Oct/Nov 1976 Trouser Press

This is a very interesting read from a more obscure American magazine, chronicling the first four Queen albums.

The categorization of their songs on the fourth page is pretty insightful, and much of the analysis of their influences is something no other writer has conceived of. Maybe some of it is in their imagination, but the theories of the band's inspiration from things as far back as 12th century art and culture are well worth pondering. They absolutely nail the medieval/Elizabethan roots of Queen II.

And it has many others truths, like this quote describing their mission after Queen II:

"Queen would need to cut out a bit of the smarts if they intended to break open the States."

The article may seem a bit smug in places, but make no mistake, these writers are very musically literate - so it's not hard to see why they dismiss Queen's show (even in 1976) as sloppy compared to the depth of their polished and focused studio albums. They even see ANATO as being too commercial compared to the first three. Plenty of fans agreed and started jumping off the Queen bandwagon as they headed more in that direction with each passing album as the decade progressed. In an era where AM and FM radio were mortal enemies, people who cherished what they saw as art were often mortified by anything that was commercial. And if the artist had initially chosen the FM dial, doing otherwise later was seen as a betrayal.

It's pieces like this that further reinforce how united these four men were in their earliest years (as well as how superfluous much of their work after 1977 was). What a marvellous time this must have been to make music, for so many reasons.