Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Queen
Label: Parlophone Records
Released: 2009
Running time: 79:29
Rating: 3.5/5
“Absolute Greatest” is already the sixth compilation to try to gather the biggest hits from the vaults of one of the most successful and respected bands of all time in one place. More than eighteen years after the death of their unforgettable, versatile and insanely charismatic singer Freddie Mercury, they still thrill generations of music lovers all over the world. The album packs twenty of their biggest hits from nearly every era of their career.
Some media are pitching “Absolute Greatest” as an exclusive collection of the best Queen material that, for the first time ever, features selected tracks from every chapter of the band’s story, which is simply not true. The release has come out in a whole bunch of formats: a single CD, a double edition with extra commentary from guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, a 52-page book with two CDs, a digital version and an LP. Considering we’ve already had five similar releases in the past, that most of their biggest hits get regular radio rotation, and that their music videos pop up all the time on music TV channels, the longtime Queen fan who already owns every studio and live release can fairly ask whether the new best-of is even needed, especially since it doesn’t contain a single previously unreleased bonus goodie or unreleased version of any song.
Like every best-of before it, “Absolute Greatest” can’t give a trustworthy glimpse into the rich creative career of this immortal band. That’s a constant problem with all similarly versatile bands, usually of the art rock or progressive rock persuasion. The best way to hang out with Queen and get to know them has always been their selected studio and live albums, led by the classic “Live Killers” (1979), and no collection of randomly picked hits can change that. The lineup of evergreens that brought them their biggest commercial success is wildly predictable and leaves nothing to the imagination.
There’s always been a kind of irony with Queen: over their career they made a good number of songs that are rightfully better than many of the more famous, endlessly played hits. So plenty of fans will miss some of their favorite lesser-known tracks, as well as classics like “Tie Your Mother Down”, “Spread Your Wings”, “Bicycle Race”, “Play the Game”, “Hammer to Fall”, “Princes Of the Universe”, “Breakthrough”, “Innuendo” and “Made In Heaven”, which for one reason or another didn’t make it onto this single-disc release.
The track selection touches nearly all of their studio albums, including the soundtrack to the film “Flash Gordon” (1981), though “Flash”, the big pomp rock hit from the early eighties, is sorely missing from it. There’s also not a single track from their self-titled 1973 debut. “Seven Seas Of Rhye” is the version from “Queen II” (1974). The songs aren’t in chronological order, which may confuse newcomers just getting to know their legacy. Meanwhile, for the longtime Queen fanatics who might somehow end up buying this in many ways totally unnecessary release, the random running order is probably the more interesting thing to listen to. “Bohemian Rhapsody”, for many their best song ever, sits right at the very end, which, given its length and epic nature, is about as fitting as it gets.
“Absolute Greatest” is yet another pretty pointless attempt to squeeze as much cash as possible out of the pockets of longtime Queen fans with as little effort as possible, and as such it’ll vanish into oblivion as fast as it can. After the, for many, controversial adventure with Paul Rodgers wrapped up, this is surely a pretty poor reason to draw fresh attention to the band, since Queen are one of the last bands who’d ever need to worry about their rich legacy disappearing from radio stations, sports arenas or digital screens. The one genuine upside of this release is that its concentrated dose of the biggest hits might convince some budding young listener to slowly start exploring their music and turn their back on most of today’s popular bands, who usually make something you can hardly call music anymore. Apart from those young explorers and the biggest fanatics who have to own everything with the Queen logo on it, though, none of the “converted” will miss “Absolute Greatest” in their collection.
Lineup
Freddie Mercury – vocals, piano, acoustic guitar, keyboards
Brian May – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
John Deacon – bass guitar, piano, keyboards
Roger Taylor – drums, percussion, keyboards, backing vocals
Production
Queen
Track list
1. We Will Rock You
2. We Are the Champions
3. Radio Ga Ga
4. Another One Bites the Dust
5. I Want It All
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. A Kind of Magic
8. Under Pressure
9. One Vision
10. You’re My Best Friend
11. Don’t Stop Me Now
12. Killer Queen
13. These Are the Days of Our Lives
14. Who Wants to Live Forever
15. Seven Seas of Rhye
16. Heaven for Everyone
17. Somebody to Love
18. I Want to Break Free
19. The Show Must Go On
20. Bohemian Rhapsody
