Search - Queen :: News of the World

Another Queen triumph;another superb remaster

B. J O'Connor | Holmdel,NJ USA | 06/19/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Their hardest and heaviest effort to date,"News Of The World" was the band's stripped-down response to the thuggish punk whiners who branded them as "dinosaurs".From the one-two jack-boot punch of "We Will Rock You" and "We Are The Champions",the proto-thrash-metal of "Sheer Heart Attack",the neo-industrial-funk grind of "Get Down,Make Love" to the Led Zep-style blast of "It's Late",Queen scales back the more florid touches of the previous efforts in favor of a more straightfoward,colder but more aggressive approach to their pomp-rock.That said,there's still quite a lot of musical varitey here,from the soft-rock balladry of "All Dead,All Dead" and "Spread Your Wings",the Latin-tinged romp "Who Needs You" and Freddie's cabaret-like closer "My Melancholy Blues".The 2004 mini-LP replica contains a superb 2001 remastering(by Peter Mew at Abbey Road)that buries all the previous editions,sounds sharper,cleaner and more powerful than ever.The mini-LP itself is a beauty also.Get it where you can buy it cheapest,cause it's worth it!"

AGREED...RUN! DON'T WALK, AND BUY THIS CLASSIC! FYI -- THIS

A. Gonsalves | New York City | 02/20/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I just heard this album in its entirety for the 1st time in my adult life, though the LP has been sitting in our home since 1977, and I've heard the bulk of it since I was under the age of 10 (My Mom has always had good taste in music). It's not that I didn't want to hear the whole thing, it's just that I wanted to hear it remastered, and the fact that our only record player has been out of commission for well over 10 years. Anywho, it just came in the mail, and I have to say, it's a CLASSIC. I don't know why the Punk Rock scene had a problem w/ this band: Punk was about whatever you wanted to do, however you wanted to do it...there weren't supposed to be any rules. This album is a combination of classic hard rock/metal, punk, power Pop, Funk, Flamenco, and Rockabilly/Jazz. Didn't Punk draw from many of these styles? Also, Queen's subject matter never stuck to the typical sex, drugs, and rock n roll mindset. Their lyrics were poetic and literary. Again, doesn't punk evoke these same traits? Honestly, all kinds of Rock float my boat, and as different as each may be, they're all like distant relatives to me. This album is one of my favorite kinds: The kind of album where each song is different in style and tone from the next. Love albums like that. No stone is left unturned...though, I would've loved a Prog Rock song w/ Gothic, Mythological elements thrown in the mix, for good measure. This is a Queen album, isn't it? Also, what struck me most was how this album never seems to have stages to it: It sounds like a story that just keeps beginning and evolving, then just stops leaving you w/ your thoughts. The diversity of the music probably has a lot to do w/ that. I also love the opposite -- "unified theme" albums where the songs sound like they're filtering in and through each other, but sometimes that can get tedious after many listenings. The variety of styles and songsmanship on this album really reflects how technically-able these four guys were. As classic 1977 rock as this piece is, it sounds remarkably contemporary (though bands that have an acoustic, real sound don't seem to be THE THING right now on the radiowaves)and actually sounds fresher than much of what's out there now. Familiar territory again...



A word about the sound quality of this Japanese mini-LP remaster (which, by the way, the art reproduction is great and fun to look through...if you lived in the era of LPs, EPs, 8-tracks, and Cassettes, it takes you back...I wonder why more new records aren't presented this way; it's so RETRO! LPs still rock! Though CDs kill best!): I don't know what some of these reviewers are talking about...this remaster is EXCELLENT! The sound quality of this remake has almost the same contemporary clarity that KISS's new SONIC BOOM double album has. I have an excellent SONY Digital CD player w/ accompanying high-quality SONY Digital headphones, and I don't detect any limitations. To me, it sounds like the 1977 master tapes were kept in good shape/or reproduced well in 2001. I'm a little miffed that I hesitated to buy this album over a year ago, because of some of the reviews here. So, if you're on the fence, don't be. Get it! Now, I'm excited to get the companion reissue of THE GAME (1980), the other Queen album of my childhood.



ROCK ON, PEOPLE!"