Queen II is the second studio album by the British rock band Queen. It was released on 8 March 1974 by EMI Records in the UK and Elektra Records in the US. It was recorded at Trident Studios and Langham 1 Studios, London, in August 1973 with co-producers Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Geoffrey Cable, and engineered by Mike Stone. It is significant for being the first album to contain elements of the band's signature sound of multi-layered overdubs, vocal harmonies, and varied musical styles.
Described as "arguably the heaviest Queen album", Queen II marked the end of the first phase of the band's career. The album combines a heavy rock sound with art rock and progressive rock elements, and has been called "a pillar of grandiose, assaultive hard rock" by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Queen II is not a concept album but a collection of songs with a loose theme running throughout. The two sides of the original LP were labelled "Side White" and "Side Black" (instead of the conventional sides A and B), with corresponding photos of the band dressed in black on the front cover and white on the inner gatefold. The white side has songs with a more emotional theme and the black side is almost entirely about fantasy, often with quite dark themes. Mick Rock's cover photograph was frequently re-used by the band throughout its career, including the music videos for the songs "Bohemian Rhapsody" (1975) and "One Vision" (1985).
Tracklist:
Part 1:
0:00 Procession (by Brian May)
1:12 Father to Son (by Brian May)
7:28 White Queen (by Brian May)
11:58 Some Day One Day (by Brian May)
16:19 The Loser in the End (by Roger Taylor)
Part 2:
20:24 Ogre Battle (by Freddie Mercury)
24:28 The Fairy-Feller’s Master Stroke (by Freddie Mercury)
27:06 Nevermore (by Freddie Mercury)
28:24 The March of the Black Queen (by Freddie Mercury)
34:53 Funny How Love Is (by Freddie Mercury)
37:42 Seven Seas of Rhye (by Freddie Mercury)
Queen
Freddie Mercury – lead vocals (2, 3, 6–11), backing vocals (2–4, 6–11), piano (2, 7–11), harpsichord (7)
Brian May – electric guitar (all), backing vocals (2, 4, 6–11), acoustic guitar (2–5, 10), lead vocals (4), bells (9), piano (2)
Roger Taylor (credited as Roger Meddows-Taylor) – drums (all but 8), backing vocals (2, 4–11), lead vocals (5), additional vocals (9), gong (3, 6), marimba (5), tambourine (2, 11) percussion
John Deacon – bass guitar, acoustic guitar (2)
Additional personnel
Roy Thomas Baker – production, castanets (7), stylophone (11)
Robin Geoffrey Cable – production
+++ Description, Tracklist and Timecodes by Alexander4History +++
