Random Records with Steve O- Queen's self-titled album

Steve O - February 11, 2014

So we’re gonna try something a little different for Random Records this time. Five records that sound nothing alike, but there’s something connecting all of them. See if you can figure out what it is.

I love Queen. They wrote some awesome songs and Freddie Mercury was a great vocalist. And guitarist Brain May is an astrophysicist. How fucking cool is that? Queen had a huge influence on a lot of genres, one of which was giving metal an alternative to blues based guitar structure. And their 1973 self-titled debut was where all of that started.

However, this is far from my favorite Queen record. In fact, amongst all of their 70s records, this is the one I listen to the least, by far. There’s still some good songs though. It still definitely sounds like Queen. “Keep Yourself Alive” is a catchy opener, with flashes of the layered vocals Queen is famous for. “Great Rat King” features some haphazard guitar solos while “My Fairy King” is piano driven with plenty of overdubbed vocals, reminiscent of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” “Modern Times Rock n’ Roll” is one of quickest Queen songs. If you wanna take a break from “Don’t Stop Me Now,” and some of the other well-known Queen songs, give their first record a spin.