Besides, these grandiose harmonies, along with the handful of wistful ballads here, are overshadowed by the onslaught of guitars and pummeling rhythms that give Queen II majesty and menace. Even with all the queens and ogres that populate Queen II, this never feels as fantastical as Genesis or Uriah Heep, and that’s because Queen hits hard as a rock band here, where even the blasts of vocal harmonies feel like power chords, no matter how florid they are. There is still a surplus of ideas, but their energies are better focused this time around, channeled into an over-inflated, pompous rock that could be called prog if it wasn’t so heavy. But these similarities are superficial and Queen II is a very different beast than its predecessor, an album that is richer, darker, and weirder, an album that finds Queen growing as a band by leaps and bounds. Certainly, of all the other albums in Queen‘s catalog, it bears the closest resemblance to its immediate predecessor, particularly in its lean, hard attack and in how it has only one song that is well-known to listeners outside of their hardcore cult: in this case, it’s “Seven Seas of Rhye,” which is itself more elliptical than “Keep Yourself Alive,” the big song from the debut. In one regard, Queen II does indeed provide more of the same thing as on the band’s debut. The copy with 1O/1A mother stampers has an unlaminated inside cover.
Issued with 2 or 3 die-cut corners inner sleeves. Super Rare UK 1st pressing with the text “℗ 1974 Trident Audio Productions Ltd.” at the top of both labels, above “Queen II”.
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