Queen - Greatest Hits

Queen | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 15, 1992)
• Original Release Date: 1994
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hollywood Records
• ASIN: B000000OBP
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (197 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,837 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #10 in Music > Classic Rock > Glam
  • #26 in Music > Classic Rock > Supergroups
  • #32 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal > British Metal

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Queen brought a whole new meaning to the phrase over the top. While rock & roll flamboyance stretched back at least as far as Little Richard, Freddie Mercury continued to camp it up, taking little seriously and smirking at the music's growing pretensions while partaking in them no small bit. Many of the band's singles hold up extremely well, such as "Killer Queen" and "You're My Best Friend". The quartet's canny sense of melody and sophisticated vocal harmonies--not to mention Mercury's raised eyebrow--have traveled well through the years. --Rickey Wright

Product Description

CD 60 Minutes, 24 Page Booklet

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

124 of 137 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Great Even Without "Bohemian Rhapsody" April 13, 2005

By A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

How do I review what isn't here? Strong Queen fans will know all 17 songs. Most of their biggest hits are here. Most. Not all. Not even one of the biggest songs they've ever had.

Even an American Idol contestant knows "Bohemian Rhapsody" is part of the rock-n-roll canon. What was Hollywood Records thinking to leave out such a great hit?

What is here is mostly good. Freddie Mercury's range and dramatic intonations, paired with guitar maestro Brian May's capacity to ignite a note, and songs like "Killer Queen" go from being interesting to incredible.

Part of the problem was Queen. They had too many good hits gracing more than one genre. Most bands wish they had the difficulty of choosing greatest hits choices.

Questionable choices are obvious: "Seven Seas of Rhye" and "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy."

"Seven Seas" has a hard rock, guitar-driven sound but does not meet the usual Queen level of quality.

"Good Old" is a nice demonstration of Freddie Mercury's great voice, but lyrically is weak.

The closest economical solution is to buy instead "Queen - Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2" Get all the songs below except "Keep Yourself Alive." 34 songs in all....

Missing from the play list:
* Bohemian Rhapsody
* Under Pressure
* Tie Your Mother Down
* Keep Yourself Alive
* Radio Ga Ga

The play list:
* We Will Rock You
* We Are the Champions
* Another One Bites the Dust
* Killer Queen
* Somebody to Love
* Fat Bottomed Girls
* Bicycle Race
* You're My Best Friend
* Crazy Little Thing Called Love
* Now I'm Here
* Play the Game
* Seven Seas of Rhye
* Body Language
* Save Me
* Don't Stop Me Now
* Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
* I Want to Break Free

Why four stars after criticizing what is missing? These are still great tunes, every one of them. The weakest song is still better than much of the radio fodder today.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com Read more ›

47 of 52 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Some of Queen's Greatest Hits June 9, 2003

By Lonnie E. Holder HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Queen released albums from 1973 to 1995. In that time Queen made a lot of music that was "great". Thus, as with most artists that have been around for more than 20 years, it is impossible to capture all of their hits or best music on a single CD. Recently this difficulty was recognized with a boxed set of three CDs that captured a much greater cross section of their music.

I consider this collection of Queen music their popular music. Much of it was mellow or radio friendly, and thus much of it hit the top 10. Given that Queen had a very eclectic repertoire, you'll find quirky songs such as "Fat Bottomed Girls" next to the mellow love song "Somebody to Love". Queen's progressive rock and harder rock songs are only barely represented on this particular collection, though strains of their harder edge show through in songs like "Bicycle Race" and "Another One Bites the Dust".

In many ways Queen was an album group. While most of their albums stop short of being true concept albums, most of their albums did have a theme. Also, their music was organized carefully to provide a presentation of the music that was greater than the sum of the individual songs. Thus, listening to a "greatest" collection does little to express the true scope of this group. I recommend this CD as one that provides a small sampling of Queen, and some of their more mellow music at that. You need to also have "Classic Queen" to additional hits such as "Bohemian Rhapsody". You may also want to consider "The Platinum Collection: Greatest Hits I, II and III", which is perhaps the most comprehensive set short of buying albums.

Though this CD is lacking in its breadth, I still give it 5 stars because Queen was such a great group, and the songs here do represent a small portion of their incredible talent.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars They Have Rocked Us! July 3, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Audio CD

This CD is essential to all Queen fans. With the exception of the tracks off The Game, the singles Body Language, and I Want to Break Free, this represents the hard rocking Queen complete with the opera-style vocals. It features not only the hits like "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions", "Somebody to Love" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", but more obscure songs like "Don't Stop Me Now", "Now I'm Here", "Save Me" (although a hit in the UK), and "The 7 Seas of Rhye". If you were a fan of early Queen, you must own this. Then grab Classic Queen to appreciate their later efforts!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Full Marks April 20, 2000

By Freddy Powys

Format:Audio CD

This is arguably one of Hollywood Records smartest moves. Every song on this album is perfect, from the feet-thumping anthem WE WILL ROCK YOU to the last track I WANT TO BREAK FREE, leading on to Classic Queen, which along with this album, shows Queen at their ultimate best. The much revered WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS is in there, mingling with the afore-mentioned WE WILL ROCK YOU, and ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST, all classics and all damn good songs. "The Game", in my view Queen's best album, is well represented from the perfectly constructed PLAY THE GAME to the immaculate SAVE ME, without which the compilation wouldn't be complete, via CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE, a personal favourite especially when played live, and naturally ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST. The unclassifiable KILLER QUEEN is right up there with all the epics (BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY et al; alright, so it's not on the album, but keep your shirt on, the world won't stop turning), and SOMEBODY TO LOVE is as fantastic as it is murder to sing live. The inseparable duo of FAT-BOTTOMED GIRLS and BICYCLE RACE are brilliant if somewhat loutish in the lyrics department, and YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND, based on a terrific bassline from John Deacon, is one of my favourites from the '701s. NOW I'M HERE combines the irrevocable talents of Freddie Mercury and Brian May, as well as some pretty good drumming too. SEVEN SEAS OF RHYE is one of Queen's earliest songs, and also one of their best, thanks to the catchy piano solo at the beginning. BODY LANGUAGE, despite the constant criticism aimed at "Hot Space", its album, is a blinder of a song and if the band had to sacrifice their usual style to make it then so be it.... I'm also amazed that DON1T STOP ME NOW appeared so low down in the pecking order of the American charts, as it's a great song (nuff said). GOOD OLD-FASHIONED LOVER BOY is excellent in both lyrics and music departments but the next track, and the modernest of the lot, i.e. I WANT TO BREAK FREE isn't really to my taste. It becomes quite catchy after a while though, and the video is out of this world! The CD is definitely worth buying, along with Classic Queen and, at a push, Greatest Hits III, if you1re a newcomer on the Queen scene and want to get a feel of their remarkable music. Read more ›