Queen Rogue Xxx

Like any patchy but promising debut from a classic rock group, it's often easy to underrate Queen's eponymous 1973 debut, since it has no more than one well-known anthem and plays more like a collection of ideas than a cohesive album. But what ideas! Almost every one of Queen's signatures are already present, from Freddie Mercury's operatic harmonies to Brian May's rich, orchestral guitar overdubs and the suite-like structures of "Great King Rat." That rich, florid feel could be characterized as glam, but even in these early days that appellation didn't quite fit Queen, since they were at once too heavy and arty to be glam and – ironically enough, considering their legendary excess – they were hardly trashy enough to be glam.

Sold upon its November 2014 release as a compilation containing some unearthed, even "forgotten," material, Queen Forever doesn't contain much new in either its standard or deluxe versions. Just three songs, actually: a finished version of the Works outtake "Let Me in Your Heart Again," a reworked version of Freddie Mercury's solo "Love Kills" from the soundtrack to Giorgio Moroder's Metropolis, and a completed version of "There Must Be More to Life Than This," a Freddie duet with Michael Jackson from the early '80s…

By 1979, Queen was considered among rock's elite class, and rightfully so. With a string of hit albums, singles, and sold-out tours to their credit, the group was about to enter a new musical phase of its career with 1980's mega-hit The Game…

Like any patchy but promising debut from a classic rock group, it's often easy to underrate Queen's eponymous 1973 debut, since it has no more than one well-known anthem and plays more like a collection of ideas than a cohesive album. But what ideas! Almost every one of Queen's signatures are already present, from Freddie Mercury's operatic harmonies to Brian May's rich, orchestral guitar overdubs and the suite-like structures of "Great King Rat." That rich, florid feel could be characterized as glam, but even in these early days that appellation didn't quite fit Queen, since they were at once too heavy and arty to be glam and – ironically enough, considering their legendary excess – they were hardly trashy enough to be glam.

Queen II was a breakthrough in terms of power and ambition, but Queen's third album Sheer Heart Attack was where the band started to gel. It followed quickly on the heels of the second record – just by a matter of months; it was the second album they released in 1974 – but it feels like it had a longer incubation period, so great is the progress here…