Queen, "Queen 2."
Released; 1974
During the early years of Queen, they struggled to gain recognition for their pioneering sound, style, and individuality. After releasing their debut album in 1973 to dismal early sales and no real chart success, they went back into the studio, undaunted, with a more honed sound, increased song-writing craft, and the same energy and enthusiasm as before. Plus, in contrast with their previous album, healthier recording times. While their debut showed a lot of promise, Queen 2 showed the beginnings of their trademark sound: elaborate, heavily constructed, and (in my opinion) un-pompous compositions. Father to Son, Ogre Battle, Funny How Love is, and the predecessor to their biggest world-wide hit Bohemian Rhapsody, "March of the Black Queen." March is very heavy and progressive, produced with high amounts of vocals, instrumentation, and different time-changes and moods. Added with the concept of having a "White" side of the album with material mostly composed by guitarist Brian May, and the "Black" side by vocalist Freddie Mercury, this album was definitely designed to be epic.
Luckily, the album gave them their first notable chart success. In the U.K., it managed to reach Gold selling over 100 thousand copies, reach the Top 5 in the U.K, and produce their first hit: the top ten single "Seven Seas of Rhye," written by Freddie Mercury. The Song even enjoyed some underground success in the Top 50 stateside. Critically, while mixed at the time, has later been praised by musicians Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins, and Axel Rose of Guns and Roses.
True to the band, they never stick to one style for a long time and choose to experiment with different musical styles. They constantly showed their growth in songwriting. Building on their earlier work with intense structure which can be seen as a move to avoid alienating their fans and leading to continued success.
Here is the video for "March of the Black Queen." This is indeed the father of Bohemian Rhapsody .
-Nick
