Search - Queen :: The Singles Collection

The Singles Collection, is this necessary?

Michael Scapp | Staten Island, NY United States | 01/24/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I was waiting for this to finally be available in the States, and when it was I got a fantastic price ($36.95) right here at AmazonMarketplace. The price was right, and the packaging itself is very attractive. The royal purple cover with 45 sleeves from around the world was appealing, but when you lift off the top, and you have mini-LP style sleeves housing each CD-single - it surely is a must for Queen fans.



The music itself sounds better than ever. The songs sound brighter, purer and feels like these 30 year old songs were just recorded yesterday.



I was a bit disappointed with the a couple of these versions here, especially the songs included that were originally part of a musical pastiche or medley on the albums. Songs like 'Lily of the Valley' and 'Tenement Funster' are instead taken from the album version and either faded in or out where the segue would begin. On the other hand 'Flick of the Wrist' is another one of these songs, and they actually did a proper job with this track.



Japan had released a mini-CD version of something like this in 1994, except instead of finishing up in 1979 it extended all the way through to 1986. The Japanese box set had a lot more substance to it, with extra tracks and superior versions of some rare songs. On the other hand, this new UK version looks better, and the normal-sized CDs are more pleasing to the eye as well. If you were to try and obtain the Japanese singles set these days you'd have to shell out around $300, and when you compare it with the $36 I spent for this new EMI version, there's no contest. The UK version sounds much better anyway than the Japan box set.



I could easily recommend this box set, especially when the price is right."