With much of Queen’s discography, listeners would do well to brace themselves for large periods of uninteresting material. After setting a fantastic standard on the aptly titled debut, Queen, Queen makes no mistake with the name of their second album, Queen II. More of the songs from a band called Queen, though without the energising spirit of their plucky rock and roll sound. Instead, the Freddie Mercury-fronted group has pulled out all the stops to make themselves sound like everything else available in the rock and roll scene of the times. This is where bad habits mistaken for revolutionary musicianship begin to creep in. That’s not to say there aren’t some worthy moments on Queen II. Much like Jazz had Don’t Stop Me Now and little else, this second album from the Keep Yourself Alive hitmakers has a few special moments. Not many, but it’s enough to get by. Procession is a rather apt beginning since the rest of the album feels lifeless.
Queen II never feels zombified or shambling, just a little bereft of sincerity. What the first album did wonderfully was create a rock and roll spectacle while also adapting to the expected standard. Queen would do much the same when producing A Night at the Opera, though it wouldn’t make it onto the music itself. Queen II is a fine piece of work, just a nasty case of pursuing the popular form when the band had proven they could exceed that standard. Closing the second album with the same closer as the first offers some quality but rehashing bits and pieces so early into their lifespan is hardly a sign of quality. Taking a softer tone on songs like Father to Son isn’t the problem, it’s shoehorning Brian May and his guitar technique into place that creates such a clear imbalance. Where Mercury wants to hit on softer, contemplative moments of familial integrity, May wants to jam as many chord changes as he can into as small a window as possible.
Impressive work if you like bits of tinfoil reflecting sunlight. When Mercury is given a chance to explore the softer side of Queen, as the band are up for providing on White Queen (As It Began), they find a sincerely tender style. It would have benefited them well to balance this with the showy fret work and pop submissiveness which hounded the band at their worst. But it’s crucial to hear how well-balanced a song like White Queen (As It Began) is, because it’s the perfect example of how Queen can come together as an explosive rock unit and lyrically sophisticated band. The wheels come off for Some One Some Day but that’s through a complete reversal of style from Mercury, whose specifics are nowhere to be found, and the heart of the piece lost entirely. Nice instrumentals, though, a band that could provide that or a strong message, and rarely both at once.
Fairly consistent is what Queen II is, though it never effectively reaches any further highs until its end, where it repeats a solid Queen track and brings out The March of the Black Queen. Solid efforts, better than everything preceding it but not close to the classics people still put on repeat. A solid piece of work but it pales in comparison to their preceding album, and it falls flat when followed up with Sheer Heart Attack. It’s not because Queen didn’t write any hits for this album, but that they just don’t work. They’re a little sluggish here or there for the benefit of Mercury’s writing, and when that takes precedence, what it needs is instrumental effectiveness to thrive. The band never finds the balance here, but it’s still worth a listen to hear that progress.
