Greatest Flix, Vol. 3

Performer: Queen
Artist: David Bowie; George Michael; Elton John; Wyclef Jean; Ras Michael
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Queen: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon. Additional personnel includes: David Bowie, George Michael, Elton John, Wyclef Jean, Ras Michael, Free, Montserrat Caballe (vocals). Producers include: Queen, David Bowie, David Richards, Mike Moran, Mack. Additional personnel includes: George Michael, David Bowie, Montserrat Caballe, Elton John. Queen: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar); Roger Taylor (bass guitar); John Deacon (drums). Not so much a traditional greatest-hits album in the style of the first two volumes in the series, Queen's GREATEST HITS III is more of a collection of rarities, remixes, and under-appreciated album tracks. There's only one actual chart hit in these 17 cuts, the version of "Somebody To Love" recorded at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium with George Michael on lead vocals. Other songs with guest singers include Elton John's take on "The Show Must Go On" and an interesting remix of "Another One Bites the Dust" with guest raps by Wyclef Jean. Besides that, there are three solo tracks by Mercury and one by Brian May, plus about a third of the final Queen album, MADE IN HEAVEN. Highlights include the previously rare holiday single "Thank God It's Christmas" and Queen's final recording, the tributary "No One But You (Only the Good Die Young)," recorded by the three remaining members of Queen for a charity single in the wake of Princess Diana's death. This disc was later included in its entirety as part of the three-disc box set THE PLATINUM COLLECTION: GREATEST HITS I, II, and III. Not to be confused with 1981's GREATEST HITS, 1992's CLASSIC QUEEN, or '92's reissue of '81's GREATEST HITS, 2004's GREATEST HITS is a superb 20-track sampler of Queen's best, eclipsing the all of the aforementioned packages. Excepting their late-career singles, this set spans the British group's tenure from '74's "Seven Seas of Rhye" to a '84 live performance of "Under Pressure." In between are a host of the ambitious, distinctive, and often brilliant songs on which Queen built their name. The multi-part "Bohemian Rhapsody," with its lilting melodies, layered operatic vocals, studio trickery, and heavy-metal breakdowns, epitomizes the group's recombinant aesthetic and cheeky flair. The spare, disco-funk of "Another One Bites the Dust" and the breezy, music hall-like "Killer Queen" should be familiar to anyone within earshot of a radio in the '70s and '80s. The givens--the camp-rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and perennial stadium anthems "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions"--are here, but surprises like the exuberant "Don't Stop Me Now" give a well- rounded perspective on the band. With Brian May's unique guitar sound and Freddie Mercury's brash, personality-filled vocal performances, Queen was one of the most original and popular acts in rock history, and GREATEST HITS brings the group's peak moments together on one remarkable disc.

Mojo (Publisher) (12/99, p.104) - "...vocal magic here comes from a certain Mercurial talent, and George Michael....packing real poignancy...[it] reminds us that Freddie's tongue was still in his cheek right 'til the end..."

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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