Classic Queen
Classic Queen is a 1992 compilation album by the British rock band Queen. The album is seen as a US version of Greatest Hits II and was issued to capitalise on the renewed popularity of Queen which was generated in the United States following the release of the movie Wayne's World,[2] and the death of Freddie Mercury. The album reached number four on the US Billboard 200, and is certified three times platinum in the US, and five times platinum in Canada.[3][4] Accumulated sales (Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen for the US and Canada combined) are in excess of 25 million worldwide.[5][6]
| Classic Queen | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | 3 March 1992 | |||
| Recorded | 1972–1990 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 75:10 | |||
| Label | Hollywood | |||
| Producer | Roy Thomas Baker, David Bowie, David Richards, Mack and Queen | |||
| Queen chronology | ||||
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| Queen compilation album chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Classic Queen | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [1] |
Content and release
Although critically acclaimed as an excellent compilation, Classic Queen did not fit in with the previous Queen compilations. It overlapped both the 1981 Greatest Hits and the 1991 import Greatest Hits II, and contained a few tracks not found in either of the previous releases. To remedy this situation, Hollywood Records re-released Greatest Hits six months later in 1992 in the US only, containing two different tracks from the UK edition. This was an effort to make it a companion collection with Classic Queen. The two compilations had near-identical covers, with Greatest Hits having a red background, while Classic Queen has royal blue. Being that the two were seen as counterparts, many of Queen's biggest hits were left off of Classic Queen, such as "Another One Bites the Dust", "We Will Rock You", "We Are the Champions", "Somebody to Love" and "Don't Stop Me Now", since they appear on Greatest Hits.
There is also a video cassette version of the album released (modelled after the "Greatest Flix II" video), but long out of print.[7]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "A Kind of Magic" (from A Kind of Magic, 1986) | Roger Taylor | 4:23 |
| 2. | "Bohemian Rhapsody" (from A Night at the Opera, 1975) | Freddie Mercury | 5:59 |
| 3. | "Under Pressure" (unique mix, originally from Hot Space, 1982) | David Bowie, Queen | 4:03 |
| 4. | "Hammer to Fall" (single version of track from The Works, 1984) | Brian May | 3:40 |
| 5. | "Stone Cold Crazy" (from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974) | Queen | 2:15 |
| 6. | "One Year of Love" (from A Kind of Magic, 1986) | John Deacon | 4:28 |
| 7. | "Radio Ga Ga" (from The Works, 1984) | Taylor | 5:48 |
| 8. | "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (from Innuendo, 1991) | Queen (Mercury), Peter Straker (uncredited) | 4:21 |
| 9. | "I Want It All" (single version of track from The Miracle, 1989) | Queen (May) | 4:01 |
| 10. | "Tie Your Mother Down" (single version of track from A Day at the Races, 1976) | May | 3:45 |
| 11. | "The Miracle" (unique edit, from The Miracle, 1989) | Queen (Mercury, Deacon) | 4:24 |
| 12. | "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (from Innuendo, 1991) | Queen (Taylor) | 4:14 |
| 13. | "One Vision" (unique edit, from A Kind of Magic, 1986) | Queen | 4:38 |
| 14. | "Keep Yourself Alive" (from Queen, 1973) | May | 3:45 |
| 15. | "Headlong" (from Innuendo, 1991) | Queen (May) | 4:38 |
| 16. | "Who Wants to Live Forever" (from A Kind of Magic, 1986) | May | 5:15 |
| 17. | "The Show Must Go On" (from Innuendo, 1991) | Queen (May) | 4:31 |
| Total length: | 75:10 | ||
Personnel
- Freddie Mercury – lead, backing and operatic vocals, synthesizer, piano, organ, sampler, keyboards, handclaps, finger snaps
- Brian May – electric, acoustic and slide guitars, co-lead vocals on "I Want It All", "Keep Yourself Alive" (bridge), and "Who Wants to Live Forever", operatic and backing vocals, synthesizer, sampler, piano, keyboards, programming, drum programming, handclaps, finger snaps, orchestral arrangements (except on "One Year of Love")
- Roger Taylor – acoustic and electric drums, drum machine, timpani, gong, tambourine, maracas, bar chimes, cowbell, co-lead vocals on "Keep Yourself Alive" (bridge), backing and operatic vocals, synthesizer, vocoder, sampler, keyboards, handclaps, finger snaps
- John Deacon – bass guitar, handclaps, finger snaps, synthesizer, sampler, drum programming (except on "Who Wants to Live Forever")
Additional personnel
- David Bowie – co-lead vocals, synthesizer, handclaps and finger snaps on "Under Pressure"
- Fred Mandel – synthesizer on "Hammer to Fall" and "Radio Ga Ga"
- Steve Gregory – saxophone on "One Year of Love"
- Lynton Naiff – string arrangements on "One Year of Love"
- David Richards – keyboards, percussion and programming on "These Are The Days of Our Lives"
- Michael Kamen – orchestral arrangements and conducting on "Who Wants to Live Forever"
- National Philharmonic Orchestra – strings, brass and percussion on "Who Wants to Live Forever"
Charts
| Country | Chart | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 4 | 3× platinum[3] | 3,000,000 |
| Canada | — | 5× platinum[4] | 500,000 |
References
- Rolling Stone Album Guide
- Billboard 25 July 1992 p.8. Billboard. Retrieved 30 May 2011
- RIAA – Gold and Platinum Archived 4 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved 17 June 2011
- Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Certification Results Archived 1 May 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 17 June 2011
- BPI – UK Best Selling Albums of All Time (14 June 2009), Retrieved 13 June 2011
- Queen Greatest Hits I and II Review BBC. Retrieved 17 June 2011
- Queen Album: Classic Queen MTV. Retrieved 30 May 2011
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