Queen - Greatest Hits II (2011 Remaster, 180 Gram) (2 LP)

To celebrate 40 years since Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon and Roger Taylor formed the band, Queen's Greatest Hits II has been digitally re-mastered for 2011 by Bob Ludwig. New cover art completes the package. The second volume of Queen's Greatest Hits appeared a decade after the first; a decade after the group started its slow shift from international superstars toward ruling the world that existed outside of the United States. Apart from "Under Pressure" and "Radio Ga Ga," all of the 17 singles here did not crack the American Top 40, but they're well-known throughout the world, particularly the operatic anthems "A Kind of Magic," "I Want It All," "I Want to Break Free," and "Who Wants to Live Forever." Generally, the songs here favor melodrama to untrammeled rock & roll, which means while there's nothing here that hits as hard as "Tie Your Mother Down"; there's also nothing as light on its feet as "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," either. This is not necessarily a bad t