 QUEEN
The Works
Hollywood Records 1984
www.queenonline.com
What’s the 4-1-1?
You've gotta hand it to Queen. During the course of their career, the band
did everything and then some. During the eighties, the band lost many of
their old fans, due to their becoming more experimental, often implementing
the musical trends of the day. As such, their 1982 album Hot Space, which
was heavy on eighties pop/dance/new wave sounds killed much of their fanbase.
The Works was just what the title implied - the band was attempting to
win back audiences by "giving them the works." The album is actually
one of the band's finest, arguably their strongest eighties album - not
to mention one of their most diverse. The album spawned two of the band's
biggest radio hits - the eighties-pop intensive "Radio Ga Ga" and
Freddie Mercury's classic pop tune, "I Want To Break Free." And,
of course, there's the minor hit, the pop-rocker "Hammer To Fall." If
you think this album stops at the big hits, though, you are gravely mistaken.
The band serves up a diverse musical performance that features plenty of
rockers, ballads, and pop tunes alike. "Keep Passing The Open Window" and "Is
This The World We Created" are amazing ballads. "Tear It Up" is
a damn good rocker. "It's A Hard Life" is one of those Beatles-esque
ballads you can't help but love. The underrated "Machines (Back To
Humans) is a very memorable rocker with an eighties pop touch that stays
with you long after you listen to it. It's a great collection of tunes.
And an underrated album.
The biggest problem with this album is that people don't give it a chance.
I guess Hot Space (which I actually ENJOY) turned off a lot of Queen fans
and they weren't quite ready to get back into the band yet. As such, many
fans overlooked the band's eighties album and unfairly jeer the band's
output from the decade without giving it a chance.
The Verdict
A strong eighties album from Queen, and definitely one of the band's
overall strongest effort. Although not the instant classic some of
their seventies albums were, it's still a damn-good, high-ranking
recording. A worthy addition to the band's catalogue.
Did You Know?
This is the only time every song on a Queen album was used on a single. Every
song here was either an A-Side or a B-Side on a single.
Rating:  out
of 5
Related Reviews:
Queen - Flashback Reviews
Queen + Paul Rogers - Return
of the Champions
Classic Album Series DVD: Queen - A Night
at the Opera
Queen - Stone Cold Classics
--Darth Kommissar
|
|
