At The BBC

Performer: Queen
Producer: Bernie Andrews
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Queen: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar); John Deacon (bass); Roger Taylor (drums). Recorded live on February 5, 1973 and December 3, 1973. Includes liner notes by Malcolm Dome. Personnel: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar); Roger Taylor (drums). Recording information: BBC Studios, London, England. Since Queen's first official live album was 1979's LIVE KILLERS, many early Queen tours had gone by undocumented. Released in 1995, AT THE BBC collects eight tracks recorded live in 1973 for England's influential BBC Radio, while the band was touring behind their self-titled debut. Their sound was still in its formative stages--a cross between heavy metal and pop-rock. The band was still a few years away from composing such sprawling classics as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Somebody To Love." And since AT THE BBC was recorded by the BBC staff and not by a producer of Queen's choosing, the sound is not as consistently strong as that of their official albums. Still, AT THE BBC is a very interesting artifact for fans curious to hear the sound of early live Queen. Although not a true live album (guitar and vocal overdubs are evident), AT THE BBC contains killer versions of Queen's early rock classics "Keep Yourself Alive," "Great King Rat," "Son And Daughter," "Liar" and "Modern Times Rock N' Roll." A track which would later turn up on QUEEN II--"Ogre Battle"--is included here, as are a pair of early ballads, "Doin' Alright" and "My Fairy King."

Queen embodied 1970s glam rock--mixing heavy riffs and intricate vocal harmonies with a gender-bending image. Freddie Mercury's operatic voice and Brian May's guitar were multi-tracked ad infinitum to create pomp-rock in the grandest sense. In the '80s, Queen tried on rockabilly, disco, and more, but always returned to their arena-rock roots. The group ended with Mercury's tragic AIDS-related death in 1991.

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