Queen Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 [EMI]

• Artist: Queen
• Rating:
• Release Date: December 18, 2001
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

Released just about a month before Freddie Mercury's untimely death in November 1991, a second best-of collection titled Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, was issued in England only. While the album was resequenced (with other tracks added) and released as Classic Queen in the U.S. in 1992, Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 features all of the band's European hits from 1982 through 1991. Since 1981's Greatest Hits went on to become one of the best-selling albums of all time in Queen's homeland (spending 63 weeks on the charts when first released, and reappearing steadily ever since), the band had racked up enough hits to warrant a follow-up ten years later. While Queen's hits from this era may not be as stellar as their '70s predecessors, they were all still very compelling rock compositions. Tracks such as "Radio Ga Ga," "Friends Will Be Friends," "I Want to Break Free," and "I'm Going Slightly Mad" show that the band could still compose pop gems, while the hard rockers "I Want It All," "Headlong," "One Vision," and "Hammer to Fall" kept their longtime fans happy. Also included are a few of the band's more epic compositions -- "The Miracle," "Innuendo," "Who Wants to Live Forever," and "A Kind of Magic" -- which help round out this second excellent collection of British Queen hits. [EMI's 2001 reissue keeps the track list intact, but ups the ante with some lavish packaging.] ~ Greg Prato, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
A Kind of Magic	Roger Taylor	Queen	(4:22)
Under Pressure	David Bowie, Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon	Queen	(3:56)
Radio Ga Ga	Roger Taylor	Queen	(5:43)
I Want It All	Queen	Queen	(4:01)
I Want to Break Free	John Deacon	Queen	(4:18)
Innuendo	Queen	Queen	(6:27)
It's a Hard Life	Freddie Mercury	Queen	(4:09)
Breakthru	Queen	Queen	(4:09)
Who Wants to Live Forever	Brian May	Queen	(4:57)
Headlong	Queen	Queen	(4:33)
The Miracle	Queen	Queen	(4:54)
I'm Going Slightly Mad	Queen	Queen	(4:07)
The Invisible Man	Queen	Queen	(3:58)
Hammer to Fall	Brian May	Queen	(3:40)
Friends Will Be Friends	Freddie Mercury, John Deacon	Queen	(4:08)
The Show Must Go On	Queen	Queen	(4:23)
One Vision	Queen	Queen	(4:02)

Credits

David Bowie (Producer), Freddie Mercury (?), Queen (Producer), Queen (Main Performer), Michael Kamen (Orchestral Arrangements), Brian May (?), Roger Taylor (?), John Deacon (?), Jim Jenkins (Sleeve Notes), Kevin Metcalfe (Mastering), Richard Gray (Cover Design)