Album Reviews - Q

Queen - The Works (1984 Hollywood Records)
QueenOnline.com

1. Radio Ga Ga
2. Tear It Up
3. It's A Hard Life
4. Man On The Prowl
5. Machines (or 'Back To Humans')
6. I Want To Break Free
7. Keep Passing The Open Windows
8. Hammer To Fall
9. Is This The World We Created...?

10. I Go Crazy (bonus track on 1991 reissue)

Derek's Review
I'm going out on a limb here to call this the greatest record Queen made in the 80s. Loyalists will scoff and claim that nothing could top The Game, since it was the record that pushed Queen into a new decade without distilling their creative energies. But I will still boldly proclaim The Works is more important. Though some fans disliked Jazz, Queen was still at the top of their popularity when they recorded The Game. However, after the poor success of both Flash Gordon and Hot Space (minus the stellar "Under Pressure"), many fans were wondering what was happening to their beloved Queen. Well let me tell you, I bet those fans stopped worrying when The Works came out, because it is a terrific return to form and ranks up there with A Night At The Opera and News Of The World. May, Taylor, Deacon, and of course, Mercury turn in career-defining moments of utter brilliance.

Radio Ga Ga – This was a huge single for Queen and is an amazing Taylor composition, though not his normal style of writing.

Tear It Up – Freddie asks "Are you ready?" and then proceeds to remind listeners that Queen can rock hard, really hard if they really want to. A great rock song that never gets enough credit. Brian delivers one of his best guitar moments since "the note" on 1977's "We Will Rock You."

It's A Hard Life – Has a gorgeous piano melody going throughout the song and Mercury leaves his vocal imprints all over this one. A wonderful chorus and an overall jovial song.

Man On The Prowl – Goes back to the 50s and Mercury is sounding like Elvis. Only Mercury (and Robin Zander) would have the charisma to pull this off and sound convincing in an era of hair metal.

Machines (or 'Back to Humans') – Perhaps the oddest song on the album, but the chorus still gets to me every time. The song starts off kind of odd, but turns into a great musical song leading up to the chorus.

I Want To Break Free – Another winner on this record. Let me just say, watch the video, and anyone not laughing needs to get a life. This is a great Deacon tune and Mercury turns in another winning vocal performance. The beat on this song is really catchy and Brian May does some really cool guitar noises on this one.

Keep Passing The Open Windows - Really cool production job on this one. We get some keyboard on it, but Queen never overdoes the keyboard. I don't really know what other Queen song I can compare this to, it's kind of its own entity. Maybe it's the chorus that kind of brings you into the song, because it just puts a smile on your face. This is by no means one of the better tracks on this album, but somehow just works (pun intended) with the concept of the album.

Hammer To Fall - Man, this may be my favorite song on the album. Love the lyrics. Love the guitar. Love the attitude. Love the song. The chorus is stunning and Mercury, oh god, what can you say, he's Freddie. I only wish I could have seen this performed live. Thank god we have Live At Wembley. This song, along with "Tear It Up," really shows that Queen hasn't forgotten how to rock. May turns in a great guitar solo, but I think Roger's drumming should also get commended here.

Is This The World We Created...? – After rocking us with the previous tune, Queen decides to slow it down and close on a somber note. This is a beautiful Queen song, and a proper way to close this album. One can look at the lyrics of the song and think about the world we live in without a doubt. A world, sadly, without Freddie's jovial cheer to entertain us.

I Go Crazy – Be sure to check out "I Go Crazy," since it was not included on the original release of this album, but is another welcome addition. This upbeat song sure sounds like it belongs on this album. A nice little nugget to give to the fans.

Derek's Picks: Hammer To Fall, Tear It Up, Radio Ga Ga

Pick this one up and find a treasure in Queen's excellent catalog. A great album gets a 10 from me!

Derek's Rating