Back catalogue: Rock

Review: Given how much they became part of the rock establishment furniture in their later years, it's easy to forget what a radical and even threatening - using gay slang was a very different and altogether more dangerous prospect for a start - band Queen were in the early 70s. They cut a unique musical corner for themselves, not quite glam, not quite metal, but definitely leaning towards both, with Freddie Mercury's gusting voice and Brian May's raw guitar sound both thrusting away with plenty of feisty vigour. Anyone who's heard and loved thair legendary Live At The Rainbow 74 album - one that even avowed Queen haters have been known to admit has a certain charm - will appreciate the thrills on display just six or so miles up the North London road a mere year earlier. As ever, the heavier work works even better in the bearpit live atmosphere. Their rendition of 'Liar' approaches top marks on the 'one to Motorhead' rock scale, but the early rock 'n' roll medley and 'Carry On'-style larks of 'Hey Big Spender' are equally fascinating glimpses of these rock legends enjoying their formative years. A lot.

Review: Given anyone over the age of 35 grew up with copies of Queen: Greatest Hits Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 in the house, you could be forgiven for asking if we need another retrospective of the iconic English rock band. Not least as there's also a Greatest Hits Vol.3, which many don't realise due to the success of the preceding two and how long the third took to materialise after the tragic death of lead singer Freddie Mercury.

Perhaps riding on the shirttails of the Platinum Jubilee of another monarchical figure, The Platinum Collection arrives and, on the face of it, does little that's not been done before. Don't Stop Me Now, Bicycle Race, Bohemian Rhapsody, Under Pressure, Flash - all the usual suspects are here. Keep reading, though, and you realise just how much else is here. Pretty much every great Queen track, plus stacks of post-Mercury singles and cover versions with all ranging from George Michael to Wyclef Jean. What's not to like?

Review: 8th of March 1974 is when Queen dropped Queen II and at the time lead singer and pop culture icon Freddie Mercury declared "We aimed for the top slot and we were not going to be satisfied with anything less." The album was the real beginning of the band with lots of lush harmonies, multi-layered overdubs, and a wide range of styles from folk to blues to pop, rock, metal and ballads. This is the first of five of their albums to get a deluxe reissue and it includes the likes of the first single 'Seven Seas of Rhye'.

Review: Queen's The Works in Concert is a powerful and legendary capture of one of the best pop-rock bands this country has ever produced. It was a show that was broadcast by Queen when they were performing in concert in May of 1985 at the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, Japan. It does across six sides of marbled vinyl and takes in every one of the band's hits you would hope, from the ice-cold 'Under Pressure' to the menacing 'Another One Bites the Dust.' Then there is the theatrical masterpiece that is 'Bohemian Rhapsody', the playfulness of 'Radio Ga Ga' and the ode to empowerment that is 'I Want To Break Free.'

Review: If anybody thought QOTSA's previous offering '...Like Clockwork' indicated a band trying out new ideas, they're making far greater leaps this time around. Die-hard fans might be a little confused by the enlistment of Mark Ronson as the album's producer, perhaps even more so by the strong influence on Josh Homme of Ronson's ubiquitous 2014 hit 'Uptown Funk'. The outcome of this surprising collaboration proves to be a heady blend of the band's usual desert-rock sleaze and a crisp, infectious and floor-filling sound. This is an album to move to, and this new direction of dancefloor focus makes the blistering fuzzbox riffs and contortion-inducing solos sound even more cool and confident than ever.

Review: If anybody thought QOTSA's previous offering '...Like Clockwork' indicated a band trying out new ideas, they're making far greater leaps this time around. Die-hard fans might be a little confused by the enlistment of Mark Ronson as the album's producer, perhaps even more so by the strong influence on Josh Homme of Ronson's ubiquitous 2014 hit 'Uptown Funk'. The outcome of this surprising collaboration proves to be a heady blend of the band's usual desert-rock sleaze and a crisp, infectious and floor-filling sound. This is an album to move to, and this new direction of dancefloor focus makes the blistering fuzzbox riffs and contortion-inducing solos sound even more cool and confident than ever.

Review: The Quireboys are up there with the very best of the gypsy rock and roll scene. Their A Bit Of What You Fancy album is now a hard to believe 30 years old and to mark the occasion it gets a limited edition reissue that has been totally re-recorded. The hard working band bring plenty of new life to the music, fresh perspective and oodles of energy. It comes on special blue vinyl and comes after a sell out tour of 35 dates around the UK in 2019 and reaffirms the band as at the top of their game.