On Sheer Heart Attack, “Killer Queen” and “Stone Cold Crazy” weld Mercury’s creamy falsetto strut to propulsive, tightly wound arrangements. You can get winded just listening to all those multitracked Freddies singing rings around each other.  

 That’s nothing compared to “Bohemian Rhapsody,” of course: The notorious six-minute centerpiece of A Night at the Opera is either a prog-rock benchmark or the most convoluted novelty song ever recorded.  

 The over-the-top approach is precisely what makes Mercury and company so endearing, but it’s also responsible for Queen’s downfall. A little too predictable, A Day at the Races is a quickie sequel to Opera.  

 News of the World sports two songs that have become so popular, they’ve transcended mere chart success to reign eternally as ubiquitous anthems: the jackboot jock-rock pomp stomp of “We Will Rock You” (written by May) and the ultimate gloat, “We Are the Champions” (by Mercury), both of ... 

 The decline starts with Jazz, which has the quickie operetta “Bicycle Races” but is otherwise utter jive.  

 From this point forward, Queen’s output seems neutered and obsessed with gloss, whether with outright nostalgic projects (the tuneless Flash Gordon soundtrack) or albums that exhibit the hollow glamour of the times (Hot Space, The Works); the only track from this period that has any life at all... 

 The Game offers two more megahits, of dubious achievement for the band: “Another One Bites the Dust” (credited to bassist John Deacon), a shameless rip-off of Chic’s “Good Times” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love,” a bit of pseudo-rockabilly hokum that introduces an ominous new el... 

 From this point forward, Queen’s output seems neutered and obsessed with gloss, whether with outright nostalgic projects (the tuneless Flash Gordon soundtrack) or albums that exhibit the hollow glamour of the times (Hot Space, The Works); the only track from this period that has any life at all... 

 From this point forward, Queen’s output seems neutered and obsessed with gloss, whether with outright nostalgic projects (the tuneless Flash Gordon soundtrack) or albums that exhibit the hollow glamour of the times (Hot Space, The Works); the only track from this period that has any life at all... 

 Mercury began to suffer from AIDS during this period, and everything from A Kind of Magic on was driven by an unspecified philosophy promoting all races, creeds, etc. (“One Vision,” “The Miracle”).  

 After the film Wayne’s World made “Bohemian Rhapsody” a Number Two hit in 1992, the band’s new label, Hollywood, rushed a hits collection into the stores. Classic Queen omits “We Will Rock You,” “Another One Bites the Dust,” “Killer Queen,” and a half-dozen other essentials; G... 

 He was on this trip until his death, as evidenced by the posthumous Made in Heaven–for which he recorded vocal tracks to be finished later by the band–and we can only hope the project brought him peace. Though not the band’s best work, the earnest, joyful later albums remain poignant as an ... 

 The remaining members of Queen (minus bassist John Deacon, who politely declined) reformed with Bad Company and Free vocalist Paul Rogers in 2005 to play a few arena tours of Queen classics (and Bad Company not-so-classics). In the two corresponding live releases–a 2005 show in Sheffield, Engla... 

 The group’s studio album, The Cosmos Rocks sounded more like a band that rips of Def Leppard than the band that Def Leppard ripped off.  

 Mercifully, the 2009 collection Absolute Greatest fits most of their mega hits onto one disc (though still missing “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Bicycle Race”).