Freddie Mercury Tribute: Queen 2 (Black Side) Reaction & Analysis | The Daily Doug Episode 694

[@TheBlackQueen]

Queen II is one of the most Underrated Albums in Rock! How underrated?? This is one of the band's highest rated albums by fans, influenced many artists in Rock and Metal, and yet it was their least selling studio album, even below the Flash Gordon soundtrack! How that can be is beyond me as this is my 2nd favourite album of all time! Amazing songs throughout!!!

[@pacofernandez4591]

What's your nr 1 favourite? Just curious :)

[@RodrigoVillaFlores]

Además. El el álbum desde el punto de vista musical, más s complejo, difícil y virtuoso.

[@facultad1000]

el album menos vendido fue el primero, este album vendio mucho gracias al Seven Seas of Rhye

[@cedricrust9953]

it's still Queen, one of the most famous bands in all of rock. There is groundbreaking music that has been heard by so many less people. This stupid "most underrated" rhetoric is really grating when people are talking about some of the most well-known people out there

[@Andrew-m5p4s]

This is queens finest album

[@fryke]

I truly can't rank the ones I consider top-tier. For example, I've just heard A Night At The Opera a tad too much, but I'd say while Queen II has a bit more of a "weirdness" factor, A Night At The Opera is a bit better produced (even after remasters). A Day At The Races is on that top-tier shelf for me as well, and so is Innuendo. But you're probably right, and if I could choose only one album to listen to for the rest of my life, I might end up selecting this one, too. Or A Day At The Races. Or Innuendo. Or what the heck: Opera.

[@tjitsekoster9379]

That bass line in Fairy Feller is increddible

[@stevecurtis3636]

And don't forget, this was approximately 50 years ago!!!

[@planetfh]

Now it was 50 years ago

[@alistairburr2345]

Freddie Mercury was and still is the undisputed master of musicianship and will be until the sun sets for the last time in this world.

[@MarcelVolker]

"Black side" of Queen II is likely my favourite "side" in all of rock music, bar none. I may like other albums better, but that set of songs together is such a treat, unbeatable for me. Definitely one of my desert island discs.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

"Side Black", actually. {:o:O:}

[@enricopaoli1183]

There can be only one! QUEEN II is a masterpiece.

[@Ninang363]

Queen I & II are master prog albums. These were the first two albums I ever got on my own, it was 1975 l, I talked my mom into buying them for me, but it was my choice. I fell in love with rock and roll!

[@benjamindeavenport5980]

I stole Queen II from my sister in 74. Then bought their first album a week later. Imho, these two and Sheer Heart Attack were their best.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

@@benjamindeavenport5980 Yes, they used to be so good. {:o:O:}

[@sherryheim5504]

March Of The Black Queen is one of my favorite Queen songs and this album is just fantastic from start to finish.

[@neilgarnett922]

...what's easy to forget with this is that it was recorded in 1974 and is a masterpiece....to this day my favourite Queen album....

[@HerrBert1976]

released in 74, recorded in 1973. But I agree it is my favourite and their most creative album.

[@TONE11111]

i blasted this in my car constantly when others were listening to 'another one bites the dust'... it was like it was made only for me...

[@jeanninedoyle9523]

@Tone11111, I can relate to that

[@Shulypoo]

I think you’re not alone 😊

[@VMBSnake]

Still amazes me that they did one the most complex rock albums ever in their 2nd recording, instead going for a more commercial one

[@stephenbryan219]

"Oh I do like to be beside the seaside" is embedded in the the British psyche. Not only is it used to close Queen's second album but it is used to open their third.

[@mrmaestro04]

Good catch! Back in the vinyl days that was hard to pick up without headphones.

[@queenbat]

The Fairy Feller lyrics actually describe the painting - all the people can be found in it, if you look at it long enough! I have a replica on my wall, and spent hours looking for all the details 🤓

[@phillipradcliffe8037]

Queen II has always been my favorite Queen album, and one of my all-time favorite albums.

[@pacofernandez4591]

Mine too, mate! :) I agree :)

[@christelsegbars1630]

Oh I'm setting my alarm click, my beautiful Farrokh, my favorite Queen song is March of the black Queen...... enjoy you all!!!! Warm hug from a stranger from the Netherlands ❤

[@donrondo407]

March of the Black Queen has been my all time favorite song since 1975!

[@bluebell3720]

? He didn't like being called that

[@georgeresso6835]

march of the black queen is QUEEN at its absolute best!!!!!!

[@philhallbrook7008]

As a lifelong Queen fan (54 now) courtesy of my dad, it's been a blast to see you discover an old school album of theirs. You've already responded to me crowing about seeing them 6 times, but I'm bloody blessed cos they were the best...

[@GeoffPowell65]

Queen II is a truly amazing album. I've been a huge Queen fan since 75, and this has always been right up there as one of my favourite Queen albums. And Side Black is an amazing showcase of Freddie's writing talent. Great reacton!

[@ryttu3k]

Hands down my favourite Queen album, absolutely needs more love

[@deanpritchard8499]

Hi Doug I know this is a bit of an old clip,would feature in but I suspect the “I do like to be beside the seaside” might have been a nod to the track “Seaside Rendezvous” from the Night at the Opera album, and Brighton Rock”, which was later to be on their third album “Sheer Heart Attack” Thankyou for continuing to showcase the band,,I have been a huge fan since their “Smile” days. I have been fortunate to see them live at both ends of their time with Freddie, in 1975, and 1986. Would love to hear what you make of the “White Side” of Q2!

[@robbiebonham]

I think this is one of my earliest and most listened to albums. I sometimes think the Universe only existed so Freddie could happen.

[@MikePhillips-pl6ov]

I'm 61 and first got into Queen from Sheer Heart Attack, the album after this one. Queen II .... Queen at their heaviest! I didn't get to see them live until 1980, but was lucky to see them live four times - with Freddie of course.

[@Jesusspop]

Lifelong Queen fan here, Queen II is a magic album and personally a gateway to Prog. Their best in my humble opinion. Great reaction as always Doug !

[@bradhardisty1652]

I actually bought this album when it came out based on the album cover. I was like 14 and it blew my mind. It's interesting the mutual respect that Ritchie Blackmore and Brian May have for each other. I think that's a telling situation of the two players writing music and playing bands that had an impact on the future.

[@Gavrev]

It was a constant theme of the band that they would go where they wanted, which probably contributed to their grating relationship with the critics, which to their credit didn't seem to affect them enough to damage their desire for authenticity. Even when their material approached commercial it was still clearly them and their roots always shone through, something for which I had a wealth of respect.

[@cainealexander-mccord2805]

Ogre Battle opening: Mercury Retrograde. Get it? Great fun listening to this with you, Doc. I was 10 when that record came out. As long as I live, I'll never forget opening that gatefold and seeing that glorious shot of them all in white. It was all over. I was 10. I'll be 60 next year. I'll never forget where I was 32 years ago. Long live Freddie. Long live Queen.

[@DonnaleaSpencer]

this was wonderful to hear it all together and to watch your excitement. Thank you. RIP - Freddie Mercury! No one can take his place.

[@LornaGarcia-k5j]

Thank you for your great reaction. I also love the yellow jacket of Freddie. After 32 yests without Freddie,,, he is very much alive in his music and in our hearts. The greatest frontman and no one can replace him. A true gem! LEGEND! Nothing compares. Love Freddie and Queen forever! ♥️👑👑🎹🎼🎶♥️

[@darylhaines7397]

One of my absolute favourite sides of Queen. King Freddie on fire 🔥

[@vernhoke7730]

This is an amazing record. Side Black was and continues to be a favorite all these decades later. The 1st album was an intro to the band, this one was a foreshadowing of things to come on, what I believe, are 3 of there best records "A Day at the Races", "A Night at the Opera" and "News of the World". Freddie had learned a lot about multi tracking, overdubs switching channels to get what he wanted on Queen II.

[@minmodulation]

Black Side is probably the best collection of music Queen put out, combining tons of musical harmony complexity with dense and fun pop hooks in a way they rarely were ever able to again, and indeed many bands simply have never done. Still a master stroke decades later.

[@jamesadkisson7510]

This was the first Queen album that I listened to over and over and over and over. Its inspired me so much. The first 4 track I got I filled up making little guitar quartets. Brian Mays creativity is amazing. The whole band is amazing.

[@DoofusJack]

PLEASE do "The Millionaire Waltz" by Queen. You will NOT regret listening to it. It's essentially a part 2 to Bohemian Rhapsody and you will definitely appreciate it.

[@deboraclark5791]

The first two albums Queen hooked me, I thought they were extraordinary, I still do. They stretched music to the outer limits, especially in a time with limited technology, they used everything possible to make amazing music, no band was as unique as Queen, genius fearless music. Great reaction

[@チーちゃん-v3k]

このアルバムを取り上げてくれてとっても嬉しいです！なかでも最も好きなものです❤❤❤そして今聴いても感動は色褪せません、neba-moaに涙が溢れます

[@GodmanchesterGoblin]

Seven Seas of Rhye - the first queen single that I bought two days after they first played it on UK TV. I still have it in my collection. And yes, we Brits love our traditional sing-alongs - 🎤 *Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside...* 🎤🥁🪕🎺

[@Liz.Green789]

Long time Queen fan. This is an excellent side of music. I do cherish this album, as you so insightfully mention. I saw the Dadd painting when I was at the Tate in 1985. Busy is indeed the perfect adjective for both song and delightful painting. I thought while I was looking over the painting, "I wonder how many times Freddie has stood here looking at this." What a great find. I'm happy you enjoyed Side Black. It is so much fun. 35:45 35:45

[@darylhaines7397]

I took my then gf to see the painting many years ago

[@allandalegibson1194]

Ogre Battle begins with musical palindrome, that is how the transition from backward to forward is made so smoothly

[@faithhofeldt2283]

Ive been a Queen fan since high school and I'm now 62, and i appreciate them even more now that i am better able to understand their vast talents. Thank you for sharing this today

[@robertorm6901]

My First and favorite Queen álbum of all.

[@ansfridaeyowulfsdottir8095]

_"Seven Seas of Rhye"_ was the first time I saw Queen. It was on Top of the Pops, around my 12th birthday, February, 1974. I cannot tell you how much it blew my tiny mind. {:o:O:}

[@1669Python]

Queen II is a masterpiece. Their first three albums were the best.

[@scottrbloom]

Fascinating to me how great bands and songwriters mature over time. I love how Queen started with their first two albums in the realm of fantasy metal sometimes, pure hard rock sometimes, and the occasional love ballad. Much like Led Zeppelin's journey from almost exclusively heavy blues to slowly incorporating pop hooks, Queen's beginnings didn't really prepare the listener for what was to come. I find similar arcs in some other great songwriters, such as Paul Simon relying heavily on his musicianship and folk roots, copying some other musicians because their guitar skills were what he admired, but then growing as his own artist and coming to rely on other musicians in the production process and letting the lyrics speak for themselves. Springsteen from his first to his third albums found his inner poet as he found complexity, eventually coming back to simpler songs with more mature lyrics. Billy Joel started out with all hooks and piano tricks and "clever" lyrics, went through more phases than almost anyone trying to understand his own roots, but finding the occasional diamond in the rough. Don Henley with his country rock roots also eventually found his mature lyricist and the beauty of simplicity. I often wonder what would have happened to Freddie Mercury's songwriting skills as he got older. He lived a little too hard and fast, all anger and resentment at the way he was treated, and yet his best work came as he resigned himself to his life and eventually to his impending death. He was fortunate to have found support in some of the best musicians around, and yet it wasn't always what he wanted. His is a difficult story, certainly understandable on a superficial level, but really relatable to no one else. A very unique life and enormous talent.

[@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912]

You are wrong. Freddie was not driven by anger or resentment. Didn't like the music press, but wrote and performed his music, and lived his life, positively.

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

@@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912 I do agree, @scottrbloom does a great job of looking at these songwriters and their journeys through song writing. Freddie Mercury did have his struggles, insecurities and problems like everyone. However, he loved life. He was quite a happy person generally. That makes him even more unique, musical geniuses are usually very depressed with dark lives. Not, Freddie. Which is why generally Queen's music are very uplifting and it usually makes you feel quite happy and good. That is truly an art. When you are young you relate to angst and anger. As you become older it is easier to relate to the beauty of life, because it is so rare. You just don't often find complex music that is also very uplifting, and sometimes just plainly beautiful.

[@danhurley2274]

Thanx so much Doug for the reaction and analysis to this masterpiece from Queen. This was my introduction to Queen back in my misspent youth!! One of my best friends played me The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke and then the rest of Side Black and then Side White. It is to this day, some 50 years later my fave Queen album and in my opinion, shows that A Night At The Opera was not a fluke or one off. I can't wait for you to react and analyze Side White of Queen Two!

[@samsonjpedroza]

excellent !!! brilliant !!! TIMELESS !!! RIP F M ...

[@freddieboyce8597]

My favourite Queen album. A performance and production masterclass.

[@merqury5]

This is not easy listening. This is the most amazing music I have ever known. I think this album is quite important as an inspiration to many a later artist we now love. There has even been 1, a single cover, that does this justice. And that was the fairy fellers ms covered by Mike Mills of Toehider, and that is genious 50 years apart.

[@arpeggioblues5924]

One of your BEST selections Doub: QUEEN 2 is my favorite queen album.I bought it the day it was released in 72, I think. . it's the first thing I ever heard from them.. Side BLACK is a master piece.. This is the album that made me fall in love with Freddie and Queen-- You have to listen to this straight thru with out any pauses to get the full feel of this OPUS

[@courtneywallace871]

One of the greatest album sides ever. My favorite Queen album. Always will be jealous of my brother who saw them live in the 70’s and said they opened the show with Ogre Battle! Could you imagine??

[@javierfermani3606]

This whole album is a blast...from.beggining to the end, ftom father to son to seven seas of rhye...so much things happening simunstaneosly, epic and overwhelming...was their creative peak

[@Robert-wn2cw]

I still remember buying this back in 1974. And Queen II is still my favourite Queen album and I do prefer this era of Queen compared to the later years. Great reaction video thanks.

[@Galahad-hk4bb]

Can’t wait to hear your next QUEEN album choice !!! Perhaps ‘Sheer Heart Attack’ ?!?! Thanks Doug😊

[@GrimlarLex]

For me, going back through Queens discography, (after truly beginning to enjoy their music, sometime around A kind of magic,) I found Queen I to be like a lot of first albums, interesting, good in parts, but very rough around the edges. QUEEN iI on the other hand was an instant like for me, recognisably the Queen sound I was familiar with, even if it was still a little different, not quite as polished, mayba still a little hurried, but definitely Queen.

[@Batsboem1]

My top3 songs are: 1. March of the lack queen 2. innuendo 3. tie your mother down

[@LeroyBrown84]

Great reactions man! I love the way you did this 👑🔥

[@ZENOBlAmusic]

Awesome reaction! Queen II is an incredible album, one the best in my opinion. Queen just wasn't well known when this album was released, that is basically the problem. You should listen to Freddie Mercury's Barcelona album, that album is a late masterpiece from Freddie Mercury.

[@frossbog]

The intro of Ogre Battle is the outro played backwards.

[@nathanduke5323]

Funny How Love Is was recorded as a kind of a tribute to Phil Spector's wall of sound technique.

[@patrickpeck1168]

My favourite album ever

[@marcelbonzo1971]

Maybe their best album, but "A Night At The Opera" saved them, because they never made any money, it all went to their then manager....so when they fired him and got a new manager, the song "Death on two legs" about their former manager was the opener. Ha....love that kind of humour! Thanks for posting and I love your reaction(s)!

[@philipsummers9682]

Their performance at the Band Aid concert was phenomenal !

[@michaeljozwiak25]

Dusting off the memory banks, I remember listening to this album, “Queen ll”, once. My memory wants to say I heard it on the radio in its entirety before “Night At The Opera” was released. I liked it back then in 1974 or in 1975. This time in 2024, I heard the white side and then the black side next. Maybe I checked a cassette tape of “Queen ll” out of a library. Oh well. Enjoyed the listen, Daily Doug.

[@Pugwash.]

I still remember exactly where I was when I heard that Freddie had died. There's not many people who have that effect on you. I think Seven Seas was their first commercially successful single?

[@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912]

Yes it was. They did release Keep Yourself Alive from 1st LP. But I don't remember it getting any airplay, and def not on Top of the Pops (the UK TV pop show).

[@lukepepper3949]

Interestingly, the first line 'The fairy folk have gathered 'round the new moon shine', has a melody taken from 'Shine On Harvest Moon'. The Dinnings Sisters give a good version. Also featured in the Ziegfield Follies.

[@JohandeHakkelaar]

This is an amazing album released in March 1974…greatings from the netherlands..love your comments!

[@tommorrison7752]

It's very cool to see musical analysis from someone who is not stuffy. I loved every puzzled look and every "what?" because early Queen provided a lot of those moments! Fairy Feller's especially, a lot of stuff packed into such a short piece. Love it.

[@Just-a-Thought.]

I enjoyed your reaction Doug, it's always good to see you really getting into music that excites you. I saw newly emerging Queen support Mott the Hoople in '73 at Hammersmith Odeon and was surprised by something unexpected. I wasn't sure what I felt that evening but something stuck and I later listened to Queen 1 in a secondhand records store and promptly bought it. I loved it and when Queen 2 came out I bought it instantly. Both albums were works of rock genius, so different and innovative. Then the third album came out and I automatically bought that. But I couldn't see a development, more a commercial drift under way. Thereafter I lost interest shunning the 'catchy' songs that drew in the requisite mass audience. Such a shame they chose that course but I'll treasure Queen 1 and 2 forever from the band that was powerful, inventive and exciting, the 2 albums still blow me away. Apologies to dyed in the wool fans but that's my opinion 😂 Footnote, the last album before Freddie's passing was very good in its way.

[@goukenslay7555]

i already loved queen songs, but when i discovered Queen 2 it got me so hyped with each song

[@cfabbri7321]

Fantastic !

[@juansecar2]

Queen's greatest albums for me, are ALL, hehe but, this one, Sheer Heart Attack, and Jazz... are my personal present favs... cheers!

[@pauld669]

Nevermore is one of their finest songs

[@jasonbhollismusic7021]

Doug, you might be interested to know that Queen II finishes with 'Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside' and their next album, Sheer Heart Attack opens with Brighton Rock, in which you can hear the tune for 'Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside' being whistled as the song fades in. Definitely intentional!

[@stuartpatton771]

Doug so needs to listen to Brighton Rock

[@chrisjamesr77]

@@stuartpatton771YES!

[@ilgiarno]

I think there is a lot of BeachBoys' "I can hear music" in "Funny how love is" :-) Indeed, they recorded that track before Queen 1st was released. I suppose Freddie loved that kind of song and wanted to have Queen song like that one. BTW Queen II, expecually the B side is my favourite "moment" of 70s' Queen career. I can listen again and again and again...

[@Miwna]

I like most of their albums but the early ones are the best. Queen was one of the first bands I fell in love with while growing up, thanks to my father often playing A Night at the Opera.

[@nigelstott1849]

Just had to go back to this having listening to you doing White Side. Loving it. Thank you Doug.

[@allanhegney3835]

There is a vid on KZbin posted by Toni Valdívia of The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke by Queen. It has lyrics & the accompanying vid flicks/zooms into each part of the painting in sync to the lyrics.

[@luftwaffle173]

The white side is my favourite. Can't wait!

[@ICRA95]

Most of Queen II was in Freddie's mind since long time ago

[@WillDejongh]

I was 16 yesterday old when i bought this , I'm old now but this album changed me somehow

[@Stoovey24]

I love Queen...but clearly they have so much that I have never heard before. Thanks Doug!

[@monkeyhousescouse]

Some people say Ogre Battle is one of the birthplaces of speed metal.

[@catmus1506]

Thank you. Seven Seas of Rhye is my favourite Queen song of all time. Loved the shaker, you could even put a guiro in next time 😂.

[@serenshadow89]

I think Muse is probably the closest - for me - to a modern Queen. Prog operatic rock with a male lead who can sing in falsetto with power and grit. Matt Bellamy may not be flamboyant like Freddie but he sure is a performer like him! Please, please check out his live performance of Butterflies and Hurricanes at Wembly! You'll see what I mean. on Muse's yt channel - Muse - Butterflies and Hurricanes [Live From Wembley Stadium]

[@Paulnap]

US of Eurasia is one their most Queen influenced song. Madnes is I want to break free revisited.

[@Stoovey24]

Queen was very experimental. Muse is as well. I love that.

[@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912]

Never thought of Muse like that. (I live in same part of the world as them). Will give them a listen

[@LeroyBrown84]

Panic Station from Muse is like Another One Bites the Dust 😉👑🔥

[@armandourso1526]

Masterpiece ! Hugs from Brazil 🎉

[@walterspagnolo7922]

In a B side of QUEEN II there's all geniality of greatest Freddie Mercury. Sorry for my English I m huge Italian fan

[@АндрейМельников-ы3ш]

Genius band 👑🤘❤️

[@rolfksamuelsen8395]

Love ur music dissections,and that ur really into every aong.ur videos are a delight 👌🤘.keep it up bro

[@MrJambug]

Seven Seas Of Rhye is a landmark song in the career of Queen as this was the first song they performed live on Top Of the Pops in 1973. As I recall they were a late replacement for another group that didn't turn up. I cannot remember who that was for sure but I think it may even of been The Rolling Stones, but I stand to be corrected on that. It was their current single, and the appearance gave them their first UK hit peaking at number 10. It was a performance I remember to this day, despite being just 13 years old at the time, because I clearly remember saying to my parents "Well they won't be around long". Not because it wasn't a great song but because they were quite obviously a bunch of long haired druggies!!!!!! How wrong was I. There is a video up on KZbin claiming to be their first appearance on TOTP but it most definitely isn't the one I remember. I understand that one was erased long ago. A fantastic song. A fantastic side. A fantastic Album. A fantastic band. Thank you for the listen.

[@toddfrank3344]

The guitar progression at the beginning played backwards is exactly the same as it is at the end played forwards.

[@zebo-the-fat]

32 years?? can't believe it... I had to look it up to check! (shit... I'm getting old!)

[@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912]

Brilliant. Thanks so much. Ogre Battle was great live, but they dropped it after a while. We used to take a sign (well, an old bedsheet) w Ogre Battle written on it to ask for them to play it. Freddie would point to a corner of the stage during the battle scene and an explosion would take place. Great fun, especially in the smaller theatres i the early days.

[@sethkaicer319]

Doug dresses like Freddy in the night and does karaoke, and wins😮

[@christelsegbars1630]

Dont stop him now, he will rock us, he will be our best friend, that wouldnt be a Miracle, because he will make sure that the show must go on!!!.😂

[@richgoebel6650]

He must use the "broken" microphone stand to complete the look.

[@pacofernandez4591]

I miss more musical analysis, not just reaction, which is nice :) But I guess there's so much one ha to relate to. Perhaps one video for each song!!?!? Hhahahaaa.. Thanks /// And those lyrics, sheer poetry! What a real genius, Freddie Mercury!

[@stephendennis5911]

The ending of the seven seas of rye starts on the following album sheer heart attack

[@thembill8246]

Man, now i really want you to follow this up with the whole of Sheer Heart Attack. Honestly, every album of Queen's, up to...well let's be honest, Hot Space wasn't great... But everything up to that point is basically perfect. I'd love to see you just work your way down the catalogue.

[@grande-bretagnenilpoints8912]

Agree. I grew up listening to them. I now think Day at the Races is my fav. But live was always so much fun. Took mum's Hoover to one concert and it was confiscated by security!

[@XFLexiconMatt]

There's a very, very good reason why guitarist Nuno Bettencourt considered 'Queen II' his all time favorite album. The track "Seven Seas Of Rhye" was the big single from the album from 1974. It left a mark and set up for the "Sheer Heart Attack" album that year.

[@Paulnap]

Axl Rose's favourite too.

[@walterspagnolo7922]

Maybe Billy corgan too

[@dmnddog7417]

"Queen II" is just such an amazing album. Oh, you will LOVE Side White.

[@Eric777-r1h]

Yeahhhh! Brian like a metal guitarist in this first song! I love the early queen records😊😊

[@michaellust]

Yes, we cherry this a lot! ❤