Queen - Greatest Hits (1981)

Reason for Listening:
#23 on Billboard Top 200 (Week of 20191019). Weeks on Chart greater than 100.
Last Week: 23 | Peak: 11 | Weeks on Chart: 355.
Billboard Listing: Greatest Hits - Queen - [below 1981 UK album cover]

I'm familiar with many of Queen's hits. With that being said, I don't actively listen to the band and so I actually don't know all of the tracks on this album.

1981 UK

Released 19811026.
17 songs. 58:44. Greatest Hits (UK) (1981)
14 songs. 47:58. Greatest Hits (US/Canada) (1981)
17 songs. 60:37. Greatest Hits (Japan) (1981)
17 songs. 58:43. Greatest Hits (US) (1992)
17+3 songs. 58:44+10:33. Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You (US) (2004)
Wikipedia

Notes:
--20191017--
First listen. US 1992.
Paul Rudd is the reason I really like "Don't Stop Me Now": "Lip Sync Battle with Paul Rudd" on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (the video is also embedded at the bottom of this post)
"Bicycle Race" references Jaws and Star Wars.

4: "Don't Stop Me Now";
3: "We Will Rock You"; "Another One Bites The Dust"; "Fat Bottomed Girls"; "Seven Seas Of Rhye";
2: "We Are The Champions"; "Somebody To Love"; "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"; "I Want To Break Free";
1: "Killer Queen"; "Bicycle Race"; "You're My Best Friend";
0: "Now I'm Here"; "Play The Game"; "Body Language"; "Save Me"; "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy";

Summary:
It's hard to go wrong with a compilation album full of hits. In this case, I either knew a song and loved it or didn't know a song and thought it was at least average. With that being said, I was probably being as critical as I could be, and I could probably boost several of the songs up a rating. I think this album would greatly benefit from additional listens.

In choosing a favorite, I was initially going to give it to "Don't Stop Me Now" without a second thought. However, I quickly looked at the songs which I rated a 3 and thought "Fat Bottomed Girls" would be a reasonable competitor. Ultimately, I liked "Don't Stop Me Now" more. The main reason being it's more upbeat and flows better than "Fat Bottomed Girls." With that being said, the Wikipedia article for "Fat Bottomed Girls" says there's a single version which omits the extended guitar interludes. I might like that version more.

Overall Rating: 4.0/5
Favorite Song: "Don't Stop Me Now"
Second Favorite Song: "Fat Bottomed Girls"



1992 US


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