History AwesomeMusic / QueenBand

* [[https://youtu.be/UiuD6i8dN1g "Radio Ga Ga",]] the jewel in Roger Taylor's songwriting crown. Might possibly double as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, as it's basically one big ode to radio. And when you perform at Live Aid and ''own the whole show'' with a [[https://youtu.be/0omja1ivpx0 song entitled "Radio Ga-Ga"]], you are pretty much the physical incarnation of this trope. Queen's 20 minute set at Live Aid was voted the greatest rock performance '''ever''' by a bunch of critics. If you haven't already seen it, you're missing out. [[https://youtu.be/eQsM6u0a038 Here's the whole thing]].

* "Under Pressure", mainly for two reasons: 1, it's a collaboration with Music/DavidBowie, the other major GlamRock act of the era, and 2, the incredibly high, sustained note Freddie hits in the middle.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHC85XWII7E "Great King Rat"]]. Possibly the very first PowerMetal song.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e4Odk-v3oU Seven Seas of Rhye]]" is just awe-inspiring, both in terms of music and the imagery that its lyrics provoke, not to mention the brilliant piano intro[[note]]which, to this day, is known to be one of the hardest to play piano melodies in all of popular music[[/note]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUKi3_QntE Brighton Rock]]. Which contains some of the most epic shredding this side of ''anywhere''. If there was ever a track that proved that Queen was more than what Classic Rock radio showed, this was it, with the band plowing down the road at 125 mph with Freddie delivering an insane vocal performance at the beginning and end of the track as he shifts back and forth between his falsetto and singing voices.
* While not fitting their regular genre of Hard/Glam Rock, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZBtPf7FOoM "Killer Queen"]] deserves a special mention for being a song of sheer ''class''. Freddie is in top form as he sings about the title HighClassCallGirl (with judicious use of flanging for the line "dynamite with a laser beam" to give his voice a Space Age feel), as is Brian for the guitar solo in the instrumental bridge, while John's bass run for the line "fastidious and precise" is sure to put a smile on your face, and Roger's drum roll in the build-up to the final, explosive chorus of "She's a killer... ''que-e-een''" is a massive adrenaline rush.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vK8pxoxgNI "In the Lap of the Gods"]], with Roger's [[MetalScream insanely-high opening,]] the direct prelude to "Bohemian Rhapsody", and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiPobLbB3ik "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited"]], the direct prelude to "We are the Champions".

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZRo2fYVBVY "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettoes)"]]. Proto-Shoegaze?

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4zmv1IFCOA Death on Two Legs]], a song more vicious than some metal songs nowadays and proof that pissing Freddie off was a ''[[BewareTheNiceOnes bad idea]]''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoiV60vqa1w The Prophet's Song]] is an underrated masterpiece of a song. The vocal harmonies are beautiful, and Brian May's guitar work on it is simply epic. One of the band's finest stabs at ProgressiveRock.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJgfvp59ExQ Good Company]]. Brian May creates the sound of an early-20th century vaudeville jazz band (clarinet, trombones and all) with just his Red Special guitar and some neat studio and amp effects. This was in 1975; before pro tools, mind--and effects like this, achieved totally analog, are the ''real'' reason they put "no synthesizers" on their albums for many years.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp8CNj9qBI "Bohemian Rhapsody"]], possibly their most instantly-recognisable track and filled with moments as awesome in their diversity as in their quality, especially when you consider that the whole thing was written by a guy who (like most rock musicians) had very little formal musical training. Although the band helped put it together in the studio, Brian May confirmed that Freddie Mercury had the whole thing in his mind all along. From Freddie's plaintive lead vocal in the ballad section ("Mama... just killed a man..."), to the close harmonies in both the introduction and the Opera section ("I see a little silhouette-o of a man"), to Brian May's adrenaline-pumping guitar work either side of that section, to the final hushed piano chord, it remains one of the most compelling and exhilarating songs in their catalogue, and indeed in all of GlamRock.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kijpcUv-b8M "Somebody to Love",]] in which Queen fuse their traditional glam rock/hard rock style with gospel, with Freddie, Brian, and Roger[[note]] In both the video and live performances, John joined the others in the chorus for aesthetic reasons, but as he hated his singing voice, the technicians knew to keep the volume down on his mike.[[/note]] multitracking their vocals to create a lush choral effect that transforms this ode to longing for, well, somebody to love into a transcendent track quite unlike anything else in Queen's catalogue. And gosh, Freddie's performance is utterly wrenching, and shows off his vocal and emotional range possibly better than any other Queen song.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ge18n2JCwBs "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)",]] a rousing Brian May composition that rounds off the album. A tribute to the band's Japanese fans, it provides a gentle, yet appropriately uplifting end to the album. It would later be re-released as part of a charity album, ''Songs for Japan'', in the aftermath of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hg5skx5TZM We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions]], uplifting and empowering to almost everybody. Those two tracks, often played back to back on the radio - they're that inseparable - have become such iconic sports anthems that Brian May often remarked how he was surprised no one else had tried to come up with something to top them. But you can't improve on perfection, can you? On the subject of "We Will Rock You", the band recorded a borderline SpeedMetal [[https://youtu.be/Ekm6WtKwQos version]] that is just a blast to listen to!
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkHF_JMnB8o "Sheer Heart Attack"]]. Queen's stab at PunkRock.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PItMuGp39Q "It's Late"]]. Combine Freddie absolutely bringing it on vocal, Roger Taylor getting turned completely loose on drums and Brian May coming in with a couple of killer, distorted solos, and you have an awesome hidden gem of Queen's discography.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyhS5beQc8 "Sleeping on the Sidewalk"]]. Queen takes on the Blues with Brian doing the lead vocals. It's a great blues song, and it still sounds like Queen.

%%* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmkbDkQqwvI Mustapha]]", the opening track, is absolutely amazing.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GugsCdLHm-Q Bicycle Race]]. Only Queen could make a song about [[MundaneMadeAwesome riding a bicycle... and make it awesome]]!
* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM Don't Stop Me Now]]", one of Queen's happiest and most upbeat songs, not to mention the best driving song in existence (according to ''Series/TopGear''). Along with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", it's a great psyching-up song. Not to mention a great song to fight [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead zombies]] and [[Film/HardcoreHenry cyborg clones]] to, or [[Film/SonicTheHedgehog2020 the perfect theme for someone with a carefree attitude speeding through the fields and roads with a turtle in hand]]. And this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWJFMXOY88 Automatic Mario tribute]] is in a high enough JustForFun/MadeOfWin tier that is almost impossible to define. There are four distinct levels that are synced up to each member of the band! Just pure ecstasy really.

* John Deacon named [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spm5-SXo4Do "Dragon Attack"]] his favourite Queen song, and rightly so - it's got a bass riff just as awesome as "Another One Bites the Dust", and some killer soloing from Brian May.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE "Another One Bites the Dust"]] is possibly John Deacon's crowning achievement as a songwriter. The bass riff, inspired by Chic's "Good Times",[[note]] A song equally famous for being sampled in "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang, the first rap track to enjoy mainstream chart success.[[/note]] provides a simple yet catchy as hell beat to anchor the rest of the song, and Freddie's delivery of the vocals is as razor sharp as ever. Music/MichaelJackson, who was a known Queen fan, saw them performing the track at a concert in Los Angeles. At the time he was already looking to distance himself from the {{Disco}} music of ''Music/OffTheWall'' and wanted to create a NewSoundAlbum, and the funk, disco and rock fusion in this track gave him the creative fuel he needed to start creating ''Music/{{Thriller}}''. Hell, Michael was so impressed by the song that ''he was the one who convinced Freddie that it should be released as a single''. That's right, folks. "Another One Bites the Dust" might very well be ''the [[UrExample progenitor]] of modern {{Pop}} Music''.
* With [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrelPOP518g "Crazy Little Thing Called Love",]] Queen pays tribute to the King. Freddie came up with the song, an incredibly catchy ditty about how overwhelming said crazy little thing can be, in about five or ten minutes while lounging in a hotel bath, and his imitation of Music/ElvisPresley is so spot on that it has led some listeners to misattribute the song to Presley.

* [[Film/FlashGordon1980 FLASH! (Ah-aahhhh!) Saviour of the universe!]] The soundtrack to a CultClassic favorite to British and scifi fans. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8 "The Hero"]], and its progenitor "Battle Theme" to a lesser extent, are some of the most epic Queen songs ever. Possibly even more epic than "Flash Gordon"?

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiuD6i8dN1g "Radio Ga Ga",]] the jewel in Roger Taylor's songwriting crown. Might possibly double as a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}}, as it's basically one big ode to radio. And when you perform at Live Aid and ''own the whole show'' with a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0omja1ivpx0 song entitled "Radio Ga-Ga"]], you are pretty much the physical incarnation of this trope. Queen's 20 minute set at Live Aid was voted the greatest rock performance '''ever''' by a bunch of critics. If you haven't already seen it, you're missing out. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQsM6u0a038 Here's the whole thing]].
%%* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JU5LMG3WFBw "Hammer To Fall"]].

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJ8lpCQbyw "Princes of the Universe"]], A.K.A. the theme to ''Film/{{Highlander}}''. Also the theme to ''TabletopGame/{{Exalted}}''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2N0TkfrQhY "Innuendo"]]. A song inspired by another amazing song, "Kashmir" by Led Zeppelin, and is almost criminally underrated. Freddie Mercury and Roger Taylor assembled the song from fragments that weren't quite enough to stand on their own, and the flamenco passage in the middle of the song is an UncommonTime delight (four measures of 5/4, followed by four in the less uncommon 3/4), featuring a guest appearance by Freddie's friend Steve Howe (then between stints as lead guitarist for Music/{{Yes}}), the only guitarist who wasn't a regular member of the band to perform on a Queen record.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0P5WBWjwrI "Ride the Wild Wind"]] is one amazingly kickass driving song.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YSATKzZRP0 "The Hitman"]]. One of the heaviest songs the band ever wrote and would put most metal bands of the time to shame.
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHWLVxg8MxA "The Show Must Go On",]] the epic, grandiose ballad filled with passion pouring from every lyric and guitar riff. Doubly so with the music video that shows a history of the band with clips of Queen's other music videos and clips of Queen's live concerts- getting across the sheer scale these guys operated at. It's as awesome as it is tearjerking.

* ''Technically'' it's a Freddie Mercury solo number, but there's a Queen version as well, so... [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PfSBtWFaJ0 "Made in Heaven"]]. Listening to this song is as close as we mortals will ever come to transcending mortality and reaching the dome of Paradise.
* Another song that was originally a solo release, this time by Brian May, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivbO3s1udic "Too Much Love Will Kill You"]] could be seen as HarsherInHindsight for two reasons: the title basically describes exactly how Freddie contracted the disease that eventually took his life, and by the time the song was released, Freddie had already been dead for over three years. But the song itself features one of Freddie's best performances ever. Check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_9-ulTd0s Brian's original]], too. His vocals may not be as powerful as Freddie's, but he's just as passionate with his performance.

* You're pretty much spoiled for choice on Brian May's solo debut ''Back To The Light''. There's the epic opener [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmQpEnOUdrE "The Dark"]], which goes from being a soft lullaby to going back and forth between hard rock and symphonic to the triumphant [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=57Oejt5pr_Y title track]], the heavy and epic as hell [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iux9mTnf7xg "Resurrection"]], the upbeat [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvGR2bV-_nE "Driven By You"]] and the aformentioned "Too Much Love Will Kill You".
* Roger Taylor's solo single "Foreign Sand" is a powerful yet hopeful ballad that holds the distinction of being a collaboration with Music/YoshikiHayashi, one of the most influential figures in Japanese music. The [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMfhicQ_tcc live version]] performed at "The Great Music Experience" is perhaps even better than the studio version.

* [[Film/FlashGordon1980 FLASH! (Ah-aahhhh!) Saviour of the universe!]] The soundtrack to a CultClassic favorite to British and scifi fans. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2SP2CsHNHd8 "The Hero"]], and its progenitor "Battle Theme" to a lesser extent, are some of the most epic Queen songs ever. Possibly even more epic than "Flash Gordon"? [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pv7HNAtCH74 Now that you mention it...]]

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM Don't Stop Me Now]]", one of Queen's happiest and most upbeat songs, not to mention the best driving song in existence (according to ''Series/TopGear''). Along with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", it's a great psyching-up song. Not to mention a great song to fight [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead Zombies]] and [[Film/HardcoreHenry cyborg clones]] to, or [[Film/SonictheHedgehog2020 the perfect theme for someone with a carefree attitude speeding through the fields and roads with a turtle in hand]]. And this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWJFMXOY88 Automatic Mario tribute]] is in a high enough JustForFun/MadeOfWin tier that is almost impossible to define. There are four distinct levels that are synced up to each member of the band! Just pure ecstasy really.
** Speaking of Sonic, the recent launch trailer played this song. And it's amazing as much as funny.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM Don't Stop Me Now]]", one of Queen's happiest and most upbeat songs, not to mention the best driving song in existence (according to ''Series/TopGear''). Along with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", it's a great psyching-up song. Not to mention a great song to fight [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead Zombies]], [[Film/HardcoreHenry cyborg clones]] to, or [[Film/SonictheHedgehog2020 the perfect theme for someone with a carefree attitude speeding through the fields and roads with a turtle in hand]]. And this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWJFMXOY88 Automatic Mario tribute]] is in a high enough JustForFun/MadeOfWin tier that is almost impossible to define. There are four distinct levels that are synced up to each member of the band! Just pure ecstasy really.

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM Don't Stop Me Now]]", one of Queen's happiest and most upbeat songs, not to mention the best driving song in existence (according to ''Series/TopGear''). Along with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", it's a great psyching-up song. Not to mention a great song to fight [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead Zombies]], [[Film/HardcoreHenry cyborg clones]] to, or [[Film/SonictheHedgehog2020 the perfect theme for someone with a carefree attitude speeding through the fields and roads with a turtle in hand]]. And this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWJFMXOY88 Automatic Mario tribute]] is in a high enough JustForFun/MadeOfWin tier that is almost impossible to define. ''There are four distinct levels that are synced up to each member of the band.
** Speaking of Sonic, the recent launch trailer played this song. And it's amazing as much as funny.''

* "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgzGwKwLmgM Don't Stop Me Now]]", one of Queen's happiest and most upbeat songs, not to mention the best driving song in existence (according to ''Series/TopGear''). Along with "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions", it's a great psyching-up song. Not to mention a great song to fight [[Film/ShaunOfTheDead Zombies]] or [[Film/HardcoreHenry cyborg clones]] to. And this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDWJFMXOY88 Automatic Mario tribute]] is in a high enough JustForFun/MadeOfWin tier that is almost impossible to define. ''There are four distinct levels that are synced up to each member of the band.''

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZyhS5beQc8 "Sleeping on the Sidewalk"]]. Queen takes on the Blues with Brian doing the lead vocals. It's a great blues song, and it still sounds like Queen. It’s another genre taken on successfully.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0WxgSXdEE "Another One Bites the Dust"]] is possibly John Deacon's crowning achievement as a songwriter. The bass riff, inspired by Chic's "Good Times",[[note]] A song equally famous for being sampled in "Rapper's Delight" by the Sugar Hill Gang, the first rap track to enjoy mainstream chart success.[[/note]] provides a simple yet catchy as hell beat to anchor the rest of the song, and Freddie's delivery of the vocals is as razor sharp as ever.
** And then there's the story that Music/MichaelJackson, who was a known ''Queen'' fan, saw them performing the track at a concert in Los Angeles. At the time he was already looking to distance himself from the {{Disco}} music of ''Music/OffTheWall'' and wanted to create a NewSoundAlbum, and the funk, disco and rock fusion in this track gave him the creative fuel he needed to start creating ''Music/{{Thriller}}''. Hell, Michael was so impressed by the song that ''he was the one who convinced Freddie that it should be released as a single''. That's right, folks. "Another One Bites the Dust" might very well be ''the [[UrExample progenitor]] of modern {{Pop}} Music''.

** And then there's the story that Music/MichaelJackson, who was a known ''Queen'' fan, saw them performing the track at a concert in Los Angeles. At the time he was already looking to distance himself from the {{Disco}} music of ''Off the Wall'' and wanted to create a NewSoundAlbum, and the funk, disco and rock fusion in this track gave him the creative fuel he needed to start creating ''Music/Thriller''. Hell, Michael was so impressed by the song that ''he was the one who convinced Freddie that it should be released as a single''. That's right, folks. "Another One Bites the Dust" might very well be ''the [[UrExample progenitor]] of modern {{Pop}} Music''.

** And then there's the story that Music/MichaelJackson, who was a known ''Queen'' fan, witnessed the recording of the song. At the time he was already looking to distance himself from the {{Disco}} music of ''Off the Wall'' and wanted to create a NewSoundAlbum, and the funk, disco and rock fusion in this track gave him the creative fuel he needed to start creating ''Music/Thriller''. Hell, Michael was so impressed by the song that ''he was the one who convinced Freddie that it should be released as a single''. That's right, folks. "Another One Bites the Dust" might very well be ''the [[UrExample progenitor]] of modern {{Pop}} Music''.

** And then there's the story that Music/MichaelJackson, who was a known ''Queen'' fan, witnessed the recording of the song. At the time he was already looking to distance himself from the DiscoMusic of ''Off the Wall'' and wanted to create a NewSoundAlbum, and the funk, disco and rock fusion in this track gave him the creative fuel he needed to start creating ''Music/Thriller''. Hell, Michael was so impressed by the song that ''he was the one who convinced Freddie that it should be released as a single''. That's right, folks. "Another One Bites the Dust" might very well be ''the [[UrExample progenitor]] of modern PopMusic''.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUKi3_QntE Brighton Rock]]. Which contains some of the most epic shredding this side of ''anywhere''. If there was ever a track that proved that Queen was more than what Classic Rock radio showed, this was it, with the band plowing down the road at 125 mph with Freddie delivering an insane vocal performance at the beginning and end of the track.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7cT2O-uU-w And then the Links did it!]]

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irp8CNj9qBI "Bohemian Rhapsody"]], possibly their most instantly-recognisable track and filled with moments as awesome in their diversity as in their quality, especially when you consider that the whole thing was written by a guy who (like most rock musicians) had very little formal musical training. Although the band helped put it together in the studio, Brian May confirmed that Freddie Mercury had the whole thing in his mind all along. From Freddie's plaintive lead vocal in the "Mama... just killed a man..." section, to the close harmonies in both the introduction and the "I see a little silhouette-o of a man" section, to Brian May's adrenaline-pumping guitar work either side of that section, to the final hushed piano chord, it remains one of the most compelling and exhilarating songs in their catalogue, and indeed in all of GlamRock.