Search - Queen :: Hot Space

Criticizing all you see...

Mark H. | Hanson, MA USA | 04/18/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Calling `Hot Space' a misstep is like calling a fumble a mistake by the offense in football. The album is a dud, easily my least favorite of Queen's studio output. That doesn't mean it has no worth, it is Queen for god sakes, one of the greatest bands to walk the planet. Disco new wave is just not my cup of tea and judging by the way American audiences stayed away in droves, I'm probably in the majority. `Hot Space' does contain "Under Pressure" which is undeniably a great song but that had appeared on the American version of `Greatest Hits' the previous year. The amazing success of `The Game' was the obvious inspiration to create a dance album with heavy new wave influence. Freddie and John brought the funk and disco while Roger supplied much of the new wave. Brian contributed the only traditional Queen rocker in "Put out the Fire" but this is nothing special, it sticks out for the fact that by song six, fans are starving for a rocker! "Las Palabras" is a very good ballad in the Queen tradition but I mean that's about it. Roger Taylor's compositions were never to my tastes and he does nothing on `Hot Space' to change this - hate his new wave songs! "Body Language" was the other hit where Freddie seems to indulge in his personal preferences. Anyone attacking Queen as a `gay' band would have plenty of ammo here. Homophobic, conservative America wasn't the best market for Queen in the early `80's and Queen stopped touring the US by the middle of the decade. `Hot Space' is for Queen fans only, and only for people who need every studio album....otherwise rockers who love Queen, you may want to pass."