Customer Reviews

The Game (+ Bonus Track)

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This album has to be Queen's most transitional album. There is less heavy metal style guitar (as featured on Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack) and even less campiness (which was featured on A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races and Jazz). On the liner notes, they admit that they used synthesizer "for the 1st time" (for the 1st 6 albums, they proudly boasted that synthesizers were not used at all). They even looked different with the shorter haircuts (sans Brian, whose long curly locks remained unshorned). But I digress. On with the review.

4 of the songs were written and performed for a mini tour called the "Crazy Little Tour." One of them, an uncharacteristic rockabilly tune "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," which lead singer Freddie Mercury wrote. This gave them a big hit in the 1980's. 2 of the songs are sensitive ballads written by versatile guitarist Brian May, "Sail Away Sweet Sister" (Brian sings lead on this, with Freddie singing on the bridge) and the powerful "Save Me" (a minour hit in the UK). Drummer Roger Taylor penned "Coming Soon," which sounds a lot like the Cars (he was the band's true classic rock fan).

The rest of the album was recorded in the 1980's. Around the same time, Queen was preparing the Flash Gordon soundtrack (that's another review). The Game opens with Freddie's "Play the Game," which captures Queen's "classic" sound and features an interesting synthesizer intro (a minour hit for them). Bass player John Deacon had his biggest hit with the funky "Another One Bites the Dust" (he admits it was originally going to be a cowboy song, but for some reason changed it). Other songs include the heavy "Dragon Attack" (written by Brian, "Slow down, don't take no prisoners!"), John's catchy poprock "I Need Your Lovin' Tonight" ("No, I'll never look back in anger...") Freddie's bluesy "Don't Try Suicide" (a tongue in cheek message song- "Don't try suicide, nobody's worth it... nobody cares... you're just gonna hate it!") and "Rock It (Prime Jive)" written and sung by Roger, with help from Freddie at the intro (it sounds a mix between Led Zeppelin and early Sammy Hagar).

I'm giving this 5 stars for the album. I'm not counting the throwaway remix of "Dragon Attack" (instead, they should have included "A Human Body," which was one of their B-sides). Skip that, it'll only leave you wondering why Brian approved of it. Just enjoy the classic sounds of a crazy little band called Queen.

In my youth, I had a longing desire to own "The Game", but when I was nine, Queen's adult-themed subtext was not deemed appropriate by my vigilant parents. I was exposed to "The Game" by way of my friends, but did not personally own it. As an elementary school student in the late `70s, Queen's image and lyric content were not deemed proper by the "powers that were." As a result, I have kept Queen's most critically acclaimed albums from the '70's on the back burner, knowing that I would return to them when the time was right.

Of course, as with any band worth their salt, Queen kept coming up. In the short term, when I started driving my own car, I bought "Queen's Greatest Hits" in the mid-80's. Even later, as a curiosity, I picked up "Innuendo" before Freddie's death in the in the`90s, but up to a certain point gauging their career by a "Queen's Greatest Hits" album is doing the both the band and listener a disservice. Arguably, one could say that "The Game" is this point. While a Greatest Hits compilation may give you "Another One Bites the Dust", you will also be missing out on great tunes like "Dragon Attack.", "Coming Soon", "Sail Away, Sweet Sister", and "Need Your Loving Tonight".

"The Game" represents a division in Queen's sound, the radio-friendly flipside to the "Flash Gordon" soundtrack. These two sides of Queen's personality diverged in the early 80's, and eventually met again on "Who Wants To Live Forever" and a significant part of "Innuendo". This streamlining is most likely a direct reaction to the punk movement, which discouraged prog-rock. This was streamlined into a radio-friendly, song-based album while "Flash Gordon" was instrumental and melodramatically theatrical.

Like Genesis' "And Then There Were Three", many critics malign this album as the cryptic "beginning of the end" for Queen in the mid to late `80s (although the band was never at a loss for success). While "The Game" may not have the same the sweeping and distinctive grandeur that "Night at the Opera" displayed, it is most certainly a consistent and compelling example of Queen's ever-present succinct, radio-friendly work. In its own way, its distinctiveness ties it to the `80s in the same way that "Night at the Opera" was tied to the `70s.

Queen's repertoire was amazingly cohesive despite the fact that there were four distinctive songwriters in the group. The depth of Mercury's delivery can be interpreted as representing an incredibly broad range of experiences, but it should be kept in mind that as he became the predominant lead singer for the group, his voice represented an amalgamation of four distinct personalities. This level of musical interactivity is unheard of in today's music scene. For example, "Save Me" is beautifully emotional, but Mercury's delivery of May's text reveals a pained experience that may not have been realized under different conditions.

The Lowdown: I did not realize exactly how much I knew about this album until I got it a few weeks ago. Overall, "The Game" is a great album full of great songs that represents a musical climate that has long since passed.

This is one of Queen's best albums and a definite improvement from their last two albums. Contained here are Queen's two biggest U.S. hits - Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Another One Bites The Dust. From start to finish this album is great with some minor exceptions.

Play The Game - 9/10 nice opener and classic Freddie song

Dragon Attack - 9/10 each band member has their own solo in this one. great rocker

Another One Bites The Dust - 9/10 not my personal favorite but it was Queen's biggest single ever

Need Your Loving Tonight - 8/10 nice setup for the next track

Crazy Little Thing Called Love - 10/10 featuring Freddie on guitar for the first time. great song

Rock It (Prime Jive) - 8/10 duet by Roger and Freddie. good up-tempo song

Don't Try Suicide - 7/10 the only exception to the greatness that is The Game. I agree with another review. good lyrics not great music

Sail Away Sweet Sister - 10/10 a Brian May gem. Sung by both Freddie and Brian, this song is a masterpiece

Coming Soon - 7/10 sort of filler but still kinda fun

Save Me - 10/10 fantastic ballad to close this awesome album.

overall rating: 87/100 one of Queen's best albums. I recommend Innuendo, The Miracle, A Night At The Opera, and The Works also if you want to get some of Queen's other fine albums

The was the first album by Queen that did not bare a "No Synthesizers" caveat. A big move for such a band. However, this album's back cover reads like more of a "greatest hits" list than anything else so the synth couldn't have hurt too much. There are four big hits on this album, two of them being two of the most instantly-recognizable works the band ever produced: "Another One Bites The Dust" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love". AOBTD, written by the quiet bassist John Deacon, proved a tremendous crossover hit for the band and served as an opening into other markets, while today it still makes you want to turn up the volume and blast the bass. "Crazy...", their tribute to Elvis written by Freddie in the bathtub, is just genius and stands up all these years later as a classic and a great favorite of radio stations everywhere. Meanwhile, "Play The Game" is a powerful ode to Freddie's awesome voice and is a great opener to the record, while "Save Me" is my personal favorite of all Queen's music. It's just a kick-you-in-your-pants heartbreaker that I think everyone has been able to identify with at some point. Gorgeous.
This was Queen's "Hello, 80's!" and they couldn't have said it better. Yes, it lacks in a few spots but in all it's a fabulous sample of what the band could really do, and stands just below "A Night At The Opera" as Queen's most ambitious and rewarding work.

"The Game," an early 80's release by rock and roll royalty Queen reveals quite a few sides of the band, but all of those sides are sprinkled with a perfect layer of ironically combined subject matter and all-out classic rock-n-roll. For instance, there are the obligatory ballads, both rough and playfully gentle, expressing life and romance ('Save Me,' 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love,' and the unexplainable but truly wonderful 'Don't Try Suicide'). Then, there are the high schooler's anthems (their biggest hit 'Another One Bites the Dust,' and the grand 'Play the Game'), as Queen were always the anthem perfectors of their day. And there are also the head-scratchers, like the poignant 'Sail Away Sister (The Sister I Never Had)' and 'Dragon Attack.'
"The Game" reveals a peak point of Queen's horizons, and while it doesn't stray very far from the sound they were famous for at that time, it gives fans a slight preview of some of their other 80's material, while not giving away too much.

"The Game" was Queen's most commercially successful album in the U.S. It yielded two of their most successful U.S. singles, both of which I happen to think are among the best songs the band has ever done despite both being completely different to what you would have expected from this band up to this point in their history. Many of my favorite Queen songs were written by guitarist Brian May but singer Freddie Mercury's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is definitely my all time favorite Queen song. "Another One Bites The Dust", written by bassist John Deacon, is just a great, funky song with a terrifc bass line and great guitar work by May. A real gem on this album is the May ballad "Save Me". It's a shame that this song was not released in the U.S. as the follow up single to "Dust" because I think it could have done very well. There are plenty of other strong songs on this album and, unlike many of their other 80's albums, no real stinkers. Definitely their best album of the 80's

Here are my song-by-song ratings on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best:
1. Play The Game 5/5
2. Dragon Attack 4/5
3. Another One Bites The Dust 5/5
4. Need Your Loving Tonight 4/5
5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love 5/5
6. Rock It (Prime Jive) 3/5
7. Don't Try Suicide 3/5
8. Sail Away Sweet Sister 4/5
9. Coming Soon 4/5
10. Save Me 5/5
11. Dragon Attack (Remix) 3/5

It's hard to argue with success.

The Game was Queen's first no. 1 album in the US, and it's easy to see why. The Game is definitely Queen's first pop album, yet it proves that 'commercial' isn't necessarily a dirty word. In fact, The Game, which is truly straight-out mainstream directed at an audience as large as possible, is at least as, if not more enjoyable and fulfilling than News of the World or Jazz, definitely better albums but ones that can't decide whether they want to be pop, hard rock or progressive. On 'The Game' Queen went very deliberately for a somewhat lower common denominator, and in the process created one of the most perfect pop-rock albums ever made.

So naturally, The Game lacks the depth of Queen's first five albums, as well as the edge and power New of the World had. But how can you argue with songs like 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love'? In fact, how can you argue with any track on this album? There are no symphonic epics here - each track is designed to create a very specific mood, and does so seamlessly. Whether it's the straight out rock, heavy bass hard rock of 'Dragon Attack' (and Queen's rhythm section gets to shine here more than ever before, if only slightly at the expense of guitar god Brian May, showing that they can deliver the goods too), the gorgeous ballad that is 'Sail Away Sweet Sister', the perfect pop of 'Play The Game' (a precursor to some latter day hits like 'The Miracle' and 'One Vision'), the light-hearted rockabilly of 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love', or the delicious dark funk of 'Another One Bites The Dust' - The Game is an album that keeps a slight smile on your face throughout the entire thirty five minutes of it. There is no new Bohemian Rhapsody here, but every track - even the forgettable ones, like 'Coming Soon' and 'Don't Try Suicide' - deliver. They may not stick in your mind long, but they're a kick to listen to, and always bear repeated listening.

One track in particular deserves special praise. 'Save Me', written by Brian May and sang blissfully by Mr. Mercury, is one of the best songs Brian had ever written, and even if it's only ankle deep - lyrically as well as musically - it's one of the most perfect songs Queen had ever pulled out of their sleeve. Basically just the kind of verse-chorus-verse-guitar solo kind of pop-rock tune Queen wouldn't have been caught dead recording in 1974-5, 'Save Me' is so extraordinarily beautiful and builds up to it emotional climax so flawlessly, with a catchy and heartfelt chorus and a fantastic guitar solo like only Brian could pull (not to mention a GORGEOUS video that never quite got the airplay it deserved), it's utterly irresistible. Sure, it has nothing new or groundbreaking to offer - Queen used everything they already knew how to do and did a million times before, and put it to use: perfect use.

So there's no need to complain about The Game being commercial; Queen knew just what they were doing. The Game is not an experiment like A Night At the Opera or Queen II, it's an album by a veteran and mature band that is in complete control of their music and their sound. Sadly, Queen would soon fall into dullness and boredom, from which they'll escape only shortly before Freddie's untimely death in 1991; but The Game is a perfect midpoint between 70s Queen and 80s Queen, clearly two completely different bands. The Game is a fun album that is always worth having on your shelf, and it's a great introduction to the band, as well - play it to your rock-shy friend, and then once he's eased into it and his defenses are down, hit him on the head with Sheer Heart Attack.

I have to be honest, at first I didn't really like this album because I was so used to their 70's over-polished material. But after quite a few listens, I think it's excellent.

This album is more straightforward, and dosen't feature much of those complex overdubs that were used in their earlier recordings.

There is not one single bad track on here, literally. Every song on here is a smash in it's own right. It features funk(i.e "Another One Bites The Dust"),The Elvis-like, "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", and hard rock ballads like "Save Me".

"Play The Game", and "Save Me" are at their usual greatness.

But there are 3 other tracks that need to be recognized also:

"I Need Your Loving Tonight", is fabulous. Freddie's vocals are terrific, the choiral vocals are incredible, and the song flat out rocks. John Deacon actually wrote that song.

"Prime Jive (Rock It)", another song that I don't hear to many people talking about. This time the credit goes to Roger Taylor, who wrote the song. 80's music never sounded better than this.

and last but not least, "Sail Away, Sweet Sister" written by Brian May is a beautiful ballad.

Overall, fabulous album, not to be overlooked by fans of Quenn's earlier material.

Peace to all!

This album is another great effort from Queen. In 1980 when this was released, the new (at the time) Charleston Coliseum was to announce the opening act for the arena. I can't tell you how excited and surprised I was when they announced it would be Queen! I waited in line from early morning and purchased tickets for the show. I ended up on the third row and counted the days until the concert. The show opened with the incredible "Play The Game" by Freddie, and was followed by "Dragon Attack" as it is on the album. I personally love "Dragon Attack". The guitar just wails and screams on this one, and I don't know why several reviewers said they didn't like that track. "Another One Bite The Dust" was a huge hit in the U.S. and abroad, but was never one of my favorites. It is great because it is Queen, but seems to be designed to hook the begrudging American fans. "Need Your Loving Tonight" is a fun rocker to sing along with. Freddie's "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" is a familiar hit with an early Elvis sound. "Rock It" is a fast paced song with Taylor on lead vocals. "Don't Try Suicide" is a catchy sort of song that is classically Freddie. Brian May is a master of ballad type tunes that mystify you. "Sail Away Sweet Sister" is a perfect example and a wonderful song. Next up is "Coming Soon" that is not the most instantly likeable song on here, but after a few listens the soaring vocals at the end will prove it is classic Queen. The final encore for the Charleston concert was the incredible "Save Me". It is the final song on this album too, and is one of the best songs ever by Queen. The lyrics and emotion are the stuff of legend.

the game is one of best albums from queen after live at the bowl and i highly recommend this brilliant album.five stars.