Queen Greatest Hits II revisited

Things were a bit delayed here with feeling rough midweek but we do actually have a post.

I've always liked the rock group Queen standardizing in the late 1980's on compact discs and adding new albums as issued in that format from a mixture of cassettes and eight track tapes.

Queen had three Greatest Hits sets although the third issued post Freddie isn't essential and contains a number of dubious remixes with guest rapping.

I originally brought Greatest Hits on compact disc in 1986 and a few years back as I've been getting back into vinyl bought the recent half speed mastered double version which contains all those songs from Seven Seas Of Rhye to Flash via Bo Rhap which does sound better than the original lp did.

The second volume, Greatest Hits II came out in late 1991 just as many of us were mourning Freddie Mercury's death from HIV/A.I.D.S. taking us from Under Pressure from 1981 to Show Must Go On via the likes of Radio GaGa, Who Wants To Live Forever and I Want It All.

I originally brought that straight on cd - it was one of the first cds over 75 minutes - although I picked up a copy of lp some years later.

I wasn't too happy with that lp as for one thing it sounded a bit thin and my copy had a few marks and crackles so I brought a week ago the reissue on Virgin rather than Parlophone that also was half speed mastered.

While the reissue has reference to Queen's website while it didn't exist in 1991, this does sound extremely good with lots of detail and nice deep bass plus dead quiet surfaces.

I usually clean any record even new to remove any dust and grime that might of got in at the pressing plant.

The jacket is much better quality using thicker card and more impactful printing that you'd be proud to own in your record collection and the inners are printed card so I'd suggest using a couple of thin mylar or rice paper "rounded bottom" inners between disc and card inner to protect them.

Being just over seventy-five minutes this gives us around eighteen minutes per side being a double album which is around the optimum for good sound.

For the modest cost I feel this reissue is well worth getting.