Queen - Greatest Hits II

MINE

In our collection, there's a disturbing amount of Queen.  And there's a reason for this.  In my previous incarnation as a creator of radio programming, I once put together a series of vignettes for the Queen's Birthday holiday here in Australia.  This involved sections of interviews with the various members of Queen plus other celebrities, all taking about Queen songs, to be played in front of a Queen song.  And in order to do this, I rang up the record company distributing their music, and received - free - their entire back catalogue of greatest hits.

So it's not entirely strange that the pointy stick hit on Queen.  What is strange is that I've kept all of this.  Especially this one, which has only a few songs to recommend it.  I really disturbed myself by singing along to I Want It All  and I Want To Break Free - but I've always loved Radio Ga Ga.  Go figure.  Anyhoo, time to keep the songs we like, and dump the rest.  I'm sure there'll be no argument from YourZ.  Although the Live At Wembley CD is pretty good.

VERDICT:THROW IT OUT

YOURZ

There's no mistaking that voice, being one of the most recognisable in the world.  Ah Freddy, I can't help wonder what you'd be singing today

Freddy built his career on his operatic range and grand sweeping gestures, which so suited the stadium rock the rest of Queen built behind him.  They've been part of my life since I first heard Night At The Opera in the late 70s, a favourite album of my best friend at the time.  While I would try to get him to share my love of Status Quo, Deep Purple, Zeppelin, Kiss and Cheap Trick, he would try to do the same with Queen (and Nazareth, if I remember rightly).  But it never really took.

Don't get me wrong, though.  I really like Queen a lot.  I've just never owned any of their albums.  What I have owned, over the years, is a succession of the same edition of Queens Greatest Hits (isn't there an old joke about if you leave a cassette in a glove box long enough it will morph into Queens Greatest Hits?). (Mine says: either Ben Elton or Douglas Adams came up with that, can't remember).  As Mine has pointed out, we have a lot of Queen in the collection.  The bugger is the pointy stick landed on this one, instead of Greatest Hits I, which has what I consider to be their best songs.

Oh yes, this does have Under Pressure, with that bass line (ice ice baby...) and Radio Gaga, which apparently inspired Lady Gaga's name, if you believe the hype.  It also has I Want To Break Free, which caused my friends and I no end of amusement when it first came out not because of the campy video that accompanied it but for the overwhelming presence of Freddy's lisp.  Just picture the scene, if you will, of the rest of Queen sitting around in the studio, trying not to laugh as he sings 'I want to bwake fwee, I want to bwake fwee...' and see if you don't laugh too.  Puerile, I know, but I've never said I wasn't.

Anyway, I agree with Mine on this one.  I don't recognise most of the songs on this collection and there's far too much bad 80s reverb on the drums of most of these tracks for my liking.  Let's get rid of the chaff and keep the wheat.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT

For more information: http://www.queenonline.com/

In our collection we also have: Greatest Hits, Greatest Hits III, Made in Heaven and Live At Wembley '86

The Clash - The Singles

YOURZ

I would love to say, for credibility, I was a fan of The Clash right from the start but the reality is when they first came out, I was more interested in Kiss and Cheap Trick and other bands who were part of the 'establishment' they, and the punk scene in general, often railed against.

But I liked them well enough to buy the Double A side vinyl single for Should I Stay Or Should I Go/Straight To Hell.  (Yes, I still have it and again, no, don't bother asking).  I also remember fondly watching the videos for London Calling and Rock The Casbah.  My reasons for not getting into them more then are many and varied, none of which would have any great interest to you now, dear reader.

It wasn't until some years later when I was working as a volunteer DJ for a community radio station that my appreciation grew into outright love.  If asked now, I would say London Calling is my favourite album of all time.  If our extensive collection were lost tomorrow, the first replacement I would get would be this one as I can't imagine not having it.  The impact of this single (double) album has had on popular music is undeniable.  It's a pinnacle moment in modern music history.  (Just in case you haven't gathered by now, I really do like this album a lot). 

This collection, The Clash - The Singles, is another great starter record for anyone who don't know or are just getting into the band.  Given The Clash were never really a singles band anyway, I personally find the collection lacking but this is a personal observation and no reflection on the quality of the material. No, not at all, no way... 

VERDICT: TURN IT UP and pogo like your knees are still young


MINE:

A lot of my last year of school (*cough* 1980 *cough*) was spent sitting on the floor of my best friend's house, listening to her brother's copy of London Calling and reading all the words on the inside sleeves of those big black plastic things... LPs!  I remember now.  It was a bit of a surprise buy for him, as he'd been a Deep Purple, AC/DC-head up until then.

I also remember playing Rudy Can't Fail over and over and over again when I was trapped in a small country town due to following my first husband through hell AND high water.  It seemed a good soundtrack to the scenes from the Falklands invasion I was watching on TV at the time.

I think we got this CD because we didn't have any Clash on CD, and it's not bad for filling in some of the gaps.  But as we have London Calling and Sandinista there now, the main point of this one is to have Rock the Casbah and Radio Clash in one convenient location.  Both of which have wiggled me around many dance floors in the past, and no doubt will continue to do so into the future.

To my great disappointment, I've never seen the Clash play live, but a few years ago I was lucky enough to see Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros perform.  A moment (but only a moment) of silence, please.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP (smashing guitars entirely optional)

For more information: http://www.theclash.com/

In our collection we also have London Calling, Sandinista, Combat Rock, The Story Of The Clash Vol 1 and Live at Shea Stadium

Fu Manchu - In Search Of

YOURZ

Let's talk about ‘boy’ music, which, according to Mine, is exemplified by Fu Manchu. According to her, ‘boy’ music is big, dumb and loud, the sort of music where the lyrics don’t have much value apart from separating the riffage from the lead breaks. I can’t deny she's pretty much described this Californian quartet perfectly but why she sees this as a bad thing is beyond me.

With 1996’s In Search Of…, Fu Manchu’s manifesto continued to be about the important things in life – skating, fast cars, faster girls and substance-fuelled good times. And the formula must be a good one because they are still at it, having released their tenth studio album, Signs Of Infinite Power, late in 2009.

I was introduced to this band sometime in the mid-90’s. My memories of this period are somewhat hazy but I do remember hanging out at a friend’s place, smoking ridiculous amounts of pot and listening to lots of music, including Fu Manchu. But don’t ask me which album or even which songs. All I remember is stoner rock never sounded better. It still doesn’t.

These days, listening to this music only serves to remind me of how much I’ve forgotten. But man, we had a great time regardless.

VERDICT: TURN IT UP, dude and pass the bong...


MINE

Why bother? That's my first reaction listening to Fu Manchu and it hasn't worn off some days later. I mean, if I wanted to listen to Deep Purple or Black Sabbath circa 1975 or thereabouts, I would.

Not that I would, mind you. I spent entirely too much of the mid-70s listening to those bands because my girlfriends had older brothers who we wanted to hang around with - who wouldn't relinquish stereo rights. So listening to Fu Manchu just made me feel spotty and anxious. And like I wanted a menthol cigarette and to talk on the phone a lot.

But mostly I felt - bored. I mean, why do a bunch of Californian stoner boys want to make music like Thin Lizzy? Their mix is what YourZ calls "lo-fi" and I call "bad" - I can't understand more than about three words in any song because the vocals are buried. No, if I want to hear this sort of music made relevant for the 2000s I'll choose Wolfmother, thank you very much.

VERDICT: THROW IT OUT


For more infornation: http://www.fu-manchu.com/

In our collection, we also have The Action Is Go, King Of The Road, Start The Machine and Signs Of Infinite Power