "complicated" is used. Yes, this music is complicated and intense. You won't be humming it as you go for an Sunday afternoon stroll. But that's what's so compelling about listening to this album - it is an andrenalin rush of power rock fusion. Admittedly the compositions sound quite dark and live in the world of minor keys but the powerful interplay and angular time signatures that chop and change keep you riveted.

Another reviewer said that the poor drummer had to count throughout this album and couldn't just groove in a straight 4/4 . From what I've heard Virgil thrives on odd time signatures - it seems to come naturally and his bass double pedal seems to be in sprint mode rather than marathon groove. From an interview I've read, the mighty Simon Phillips, who mixed this album and who is still one of the world's great drummers, said he was blown away by Virgil's playing and sometimes couldn't even contemplate playing what Virgil did effortlessly. The drumming is marvelous and gives the ordinary tracks an edge. For drummers out there - forget what the music is like - you can listen to this again and again at Virgil in top form. Listen and marvel at his strength and stamina as this is all from one show on June 13, 2001.

I've listened to Tony since his first solo album and his "Maximum Security" album is still listed by many as a guitar landmark album from the 80s. "Live in Oz" shows all Tony's chops but especially his Holdworthian whammy bar nudges and legato playing. This is what gives this album a more fusion feel than straight-out rock instrumental. I am amazed by Tony's guitaring here, far more varied than what I've heard on the CAB albums. The solos here are quite organic and have space and in places beautiful rather than always speedy. Don't worry there is sufficient shred as well on this to make most other so called great guitarists hop for cover!

Derek is remarkably supportive on this live outing - yes, he has exchanges blistering lead lines with Tony on "Pods of Chance" that sound more like duelling guitars than keyboards - but overall I was relieved to note that the main solo instrument on this album is Tony's guitar. Yes, Derek plays all the time but filling the canvas with waves of sound over which Tony wails rather than trying to outdo the guitar with keyboard antics. He is the Jan Hammer of today without needing to play everything louder or faster than everyone else.

Perhaps the one word that captures this album is "exciting". It is no musical masterpiece but rather a showcase of phenomenal skills that makes one laugh at their audacity! The rest of us mere mortals on planet earth can enjoy and applaud the brilliance of Planet X!

Classic Keaggy - 21st anniversary of "find me in these fields"

2011 is 21st year since the release of this extraordinary album. When I first heard it I was impressed by the recording quality, entertained by the gritty blues instrumentals and as an overall album, loved its variety from beatlesque style to anthemic rock all gelling together as an album.

I have consistently listened to it through the years. It still surprises one, entertains while the depth of lyrics continues to speaks to the soul. I call it a Keaggy concept album as this represents Phil as a mature artist - you'll find him in all of these fields - from the brilliant acoustic humorous start (listen to the sampler in Amazon as you hear it in full!) to the flat-out electric blues - this runs the gamut of what he does. Yet underpinning all of this is his faith, the bedrock of this album. Phil tells stories through song, some joyful, all encouraging whilst some are deeply moving like 'Calling you' and the final 'Be in my heart'.

'Strong tower' and 'Carry on' are strong opening tracks and real band efforts - organic blues rock with Phil reverting to his established rock tones of the earlier 70's leaving behind the almost sterile 80s studio sound. The recording is still vibrant after 21 years - I find the production qualities on this album amazing - punchy bass and drums, swirling keyboards, clear vocals and rich guitar tones. In comparison, the 80s studio material seems a little too smooth, perhaps a touch artificial and controlled.

Perhaps what makes this gel is the core band of Rick Cua on bass, Mike Mead on drums and long-time friends Phil Madeira on some superb Hammond B-3 and piano and Lynn Nichol on background vocals and providing vibrant production. Interestingly, other than Madeira, they had all played together on the previous 'Sundays Child' album which I suggest created a wonderful sense of continuity and trust for this creative and more explorative project.

What this album does so well is embrace the whole spectrum of life - we have joyful anthems like 'Final day', 'Gentle and strong' a father singing about his son, songs seeking forgiveness and songs of encouragement. Lyrically this album shows Phil forging ahead. Many of the lines touching deeply and in the middle of the album some gentle reflective songs. What is more impacting than beautiful melodies intertwined with heartfelt lyrics?

"Find me in these fields alone

Crusted with the salt of my ways

Rinse me with the motion of sweet water

The silky rush of Your cleansing stream"

One cannot do justice to this classic album without commenting specifically on Phil the guitarist. He has five excellent instrumentals through the album, two as bookends and the other three that take you to different stages of the album. The second instrumental contains the tapping acoustic magic in the style of Michael Hedges. (Keaggy first used this on the album 'Wind and the Wheat'. This is also used powerfully on 'Calling you'). The final three instrumentals are scorchers and were recorded direct to disk. Here you hear Phil reeling off blues rock lines with an intensity accompanied by a band having fun. There are of course great solos throughout the album ('Carry on' particularly) with the most intriguing guitaring on the psychedelic track of the album, 'Get over it' with unusual textures, harmonics and eastern sitar like sounds to a Harrison-like solo with the odd Beatles quote thrown in.

As mentioned this album was released after 'Sundays Child'(1990). After it came 'Beyond Nature'(1992) which was followed by 'Crimson and Blue'(1993)- all part of the quartet of what I consider Phil's strongest albums to date. These albums all are listed as favourites by his fans and all stand the test of time. Clearly the early 90's were an incredibly rich recording and composing time for Keaggy. Of this quartet, 'Find me in these fields' best demonstrates the diverse richness of the talents of Phil Keaggy as a guitarist, song writer, musician - an artist who glorifies his maker.

Listening to my favourite Queen album afresh - Queen 2011 remaster

Please note this album review is comparing the newly remastered 2011 "Queen 2" CD edition with the 1991 CD edition and not reviewing the music. 

Suffice to say many would rate this second album of Queen's as their greatest, progressive rock concept album - many fans liking it as much as 'Night of the Opera'. It has all the elements of multi-layered voices and rich guitar tones that characterised Queen as a group. The compositions are a mixture of the majestic to Tolkien-like fairy and ogre story tales in a prog rock setting. 

Firstly I have bought the deluxe version which includes an extra EP with 5 additional tracks. I will refer to this later. 

Overall, I do like the whole new 2011 package. I am a fan who bought this album back in the 70's and was a tad disappointed with the 1991 Holywood Records CD release. In hind site, that is not such a poor production as one realises that many of these original mixes were muddy in places. Having said that the master, Bob Ludwig, has cleaned this up so that overall it is smoother, more dynamic listening experience. Do note though that to my ears, the improvement is not as dramatic an improvement as for instance the brilliant 30th anniversary 'Night at the Opera' release over previous editions. 

As I mentioned, it's the whole package. You buy into an experience, the feel, the brand. So I love and appreciate the crisper iconic front photo on the 2011 edition. My 1991 edition front photo looks almost blurred in comparison. The 2011 booklet with centrefold photo on a pristine white background took me back to the original album. This packaging is far more befitting this classic album than the cheap looking foldout lyrics in the 1991 CD. Everything has an understated yet, polished appearance that replicates the original LP right down to the same liner notes including reference to "Virtuoso castanets by Roy Thomas Baker... and nobody played synthesizer... again.' 

Instead of reviewing every track of the album I will go into detail looking at the first three tracks, 'Procession', 'Father to Son' and 'White Queen'. These three examples illustrate pretty much what has happened in the remaster of the whole album. I am listening on a Marantz player with Mission speakers - nothing too fancy -entry level equipment. I find that overall the 1991 CD seems a little tiring to listen to because of a lot of sibilance - this does seem less so on the 2011 remaster. 

You notice an audio difference immediately on the first track. I thought it was smoother and on closer listening noticed the scratch of Brian's high octave guitar had been removed at 48 and 57 seconds. (On my LP I had thought these were scratches on the vinyl but clearly they were there on the 1991 CD as well.) They're finally gone. The short instrumental leads into the second track, `Father to Son'. Maybe the biggest change is that you can hear definition to the background voices singing the chorus 'From Father to Son'. The rolling snare of Roger is clearer and the bass a little tighter. Definite improvements - but not dramatic. 

The growl on the guitar around the lyrics 'But you'll write it all again before you die' has more more menace because I think the background noise is reduced. But unfortunately the original unintended distortion still appears especially in the more full, layered places. Generally the drums are still far back in the mix throughout this album. I was hoping that this was possibly going to be altered. 

The amazing 'White Queen' seems more tender and the 'silences' almost SACD quality quiet. The opening acoustic plucked notes stand out more leading into 'So sad her eyes'. On the 1991 CD, the first time Freddy sings 'eyes' has a serious static scratch behind it. It is still audible but not as distracting in the 2011 remaster. These vocals now are significantly cleaner. All the 's' in the 1991 edition seem piercing, '...such a breathless night as this, Upon my brow the lightest kiss...My lady soon will stir...'. 2011 just seems more musical and the 's' not as intrusive. 

Perhaps the biggest overall improvement is the quality of the vocals. Wow, Freddy had an expressive voice showing such emotion. Hearing this again on the 2011 remaster made it all the more vivid. The section starting "How did thee fare, what have thee seen" has been cleaned delicately. Whatever magic Bob Ludwig did - it shines through here and on into the lengthy acoustic guitar solo and to the final lines where the vocals are much clearer than on the 1991 version. 

Having said this - for many the audio improvement may not seem worth the money of repurchasing again. I'd recommend the deluxe version as the extra 5 tracks are all great and two outstanding. The BBC version of 'See what a Fool I've been' with a brand new 2011 mix is simply mind blowing. This version and mix is easily one of the best early recording of Queen of the 70's. The drums have such punch that I wished they'd recorded the whole of Queen 2 in the BBC studios. The clarity is startling. And then of course there is the famous, excellent live version of `White Queen' recorded at the London's Hammersmith Odeon. This has been available as an official bootleg from the Queen site for a number of years. 

So Queen fans - don't hesitate, but for casual fans who already have an existing version of "Queen 2", make a considered purchase. And of course if you think that all Queen wrote were songs like 'Another bites the dust' and pop tracks like 'Radio Gaga' then this album will shock you with its swagger, snarl and creativity. 

Classic 5 star Queen album.