Album Review: Queen's "Hot Space"

     Considered to be Queen's worst album, Hot Space is certainly an album that surprised and disappointed many Queen fans.  The cause for their dismay was due to Queen's change of direction in music genre.  Before the release of 1982 Hot Space, Queen had delivered us some of the greatest rock albums ever made.  Hot Space presented us nothing close to rock.  It was a complete collection of disco and dance tunes.  No wonder the hardcore rock fans were ticked off.

     This was not what the whole band wanted.  Freddie Mercury (Vocals/Pianist) and John Deacon (Bass Guitar)  were much more enthusiastic at the idea of a funk dance album.  This was most likely the case because of the influence from their previous funk hit "Another One Bites the Dust".  Brian May (Guitarist) and Roger Taylor (Drummer) were not very excited at the idea of producing a very different sound, but in the end they reluctantly agreed to go with it.

  

    The entire album pretty much consists of a solid back beats, various brass sounds, techno noises, a lot of synthesizer, and funky bass lines.  Very few tracks stand out from the album, but it did give us "Under Pressure", their infamous collaboration with David Bowie.  

   

   Overall, this album is considered to be an artistic failure by Queen.  Fans and critics expected more, and Queen didn't deliver.  Perhaps they were just "Under Pressure" to create great pieces of work and just wanted to do something more simple.  By all means this isn't a terrible album, it was just slightly disappointing from an artsy point of view.  So if you're looking for some funky tunes, give this album a listen.  

Priority Tracks:

• Under Pressure
• Body Language