Review by Aj Pestridge

The CD case again is just standard, which is a shame as other UK releases where given a more eye appeasing jewel case with rounded edges. Being the first album that Queen created back in 1971 when it was recorded,the sound quality isn't as high as others,but that is just down to the equipment used. But considering that,it still is quite a good release. The actual quality of the sound on each track has got a new nice sound to it, but it looses the atmosphere of the original with the new techniques of noise removal. Doing All Right was a stand out song because of the relaxed feeling to the sound you get when listening, but now that is gone and it has a cleaner sound. Higher frequencies are nicely produced overall and there is a nice bass to the sound, but no where as deep as newer albums. Some songs tho suffer from lack of higher tones, almost as if the bass was turned up a little, more so on My Fairy king,another favourite of mine. on that song it actually shows how sloppy the song was done, bass is all over the place in terms of the notes it plays. This album really shows the first efforts of a new band,I wouldn't say the best way to hear the album, but this is the best format in which to hear music,if done correctly and in this case,it wasn't.

The case of the disc is poor again,no jewel case like the UK version of the 2 disc 2011 Remaster,which is more eye appealing and a lot easier to remove the inner booklet. On the inner booklet it also states that five of the songs have come from the original Master half inch tape,whereas the others have come from the Master Digital source. There is a quality difference that can be heard,mainly in the lack of depth,when compared to the others....Tracks 1,2,5,8, and 11 are from the tapes. The audio on this album is very nice indeed, the regular CD version has always left me feeling that the album had a very under produced feel to it - (due to Freddie's health), but when listening to the album as a whole,each song actually feels quite full and complete. I guess that must be the difference between to the two sound qualities. CD's sound very hollow compared to SACD's. Innuendo starts off and judging by the song no one would have ever guessed Freddie was ill or dying,the vocals are very clear and strong. Rogers drums stand out more on basically every track on this album, as does Johns Bass,again down to the quality that these discs allow. I'm going slightly mad sounds a lot more richer than before, I've always thought that the vocals sounded as if Fred was drunk, but no. They are very full and deep. Headlong comes in sounding not as powerful as it could have been due to the way it was recorded, the whole album was recorded digitally straight in PCM, but five songs where at the same time recorded onto the regular half inch tapes they always used, they must have wanted to compare quality. The tape versions were used for this release for the five songs, which makes them stand out. Pity that. This means Don't Try So Hard actually has more depth and power to it than Headlong? Basically the whole album sounds fantastic with standout moments from each song, but not the best in the Queen Series for quality,a sort of hit and miss.

Well Aside from the case again being only standard instead of jewel like the CD version,this album is by far the best of the Queen catalogue for quality in audio....It smashes straight into its first track Party,and boy does it do just that,the bass is solid and well defined and the midtones are so leveled nicely and when it's added with the higher tones and frequencies, that are exactly reproduced -(CD versions suffer from not having higher frequencies being faithfully reproduced as the format does not allow the sampling rate to go higher than 44.100hz)...it all gels so very well and creates a never heard before version of the album as a whole. Every song on this album has that perfect balance of sound...Freddies vocals are especially nice on The Miracle and Khashoggi's Ship....Breakthru has always been a favourite of mine and hearing it on this disc, it's an OMG moment. There are so many unheard instruments going on and the Bass guitar is moving. Whilst on Rain Must Fall and My Baby Does me, the original recording had a little white noise present which added atmosphere to these songs, and that has been removed for these remasters and that changes the mood of these songs. For the better I would say, and the sad thing to say about all these new masters is that limiters have been used, which means the volume control needs to go down which limits the speakers output - (volume is best heard at 60% on the volume control/dial)....so the result you hear is the albums being to loud and loss of atmosphere...The best song though on this album is Was It All Worth It, it has that operatic/classical feel to it in both it's scale and weight ....Overall though this version is the best way to hear the album and closest to the studio as anyone will get..

As usual the disc is in a standard CD case, and looks rather unappealing when compared to the UK remaster of the CD version,as that's in a jewel case....but that in no way takes away from the audio quality,which again is the best way you'll ever hear this album......... When this album was first released it was never recieved well,as its more black funk or disco than the usual rock Queen usually come out with.....But hearing this version makes it more moving than ever before....First off no one will ever listen to this album, they will feel it...Every single song on this album makes you wanna get up and dance. John Deacons Bass on these tracks really do show his genius,and make you think he was truly unappreciated in the band at the time by fans...But other than being able to hear the lower tones on these discs, they bring out the midtones rather well and enrich the sound,it really does feel like your hearing the master tapes in the studio and makes CD's sound like a gramophone...This album has quickly become a favourite of mine now upon hearing all the different sounds going on in each song, there's a saxophone bit at the end of Action this Day, the trumpets in Staying Power, almost all of the kick drum in every song....Freddie's sexual vocal in Body Language and Dancer sound even more captivating and Brian's Guitar work on Put out the Fire all stand out ...there is no shame anywhere on this album...Truly a masterpiece from a band showing their diversity in their time when it was not cool to do so....

The audio for this album gets a four star rating,which although this is the best way to listen to this album,the recording sounds dated. Not by the music on the album,but the way it sounds due to the year it way recorded....The album loses a star as well because the packaging is very simply a let down,a regular cd case whereas the cd version gets a jewel case which looks more appealing...Side B for this album has always been the best no matter which format it has been on and this album is no exception....even though bass on this album is not as full and rich than other albums, the pristine clarity is still there,with all the instuments sounding as if recorded on seperate tracks-each one clear. A feeling of less than satisfied was felt when listening to this outstanding album,with the feeling of not the justice it deserves transfer..... The album starts off with Procession,which sounds like there should be more bass than recorded, but then if it did,it probably would not sound like the bass drum it is....and as the album moves on,other songs stand out with there own moments of short lived brilliance....Freddies vocal on White Queen,Rogers drums on The Loser in the End,Brians soft vocal and guitars on Someday One Day and Johns Bass on Father to son.....then we move on to Freddies Side B.....from the grumble of Ogre Battle,the bass becomes rich and full at the beginning, and then becomes a little lost as the tracks move on....the fast and furious pace of Fairy Fellers Masterstroke is wonderfully captured and as the album moves on to Nevermore the age of the record shows, as the piano sounds tinny and hollow, but then again it is 1974,recording techniques back then were not like they are today....the stand out song on this album is The March of the Black Queen,which has a more military feel to it with the snare drums rolling out clearer than ever before-never heard before on earlier versions..the remaining two songs really have no stand out moment..overall this is a brilliant way to listen to this masterpiece of Queens best work,but the age of the recording lets it down,by making it sound hollow and tinny compared to others.

I give it four stars as an overall score.....the audio gets a Five star rating as its the best way you'll ever hear this album,it beats vinyl,cd,eight track and tape hands down..This is as close to the Studio Master as possible..Each Instrument is clearly heard as if it is playing on its own track,the mix is handled superbly as to not take away from the original mix,but upgrade it in a High Definition for audio way......the only way this could have been better if a 5.1 mix was available as well,but then that would be taking away from the original mix....the only reason this review is four stars is because the cd case is a bog standard case,a jewel case would have been nice like the DTS 5.1 Discs that are available.... Listening to this disc was like hearing it new for the first time,every single song has a standout moment where ya go,I never heard that before...or I didn't know that instrument was in this song....My favourite Queen Song is Somebody to Love, and the opening chorus to it carries so much weighty bass like never before, although one little point as well is that the tapes have been cleaned up, in every version of STL,there is a moment where Freddie is going through the vocal scales,towards the end,and his saliva can be heard squirting against his tongue as he finishes the vocal,..4.01 except in this version.....so they have been digitally cleaned for these SACDs,if it is a good thing,time will tell...Another stand out song is Millionaire Waltz,Johns Bass throughout the album is clearly heard and appreciated,but in this song,anyone can appreciate his genius as a player....Also the guitars in Tie Your Mother Down are excellently played and produced...This is a must for any Queen fan, or anyone's introduction into Queen.