Queen II

★入选「死前必听的1001张专辑」、Q杂志「50张英国史上最棒优碟」、Metal Hammery杂志「70年代200张最经典专辑」...等名单
★2011年纪念推出2CD经典盘：追加4首现场或混音版本曲目，以及B-Side的“See What A Fool I’ve Been”珍稀作品

1991年11月24日辞世，享年仅45岁的主唱Freddie Mercury，无人能取代的嗓音诠释，外加一流的钢琴、吉他弹奏技巧与创作深度，入选滚石杂志「史上百大经典主唱」第18位、AMG网站赞赏「于摇滚音乐史上最具爆发力及独特魅力的领导者」+入籍滚石杂志「史上百大经典吉他手」第39位的Brian May+Foo Fighters、Guns N' Roses、Mötley Crüe等立足各世代一线乐团超级鼓手们的师法前辈Roger Taylor+1997年光荣退休的贝斯手John Deacon等四位大将，自1973年开始撰写属于Queen的灿烂史记。

初发行于1974年3月8号的【Queen II】，仍然是流行/摇滚大师Roy Thomas Baker(Mick Jagger、Ozzy Osbourne)主镇，另外Robin Geoffrey Cable(Elton John、Carly Simon)制作界长青树也来贡献一己之力，冲上英国第5名+美国Top49，拿下UK一枚金唱片。入选「死前必听的1001张专辑」一书、Q杂志「50张英国史上最棒优碟」、Metal Hammery杂志「70年代200张最经典专辑」...等名单里头。终于以“Seven Seas Of Rhye”冲破流行防御，摘下英国金榜NO.10成绩。2011年重新问世，纪念推出2CD经典盘，追加4首现场或混音版本曲目，以及B-Side的“See What A Fool I’ve Been”珍稀作品。

In one regard, Queen II does indeed provide more of the same thing offer on the band's debut. Certainly, of all the other albums in Queen's catalog it bears the closest resemblance to its immediate predecessor, particularly in its lean, hard attack and in how it has only one song that is well-known to listeners outside of their hardcore cult: in this case, it's "Seven Seas of Rhye," which is itself more elliptical than "Keep Yourself Alive," the big song from the debut. But these similarities are superficial and Queen II is a very different beast than its predecessor, an album that is richer, darker, and weirder, an album that finds Queen growing as a band by leaps and bounds. There is still a surplus of ideas, but their energies are better focused this time around, channeled into a over-inflated, pompous rock that could be called prog if it wasn't so heavy. Even with all the queens and ogres that populate Queen II, this never feels as fantastical as Genesis or Uriah Heep, and that's because Queen hits hard as a rock band here, where even the blasts of vocal harmonies feel like power chords, no matter how florid they are. Besides, these grandiose harmonies, along with the handful of wistful ballads here, are overshadowed by the onslaught of guitars and pummeling rhythms that give Queen II majesty and menace. Queen is coiled, tense and vicious here, delivering on their inherent sense of drama, and that gives Queen II real power as music, as well as a true cohesion. The one thing that is missing is any semblance of a pop sensibility, even when they flirt with a mock Phil Spector production on "Funny How Love Is." This hits like heavy metal but has an art-rock sensibility through and through, which also means that it has no true hook in for those that don't want to succumb to Queen's world. But that kind of insular drama is quite alluring its own right, which is why Queen II is one of the favorites of their hardcore fans. At the very least, it illustrates that Queen is starting to pull all their ambitions and influences into a signature sound, and it's quite powerful in that regard. [The 1991 reissue contains two remixes and the bonus track "See What a Fool I've Been," a slow crawl that's the closest Queen ever came to blues, even if it's somewhat tongue in cheek, it's still one of the best -- and most song-oriented -- things here.]