Queen At The BBC CD

Queen: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar); John Deacon (bass); Roger Taylor (drums).
Recorded live on February 5, 1973 and December 3, 1973. Includes liner notes by Malcolm Dome.
Personnel: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano); Brian May (guitar); Roger Taylor (drums).
Recording information: BBC Studios, London, England.
Between 1973 and 1977, Queen recorded six sessions for the BBC, the first five during the initial flood of excitement that led up to the release of the stately Sheer Heart Attack, the last in 1977, when their pomp and circumstance ought to have sounded grossly misplaced amid the churning seas of punk rock -- but didn't. Each and any of these is a revelation, topping the regular albums for excitement and alive with all the improvisational quirks and oddities that the band delighted in distributing through their live set. All but two, however, remain deep in the vault, leaving At the BBC to stand among the most disappointing of all the albums in this venerable series -- at the same time as sounding as good as any of them. Drawing from Queen's first and third BBC sessions, in February and December 1973, the eight tracks are divided between the band's first two albums -- seven from Queen, one (a passionate "Ogre Battle") from what was then the still-gestating Queen II. And they are what you'd expect, vast and bombastic, widescreen epics that make no distinction between the hard rock that was the early Queen's most visible calling card, and the fey, quirky balladry that was the trick up their sleeves. And, while none of the performances here can touch the familiar LP takes in terms of production values and musical excellence, again the emphasis is on visceral verve and spontaneous combustion, qualities that Queen possessed in abundance. For many years the best-selling of all BBC sessions albums, At the BBC is not an album for the casual listener; nor will it satisfy the completist collector. Nevertheless, anybody who knows the band only for the operatic grandiosity of their regular albums would do well to check it out. It might well change your opinion forever. ~ Dave Thompson
Since Queen's first official live album was 1979's LIVE KILLERS, many early Queen tours had gone by undocumented. Released in 1995, AT THE BBC collects eight tracks recorded live in 1973 for England's influential BBC Radio, while the band was touring behind their self-titled debut. Their sound was still in its formative stages--a cross between heavy metal and pop-rock. The band was still a few years away from composing such sprawling classics as "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Somebody To Love." And since AT THE BBC was recorded by the BBC staff and not by a producer of Queen's choosing, the sound is not as consistently strong as that of their official albums. Still, AT THE BBC is a very interesting artifact for fans curious to hear the sound of early live Queen.
Although not a true live album (guitar and vocal overdubs are evident), AT THE BBC contains killer versions of Queen's early rock classics "Keep Yourself Alive," "Great King Rat," "Son And Daughter," "Liar" and "Modern Times Rock N' Roll." A track which would later turn up on QUEEN II--"Ogre Battle"--is included here, as are a pair of early ballads, "Doin' Alright" and "My Fairy King."