Queen Works [import]

Queen: Brian May (vocals, guitar); Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Roger Taylor (vocals, drums); John Deacon (bass).

Additional personnel: Fred Mandel (piano, synthesizer, programming).

Recorded at the Record Plant, Los Angeles and Musicland Studios, Munich from August 1983-January 1984.

With their previous album (HOT SPACE) confusing many of their fans, Queen had something to prove on THE WORKS. The band definitely succeeded at getting back on track--THE WORKS was one of the best rock releases of 1984, featuring the worldwide smash "Radio GaGa" and reintroducing their fans to Queen's classic sound. THE WORKS spawned a total of four U.K. top ten singles, confirming that Queen had returned from their short hiatus in fine form.

Almost all of the elements you've come to expect from a classic Queen release are present on here. "I Want To Break Free" and "It's A Hard Life" are instantly addictive pop-rock. "Tear It Up" is a straight-ahead rocker and "Machines (Back To Humans)" is a successful electronic rock experiment. And as on the majority of latter-day Queen albums, there are a few politically charged tunes. "Hammer To Fall," became an instant concert favorite with it's merger of melodic hard rock and a sing-a-long chorus, but the lyrics deal with the impending danger of nuclear build-up. The other, "Is This The World We Created?," consists of just vocals with acoustic guitar accompaniment, and closes the otherwise upbeat album on a somber note.