Queen Queen

A masterclass in enormous, dressed-to-the-nines pop hits. Rooted in rock, devoted to melody and incorrigibly theatrical, Queen’s breakthrough track “Seven Seas of Rhye” set the spectacular tone for one of the great singles bands. The quartet can be extravagantly life-affirming (“Don’t Stop Me Now”, “Bohemian Rhapsody”) and, when the pomp’s scaled back, incisively tender (“You’re My Best Friend”). Whatever the mood, every melody is indelible and, delivered by rock’s great showman Freddie Mercury, every story fascinating.