Okay. Now that we're done with the shite that was that first record we can get to the album that really begins to solidify the Queen sound and sensibility. I came to Queen II late in my adoration of the band. I think I was 15 and had no idea it even existed. But once I saw it and put it on the turntable that summer in Maine in 1981, it never came off. I moved the record player and a speaker into my parents' store on Main St so, when I opened the store I could play this record.
Divided into two sides, White and Black, it has been universally accepted that White opens the record and for good reason. "Procession" is a guitar laden pomp and circumstance into to royalty, laying the foundation for the kind of sounds Brian May would exemplify and, in doing so, become a guitar hero to a legion of young players.
The next song, "Father to Son" could just be a message from a father to his son but since it flows seamlessly from the Procession, I've always imagined some royal highness aspect to it.
As a musical experience, it's a monster. The sheer enormity of it is easy to discount in retrospect because we've come to expect that from this band, but they really invented it right here with this song. The remnants of prog and hippitude are divested and replaced by a stadium ready anthem sound.
The multi-layered vocals, the harmonies, the acoustic guitars fighting for dominance with the electric, the cinematic fade into the next track...it's all so delicious that I am loathe to stop here.
I will. Because this record just gets better and better with each listen.
Grade: A+
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