Review Summary: They're back, and crazier than ever.
The first Queen record had gone generally unnoticed by the general public, but this album propelled them, thanks mainly to the big single SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE. The rest of the album was also very cool, so I’ll review it now. Once again, JOHN DEACON (bass) did no songs on the album. But he would do, wait and see…
Most of “Side White” (Queen were innovative as usual and called the traditional “Side A” and “Side B” “Side White” and “Side Black” respectively) were composed by BRIAN MAY (guitar, vocals). The album starts with PROCESSION, which is a cool intro. I like intros, as they can often set up the mood of the album, and this ones does the job finely. It also leads into FATHER TO SON. 6 minutes and 14 seconds pass by quickly with fabulous lyrics and music, making it one of my favourite songs on the album. Great solo’s from Brian as well.
This goes into WHITE QUEEN. There are sweet lyrics on here based on Brian meeting a blind girl in college but being too afraid to ask her out, and the tune is also sound. SOME DAY, ONE DAY is next, and it is Brian’s first song that he sings on. It’s possibly the most upbeat song on the album and is a mellow contrast to the previous few songs.
ROGER TAYLOR (drums) wrote one song on this album to finish off “Side White”, THE LOSER IN THE END. While it’s not the best song on the album, it’s still a good sign of what was to come in the future. He sings on this one: I’ve always liked Roger’s voice, and the song has nice lyrics. Roger even plays guitar on this!
FREDDIE MERCURY (vocals) handles all of “Side Black”. He begins the proceedings with the amazing OGRE BATTLE. For about 30 seconds there’s wind whooshing around and then suddenly, sounds burst in. And there are no synthesisers on this song, believe it or not! They used loads of incredible machines, but not one synthesiser on this album!
Following up from that song is THE FAIRY-FELLER’S MASTER-STROKE, which is 2 minutes and 41 seconds of machine heaviness just as complex as the aforementioned battle between ogres. This is immediately followed up with NEVERMORE, a short sweet piano ballad in the vein of WHITE QUEEN.
And then there is THE MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN, another 6 ½ minute epic. This is one song that you can relate with Bohemian Rhapsody, a massive opera style song about an evil black queen and her followers, filled with piano and guitar solos. I just love this song a lot, and is another favourite of mine.
The bad news is though is that it goes into the album’s worst song FUNNY HOW LOVE IS. It’s very corny and silly, and I find the vocals actually annoying on this one, as I think they’re just too high for my liking. But luckily the album ends on a goodie…
SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE. Yeah, I know, they had it on Queen I as well, but it wasn’t finished. But it is here, and as mentioned earlier, was released as Queen’s breakthrough single, and I can see why. There’s a lot of brilliant piano and guitar work and there’s a lot of fun featured. The song ends with a bunch of guys singing the famous beach classic “Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside.” Perfecto.
So here’s a quick recap:
PROCESSION = 4.5/5
FATHER TO SON = 5/5
WHITE QUEEN = 4.5/5
SOME DAY, ONE DAY = 4/5
THE LOSER IN THE END = 4/5
OGRE BATTLE = 5/5
THE FAIRY-FELLER’S MASTER-STROKE = 5/5
NEVERMORE = 4.5/5
THE MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN = 5/5
FUNNY HOW LOVE IS = 2/5
SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE = 5/5
AVERAGE SCORE = 4.41
