06-08-1974 – Queen II – Winnipeg Free Press, Canada

As disappointing as Ridin’ The Storm Out (R. E. 0. Speedwagon) is, Queen II, the second outing for England’s latest glammer-rock outfit, is even more depressing. It’s hard to believe that this over-produced monstrosity really was recorded by the same band which produced Queen, a genuine package of dynamite which exploded on unsuspecting heavy metal addicts on both sides of the Atlantic. Quite simply, the music sounds as if it was shoved into a computer and regurgitated in the form of a bunch of tired, unoriginal musical cliches. There is such a thing as carrying technical perfection too far, at the risk of sacrificing “the energy vand vitality so necessary, for the music to have any sort of impact at all.

There are some nice bits over the course of the album’s playing time, particularly on the Black Side, which opens with the over-produced but still rather breathtaking Ogre Battle. Sadly, most of the multitracked vocals, which are layered over countless instrumental tracks, don’t add up to anything substantial. Captain Beyond made this sort of thing work on its debut album but Queen’s penchant. for the Yes school of art-rock overshadows lits forays into the Led Zeppelin – Black Sabbath brand of heavy metal which worked so nicely on its previous outing. I’m not about to give up hope for ‘Queen, which still has the wherewithal to make another album every bit as good as the first one. Unfortunately, this isn’t it.