Rob's Top Ten: Queen Songs

Before you read what are, in my opinion only, the ten best Queen songs, I must warn you Queen fanatics that my list might just anger you, and send you into a Rob-bashing tirade. My tastes are likely wildly different from many Queen fans. But that's okay. At least, it should be. With so many amazing songs to choose from, these are simply the ten that I enjoy more than others, from a catalog that I love. So try to not get triggered when you read my list. And if you want to have a civil discussion about why I'm wrong, and you're right, you know where to find me on Facebook. At least, I think you do.

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10: Liar (Queen)

The earliest song in my list comes from the band's first album. This song is quite a bit heavier than most of the songs on this list, but showcase just what a fantastic rock band that Queen have always been. Freddie's vocals are phenomenal, and the band are firing on all cylinders for this track. This is truly one of the great rock songs of all time.

09: Who Wants To Live Forever (A Kind of Magic)
Yet another song from later in the band's career. For this one, Freddie, and Brian share the vocal duties, and it's another beautiful ballad. With some of the most amazing orchestration in the band's career, and heartfelt lyrics, it's hard for a sucker of ballads to not love this song.

08: Too Much Love Will Kill You (Made In Heaven)
"Made In Heaven" was the final Queen album, released after Freddie's death. Some of the music and often the vocals were done with a bit of studio magic. Some of it had already been written in a different form, and redone to sound more Queen like. This one, however was written much earlier, but hadn't been released previously. This song is quite possibly one of the most beautiful ballads ever written. Freddie sounds amazing here, complimenting the piano, and the band wonderfully.

07: Radio Ga Ga (The Works)
Okay, so there are a lot of synths here, which may have been a turn off for many fans of the band at the time, and quite a surprise. I however love this song. It's a rocker, with some amazing vocals, and instrumentation that may have been a bit different compared to their earlier material, but very well written, and performed.

06: Innuendo (Innuendo)
The title track to the band's 1991 release, this song is an absolute scorcher. This has everything that I love in Queen: amazing melodies, harmonies, and that killer Queen instrumentation that you can't help but love. It's hard to believe that this tune comes from a man in the last months of his life, as it is delivered with so much power, and passion.

05: Hammer To Fall (The Works)
The past few albums from Queen had had some very questionable moments on them. So when the band got to "The Works" album, it's nice to hear some real hard rock songs, and "Hammer To Fall" is probably my favorite of them all. This number harkens back to the early days of the band, but with the experience of a band that have done it all. This one was performed at their "Live Aid" performance, and was absolutely mind blowing, and stole the crowd!

04: Under Pressure (Hot Space)
I'm not a huge David Bowie fan. I know some of his bigger songs, and a few of the more obscure stuff (most notably the "Black Star" album), but I was never that big on him. However, I just love the way that he and Freddie trade vocals on this wonderful song. And that bass line is an absolute classic rock moment.

03: A Kind of Magic (A Kind of Magic)
The title track to the band's 1986 album, this was the first song I heard from Queen that wasn't a huge radio hit. In fact, if you look at my list, it's fairly clear that "Classic Queen" was my first introduction to Queen (and a CD that I played the hell out of). From the vocal melodies, and harmonies, to the expertly written music, I became a Queen fan from the first time I heard this song.

02: The Show Must Go On (Innuendo)
This is the final track on the final album from Queen that was released during Freddie's life. And as far as I'm concerned it is one of the most emotional, beautiful songs ever written. Freddie sings with such passion about a man (himself) reaching the end of his life. The music still gives me goosebumps, as the band play through this absolutely heart-wrenching song.

01: Tenement Funster / Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley (Sheer Heart Attack)
I'll admit here that my first real exposure to this trilogy of songs came from a Dream Theater cover, which I loved. But once I heard this version, I knew it was far past time to dig into Queen's catalog. This is definitely the band at their best, in my opinion. Maybe they're meant to be three separate tracks, but I think the only way to listen to these songs correctly, is as a trio. From the hard rocking vocals (courtesy of Roger Taylor) in "Tenement Funster", to the beautiful vocals of Freddie, during "Lily of the Valley", this track has everything that made Queen such an amazingly talented outfit of musicians.