Keep Yourself Alive
This track starts a lot like "Barracuda" by Heart, but it does distinguish itself soon enough. This track has a great funk to it, and the drums around halfway through the song are great. Then there's this great guitar solo, with a swooning violin coming in somewhere... Then, sure enough, there's Roger Taylor singing a few lines. Damn, that man has one sexy voice, even compared to Freddie.
This song is a "rock star" song, with a twist: It's Queen telling you to be satisfied with what you have, and to make sure you at least keep yourself afloat. I think that's a great message, and Queen manages to blend the message with, le gasp, actually good music! Granted, it's fairly simple compared to their later efforts, but it's a good start.
Doing All Right
This one starts off with a nice piano, and it's a good chance for Freddie to show off his playing skills and his voice. The piano is soon joined by some light lead guitar and a nice and steady drum beat. There's a bit of an "intermission", where Freddie sings along to an acoustic guitar, then... Holy crap, everything changes! Everything amps up, and it becomes this fast, piano rock song for a second there. Then it shifts back to soft, steady piano and drums. Damnit Queen, why do you toy with me!? It shifts back to fast piano rock before leading into a glorious, harmonious chorus; think the layered vocals from Bohemian Rhapsody, but a bit more basic.
I swear, this is some of their best early stuff. I'm only 2 songs in, and I'm loving it. Seemingly leading from the theme of the last song, this song seems to be about Freddie, or the band, being satisfied with what they have. [[WMG I theorise]] that the song represents the ups and downs of the band's 2 years of doing clubs and the like, switching from soft and smooth to fast, exhilarating rock n' roll, though that's just my opinion. Regardless, this song is a forgotten gem; you've GOT to give this a listen.
Great King Rat
Right off the bat, this song comes off as fairly heavy. But of course, it switches to a heroic/spanishy song almost immediately. It's fair to say that by now, Queen have cemented themselves... as teases. It's got a very nice beat and funk to it all throughout the song, and Freddie sounds exactly how he sounds on later, 80's circa albums. It's incredible. It slows right down at the middle, and Freddie sings as if he's telling a fable. Then it slows right down... and bam, right back into spanish/hero rock. It sounds like they use a fair bit of cowbell in the chorus too, which is always a plus.
the song itself is about a man born of a whore (Freddie's words, not mine) who has grown up to become an outlaw named the Great King Rat. It switches to Freddie's perspective, giving the impression that he's a man facing this other, vile outlaw. It seems like Freddie switches to the outlaw's perspective, telling people to stop reading the bible and such before presumably lining believers up and shooting them. Then maybe back to the hero's perspective... I'll admit, I didn't catch all the words. This song was an early attempt to tell a story through song, and Queen mostly succeeds.
Overall opinion thus far: Already on their debut album, Queen have shown themselves to be very skilled musicians. You can hear the techniques they use in later songs, which is... strange, to be honest. The lyrics are fun, but honestly a little bit weak. I'm liking this album so far, but how will the next 3 songs stack up?
