Search - Queen :: Greatest Hits I, II & III - The Platinum Collection (3CD)

The ultimate collection of Queen

Terrence J. Reardon | Lake Worth (a west Palm Beach suburb), FL | 08/23/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Queen's Greatest Hits Volumes 1, 2 and 3 (a/k/a The Platinum Queen Collection) was released here in the US in October of 2002.

Prior to its release, it was available an import in 2000 via EMI using the 1994, 1991 and 1999 masterings on each disc respectively. Then Hollywood Records in both the US and Canada released this compilation in the fall of 2002 and the sound quality on the discs are superior to the flat sounding UK CDs as these used the 2001 remastering of Queen's catalog for release in Japan and were done at Abbey Road Studios by Peter Mew and the sonic quality is top notch. The booklet is great also with photos of the singles' 45s and various promo pics of the band over the years.

Disc 1 is the 1981 Greatest Hits in its original UK tracklisting featuring "Another One Bites the Dust" which was Queen's biggest US hit which hit #1 in 1980 and a rock disco classic. Plus Queen's first US Top 10 and first UK #1 in 1975 hit out of "Bohemian Rhapsody" which reached #9 in the US in 1976 and this classic needs no explanation (would reach #2 in re-release in 1992). We also have the band's first US #1 hit from 1980 out of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" which is a classic rockabilly romp. "Killer Queen" follows and was the band's first US Top 20 hit in Spring 1975 in the US and hit #2 in 1974 . Included is the single mix of "Fat Bottomed Girls" which is a nice different version to the full album track and that was a Top 30 US hit in 1978 as was its A-side "Bicycle Race".

We also have "We Will Rock You" and "We Are the Champions" which both hit #4 in early 1978 here in the US (the tracks are separate but the US record company insisted on playing the two together) and both are classic rally cry/victory cry songs and were #2 in the UK. Also included is the single mix of the song "Flash" which was the theme to the 1980 film Flash Gordon (did well in UK but not so well Stateside). Also on this is the US Top 20 hit from early 1977/UK Top 5 from 1976 out of "Somebody to Love" which was a great gospel tinged rocker. The 1976 US Top 20/UK Top 10 hit ballad "You're My Best Friend" which was the follow up single to "Bohemian Rhapsody" on A Night at the Opera is here. Plus you have the UK Top 20/US Top 50 hit "Play the Game" from 1980, great ballad.

The other tracks which were the rock radio hit "Now I'm Here" (a UK Top 20 in 1975), the classic "Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy" (a UK Top 30 in 1977 but not released as single Stateside, instead it was "Long Away" that got released and tanked), the classic "Seven Seas of Rhye" (a UK hit but stiffed here in the US in 1974)", the big UK Top 10 hit "Don't Stop Me Now" (which was well received on US rock radio but flopped on pop singles chart in 1979, Bee Gees and disco ruled the roost on singles in US) and the ballad "Save Me" (which was a UK Top 20 in 1980 but an album track here in the States as the song was not issued as a single in the US) round out the first disc.

Disc 2 is the UK version of Queen's Greatest Hits II which was released in October, 1991 in the UK.

It has two US Top 40 hits which were "Under Pressure" (which hit #29 Pop and Top 10 Mainstream Rock in the US in 1981) and "Radio Ga Ga" (which hit #16 Pop in the US in 1984) plus "The Show Must Go On" (which hit #2 when released in 1992 as double A-side with "Bohemian Rhapsody"'s re-release). It also has some of the band's huge US rock radio hits out of "One Vision" (here in its single edit and superior to album version on A Kind of Magic IMHO) (#20 Billboard Rock Tracks in 1985), "I Want it All" (here in its single edit) (which hit #3 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart in 1989), "Headlong" (here slightly edited) (which hit #3 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart in 1991) and "Innuendo" (which hit #17 on the Billboard Rock Tracks chart in 1991).

Also here are songs that were hits in the UK/Europe but sadly tanked in the US which were the classics "A Kind of Magic", "Breakthru", "It's a Hard Life", "I Want to Break Free" (featured in its superior single mix) and "Hammer to Fall" (also here in its single mix). Also included here are songs that were singles in Europe but not here in the US but are great album tracks to us Yanks which were "The Miracle", "The Invisible Man", "I'm Going Slightly Mad", "Friends Will Be Friends" and "Who Wants to Live Forever".

Greatest Hits III was released in November of 1999 and is seen as the sore thumb of the collection due to some of the re-mixes and collaborations and some solo tunes.

The outstanding are the new RAH mix of "Under Pressure" (which features some fresh work from Brian May and Roger Taylor and a verse at intro which was left off original song). "The Show Must Go On" is performed with Elton John from 1997 in what turned out to be Queen bass player John Deacon's last performance as he retired from the music industry a year later. The band's 1984 Christmas single "Thank God It's Christmas". The last song that John Deacon recorded with Brian May and Roger Taylor "No One But You". Plus you get some songs that were released as singles in the US but stiffed like "Heaven For Everyone", "Princes Of the Universe" and "These Are the Days Of Our Lives". Also included here are songs that were singles in Europe but not here in the US but are great album tracks to us Yanks which were "Let Me Live", "Too Much Love Will Kill You", "Las Palabras De Amor" and "You Don't Fool Me". Also featured was the US Top 20 Queen and George Michael live version of "Somebody to Love" from 1993 (stellar version). Plus Brian May's only US rock radio hit "Driven By You" in its UK mix (I preferred the mix on the US version of Back To the Light with Cozy Powell on drums but such as life). Another knockout was the late Freddie Mercury's duet with famous opera soprano Montseratt Cabaet "Barcelona". I did dock a star or so from Part 3 due to the despicable Wyclef Jean remix of "Another One Bites the Dust" which sounds like some bad gangsta rap crap. Also the techno remix of Freddie Mercury's "Living On My Own" was atrocious compared to the version on his Mr Bad Guy album (which was more tolerable as I prefer 1980s drum machines to the current ones). I would have preferred "Keep Yourself Alive", "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Spread Your Wings" in those two aforementioned tunes' place.

The Platinum Queen Collection debuted in the US Top 50 and sold slowly and consistently seller and gradually went Platinum in last decade with sales of over a million copies in the US. This is a great overview to Queen in general.

HUGELY RECOMMENDED!"