Customer Reviews

We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you REALLY like Queen ... stay away from this album. Remix from Hell ... that should be the title. GAWD, I am SO disappointed. Wish I had read the revues FIRST!

Oops. This is "ruined by Rick Rubin". This is a remix version. If you want the original un-retouched version of the Queen songs don't buy this.

This CD Single is basically a remix by Def America boss Rick Rubin. The main 'attraction' is the extended remix of We Will Rock You, which all credit due, is now pretty worn out now (Blur Song 2 anyone?). The track starts with an unfunny record scratch sound which can't help but annoy. It does however end in an interesting Brian May guitar loop, which while quite clever, is not redeeming.

Buy the Hollywood version of News of the World - it's there with all is annoying scratching!

Let's face it. The people complaining about how bad this is apparently failed to read the front cover stating "Ruined By Rick Rubin". Don't be fooled, people. This is Rubin doing his best Andy Kaufman: being intentionally irritating for laughs.

While it can be debated whether the amusement of hearing Rick mess with two classic Queen songs merited an actual release, here it is.

Both mixes are best enjoyed if you do not really take them seriously. The purposely lo-fi crappy turntable effect at the beginning could be a nod to being a kid and listening to Queen records on crappy record players, nostalgia and all that. The painfully odd out of place sound effect after the record scratch is only there to let the listener know that, as Huey Lewis once imparted, "Sometimes bad is bad." Rick's tongue is firmly in his cheek. The song's ending jam session is a joke unto itself: it starts out promising as the drums kick in, momentarily getting the listener's hopes up, before degrading into a horrible self-indulgent mess of a guitar solo. It's as if Wayne and Garth from Wayne's World, or the Wyld Stallyns decided to cover and "improve" upon the song. It's supposed to suck, get it?

Even worse, or better depending on how you look at it, is the "remix" of We Are The Champions, which is SO badly done that there is no way in hell it was anything but intentionally terrible. The tacked on James Brown sample isn't even timestretched to match the beat, so it's added and dropped continuously throughout the song just before it goes too badly out of time. How anyone can listen to Freddie solemnly sing about paying his dues while James punctuates with "Ain't it funky!" at the end of each line and NOT crack up is beyond me. It's a Mad TV sketch without the video. No, it's ain't funky, but it's pretty damn funny, but if you're a purist, avoid this at all costs.

If you look at this like Rick Rubin poking fun at music that I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is fond of, it works a lot better than actually judging it on the caliber of it's technical or musical merits. Most people who hear this are probably either people who assume it was supposed to be a legit remix and hate it, people who will see it as justification for their hatred of remixes, or people like me who just put it on for an occasional laugh.

Queen is a great band. "We Will Rock You" and "We are the Champions" are great songs. The original versions are anyway. I bought this in a bargain bin at a CD store for a couple bucks. I've never been a big fan of the "bonus" remixes on the Hollywood Queen remasters, but as a completist, I decided to get this disc.

Yuck. Tracks two through five are awful, and except for track three, you'd never know these are popular Queen songs. I would give this waste of plastic only one star, but I do enjoy the end of track one, which extends Brian May's guitar solo. However, this is the same remix on the News of the World CD, so you can get it there, along with 11 fantastic songs, including the original (and superior) versions of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions."

If you don't really like Queen's music, and really like bad rap, this may be the disc for you.

This version of Queen's classic singles was never intended for it's rock genre audience.This was made for those of us that appreciate and love hip-hop and hard rock.

The legendary Rick Rubin does an excellent job remixing these classics.It's definately worth a listen and good to have for your music collection.

this is just one of those jobs that americans usually do with the British culture which they are unable to appreciate. Laughable.

i know it seems like enough is enough but this ones a classic. if you havent heard it you ought to buy it, i like it and im sure you will too!

I pretty much agree with all that's gone before, but the section when the drums kick in to Brian May's guitar solo is great! Should have been on the original! Gets a bit naff 5 seconds later when the backwards guitar comes in..... As for "We are the Champions", what an awful mix - surely an afterthought! By the way fact fans, there exists a promo version with 3 more mixes of WWRY! Can we contain our excitement?!