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Rating: - Problems with this compilation
Needless to say, the music on this CD is all terrific. Queen were and remain one of the most glorious, most fantastic rock bands in history. What I'd like to refer to here is the compilation itself. Queen's hits were originally compiled on three albums: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 was released in 1981 and contained songs recorded between 1973 and 1980; Greatest Hits Vol. 2 was released in 1991 and contained songs recorded between 1981 and 1991; and finally, Greatest Hits Vol. 3 contained oddities, rarities, songs that were somehow omitted from the first compilations, solo recordings and Queen songs recorded by others - a mess, altogether. Those three can now be obtained together as 'The Platinum Collection'.

That music was re-compiled as 'Greatest Hits' and 'Classic Queen'. Put together, song by song, these are better than the original compilations; they include 'These Are The Days Of Our Lives', which appeared on Greatest Hits Vol. 3, as well as 'Keep Yourself Alive' from Queen's first album (on the original compilations, the first album was not represented) and 'Tie Your Mother Down', one of Queen's most popular songs in live recordings which was not included in the original compilations simply because it wasn't released as a single. All that on the expense of less impressive tracks which were successful singles but have dated badly - 'Flash', 'It's A Hard Life', 'Friends Will Be Friends' and 'The Invisible Man'. However, it also omits several excellent songs - 'Innuendo' and 'Breakthru'.

Taking all this into account, even if we accept these lost songs, this new compilation is unjustifiably messy. It seems the producers have played a nasty trick on us. If, like myself, you prefer Queen's 70s hits, you'd like to get 'Greatest Hits'. This is in fact the exact same album as the original Greatest Hits Vol. 1, except - and this is a big EXCEPT - Bohemian Rhapsody was stricken down from it and moved to 'Classic Queen'! Bohemian Rhapsody is undeniably the signature song of early Queen, so to have it you would have to buy both CDs. If you prefer the 80s material, you would be wise to get 'Classic Queen'... only 'I Want To Break Free' is on 'Greatest Hits'! Likewise, this song is one of the signature songs of 80s Queen. Both 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and 'I Want To Brake Free' feel completely out of place in their new homes. So does 'Body Language', a song from 1982 which was not included in the original Greatest Hits and we were all better off that way.

So if you want an old and experienced Queen fan's advice on which compilation to buy, I will simply say - there is not good compilation out there yet, or at least not a perfect one. I can't recommend 'Greatest Hits' and 'Classic Queen'. Overall, I think the best way to approach Queen is the way I did when I first fell in love with them: Start with Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and 2 (Forget 3); these two have most of their most popular hits, and are bound to become frequent and welcomed visitors to your player. Next go to albums 2 through 5 and Innuendo, then the first album, 'News of the World', 'Jazz' and 'The Game', then the rest. It's expensive, sure, but they're worth it. Or you can just wait until a good compilation is released.

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