Queen II is the second album from the band Queen, which follows up their first album... Queen.
This album began its life about a month after Queen I (named for convenience) was released by Trident Studios. During the first album's 8 month wait on the shelf, Queen went around doing shows to promote their album. When they came back to Trident, they were brustling with new ideas - and a few old ones. Of course, they weren't allowed to record because Queen I hadn't been released yet.
Around August, when Queen I became a modest success, they made their return to Trident - but as proper clients. They could finally book full hours to record their music, and this gave them a fair bit more freedom. It shows, apparently; Queen II is considered to be a fairly complex album. Oddly enough, it was recorded in roughly 1 month.
Seven Seas of Rhye, the so-called "Sequel Hook" I mentioned last time, was fully produced and was the band's first hit, reaching #10 on the UK Singles Chart. The album is said to be the first one to incorporate Queen's trademark sound: Multilayered overdubs, vocal harmonies (toyed with in Q1) and varied music styles (again, toyed with in Q1).
It's also a Concept Album, sort of: The original vinyl had, instead of a Side 1 and Side 2, a Side Black and Side White. Side White was full of more emotional songs, all penned by Brian May except for 1, Loser In The End, which was penned by Taylor. All of Side Black was penned by Freddie Mercury.
Initially, this album did pretty poorly. A few publications liked it, but it got a few stinkers. It's gained a cult following nowadays, though, and it inspired musicians such as Billy Corgan (Smashing Pumpkins) and Axl Rose (guess.)
But will it live up to MY standards? We'll have to see next time, when I run through the first 3 songs of Side White: "Procession", "Father to Son" and "White Queen (As It Began)"!
