Queen II is, despite its initial weirdness (one never does fully “get used to” this album, does one?), is a real favorite of mine. It’s my favorite Queen album. In fact, I do believe it is my favorite album of all time (unless I find something better, which I might, but maybe not). It was not the one that started me on Queen (the song Bohemian Rhapsody did), but it was still a good one.
An unusual thing about this album is that, when it came out on the record, it was not Side A and Side B (like most records of the time), but rather, Side White and Side Black. This represented Queen at the time; never sticking to what everyone else was doing, doing their own thing whether anyone liked it or no, and basically musically doing what they liked. The funny thing is, it seems that the two leading members of the group, Freddie Mercury (the singer) and Brian May (the guitarist), both got a side apiece on this album (except for the fact that Roger Taylor, the drummer, gets the last song on Side White). It almost seems like a representation of their different personalities; the first side is emotional, romantic, a little sentimental at times, and mostly a quiet, tame-ish beauty. (Okay, I’m not counting “Loser in the End” when I say this.) Side Black is emotional as well, but while the emotion on Side White is controlled, this is just raw emotion hitting us like a freight train or something. I mean, ogre battles, fairies, black queens, seven seas of Rhye – it’s all too much for some of us.
Obviously this album isn’t for everybody. But people who are into progressive rock and songs with fantasy-ish lyrics (a lot of the songs are about Rhye, Freddie Mercury’s fantasy world when he was a kid), you’ll like this. And if you’re a Queen fan, this is like sacred writings, almost.
Song by song analysis:
Procession: What does Queen II have in common with Dark Side of the Moon? They both start off with a heartbeat. The sound of a heartbeat-like drum begins this album, and then the orchestral beauty of Brian May’s guitar (which he made himself). A beautiful beginning for an epic piece.
Father to Son: It’s one of my favorite Queen songs, and a rather underrated song in Queen’s repertoire. It’s about 6 minutes long, and with many shifts in the song (it gets very dark during the middle), so it’s like Bohemian Rhapsody in that respect. A cool song overall.
White Queen (As It Began): This song isn’t as good as the first two. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great song, but it’s just not as awesome as those. It was written about a girl May knew and had a crush on, but he never had the courage to tell her how he felt about her, and thus she never knew. In the song, she is the White Queen. But like any other early Queen songs, the part of the song that carries its “meaning” (as if Queen songs ever do have clear-cut meanings) is balanced with lyrics that seem to mean nothing.
Some Day One Day: It’s a little like White Queen in the sense that it’s basically Brian May wishing relationships could be perfect. It’s almost psychedelic sounding (in a good way), and I bet they could have made it a single (or at least it could have been the B-Side to Seven Seas of Rhye). It has some good quotes from it (like “some day one day…we’ll come home” and “no star can light our way through our cold and darkened fear”, the latter of which sound like it came from a poem or poeticly written book).
The Loser in the End: This is my least favorite song on the album. It’s not bad, exactly, but…it certainly shouldn’t have been on here. Maybe the next album (“Sheer Heart Attack”) would have been a better place for it. Yeah, probably so. It makes me laugh, for some reason. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but hearing Roger Taylor singing his lyrics is funny to me.
Ogre Battle: A lot of people think I don’t like heavy metal, but I like this song, which is undoubtedly metal. The song is the most aggressive track on the whole album (and probably the most of all the Queen songs, though you could probably argue me into thinking it was Death on Two Legs), and it’s the heaviest and darkest, too. I like the fact that it’s super fast, and it makes me feel the emotions involved in killing ogres and…stuff. It used to make me sick when I listened to it, because of the fast heavy metal-ish guitars. But now I listen to it like it’s nothing. Thanks, Queen!
The Fairy-Feller’s Master-Stroke: It’s funny. For some reason, this is a funny song. I guess it’s because it makes me think of a guy running around in the woods with a bunch of fairies and…I dunno. It reminds me of the feeling I get when I’m on a sugar high.
Nevermore: One would think this song is depressing. The lyrics alone could do that, but it remains poignant and not as sad as I’d expect. It’s a nice little song, and it’s also cool to learn if you’re learning how to play piano.
March of the Black Queen: This is the album’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” of sorts. It certainly shows that they were leading up to it. It’s got the mysterious lyrics, ever-changing tune and speed and key changes that show this was the beginning phase of the search for the Rhapsody. (Actually, Liar and My Fairy King on their previous album sort of lead up to it as well, but those are two different songs.)
Funny How Love Is: Funny how March of the Black Queen goes perfectly into this song, because they’re nothing alike. At all. Happy little lyrics that mean nothing in particular. A rather enjoyable listen.
Seven Seas of Rhye: Queen couldn’t have chosen a better closer for their greatest album! I like it because, well, it reminds me of my mental state (unfortunately): happy, delusional, grand, euphoric, and basically holding the feeling that the whole world is yours to command! For whatever reason, my friends and I always go to IHOP every third Monday of the month and sing this song there. In public. It’s the album’s only hit, but rightfully so! Hurray Queen! Yeah!
Best tracks: Father to Son, Some Day One Day, Ogre Battle, The Fairy-Feller's Master-Stroke, March of the Black Queen, and Seven Seas of Rhye.
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