Product Description

In the tradition of 1975's A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, NEWS OF THE WORLD solidified Queen's position as '70s rock gods while expanding the group's vision through an eclectic batch of tunes. The album is primarily known for the anthemic medley "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions", which would grace sporting events worldwide for decades to come. Like OPERA, though, there's more to this album than the blockbuster hit. TheRoger Taylor-sung "Sheer Heart Attack" veers damn close to punk. "Get Down, Make Love" is a funky, vamp-driven number that merges "Whole Lotta Love"-style effects with a brazen sensuality that could make Prince blush.
Freddie Mercury indulges his cabaret fantasies with the supper club cha-cha ofthe Spanish guitar-laced "Who Needs You". Brian May sings the mournful, folkish piano ballad "All Dead, All Dead". Things get downright Cole Porter-ish on the jazzy torch song "MyMelancholy Blues". Once again, Queen prove themselves to becapable of much more than the arena rock many take to be their stock in trade.

Track Listing

1. We Will Rock You
2. We Are The Champions
3. Sheer Heart Attack
4. All Dead All Dead
5. Spread Your Wings
6. Fight From The Inside
7. Get Down Make Love
8. Sleeping On The Sidewalk
9. Who Needs You
10. It's Late
11. My Melancholy Blues

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2412 in Music
• Released on: 1993-09-27
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Famous for its anthemic opening salvo, "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions"--at once an acknowledgement of and delight in their new-found stadium status--it's possible to see News Of The World as the last album of Queen's "classic" period, when their fusion of gaudy operatics, tearful ballads and '70s guitar-rock came together most congruently and well. With "Spread Your Wings" the band crafted another of their typically artful paeans to hedonistic freedom, and "My Melancholy Blues" is one of Freddie Mercury's most engaging displays of self-indulgence--though they stepped up the pace appreciably on "Sheer Heart Attack," which proved that they could match anyone for sheer muscle, when the urge seized them. The album's most successful cut, however--Brian May's "It's Late"--successfully married the guitarist's power chord-fetish with Mercury's infatuated romantic melodrama: the result, overblown on both counts, stands as a near-definitive record of this band and their sound. --Andrew McGuire

Customer Reviews

Ponderous
Here's Queen, it's the late 70's and the UK rock world has just been turned on its head by punk. Linked with grandiose schemes of being the biggest and the best, Queen were bravely giving the middle index to these spotty oinks and declaring themselves the champions. Who was subversive?
It's not all good news however, there's a perceptable dip in quality control, while containing some of the big hits and hidden gems (All Dead, Spread your wings), the album is incohesive as a whole; best download the good bits!

The last of the classic Queen albums of the 70s.....
Although this album is not as high-profile as A Night At The Opera or A Day At The Races, there is much to admire on News Of The World. But once again, a Queen studio album is let down by 2 or 3 very weak tracks.

The opening 5 tracks are superb. The opening salvo of We Will Rock You / We Are The Champions is followed by 3 "under-valued" Queen tracks - Sheer Heart Attack (pretty good for a Roger Taylor composition, especially after the dire Drowse from the previous album), All Dead All Dead (a lovely Brian May song) and Spread Your Wings (John Deacon penned single).

The second half of the album is less consistent. It's Late, Get Down Make Love and My Melancholy Blues are great, but Who Needs You and Sleeping On The Sidewalk are poor.

This was the last of the classic 70s Queen albums. After this came the even more inconsistent Jazz....

A different kind of different
When Queen released this album Punk and New Wave were about to change the music that a generation of teenagers bought. So from the beginning this album was unlikely to be received as well as previous Queen albums - and it wasn't.

Certainly there is nothing on this album that matches Bohemian Rhapsody from two years earlier. However, I prefer this album to "A Night At The Opera" over all. For me the anthemic qualities of "We are the Champions" and "Spread Your Wings", together with the stylistic variety of "Sleeping on the Sidewalk" (Rhythm and Blues) and "My Melancholy Blues" (Piano Ballad) is what made Queen such a great band. Sometimes its the little things on this album that I really like, such as Roger Taylors fabulous drum break at 2:48 near the end of "Sheer Heart Attack". If that isn't enough have a listen "Its Late". As the Amazon reviewer said this is the best track on the album. If I had to pick only one Queen track this would be it. Its over 6 minutes long but it has everything you'd expect from a great Queen track. The only quick way I can think of describing it is that they should have performed it at Live Aid - it would have fitted perfectly into the great set they did there.

There are a few weak tracks in my view, hence only 4 stars, but overall this a better album than its given credit for. Any Queen fan will know this already, but for anybodyelse, apart from a compilation this is as a good a place to start if you're buying Queen for the first time.