1314 - Queen The Show Must Go On 1991

"The Show Must Go On" is a song by the English rock band Queen, featured as the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album "Innuendo". It is credited to Queen, but written primarily by Brian May. The song chronicles the effort of Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life; he was dying of AIDS, although his illness had not yet been made public in spite of ongoing media speculation claiming that he was seriously ill. Mercury was so ill, and could barely walk, when the band recorded the song in 1990, that May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it. Recalling Mercury's performance, May states; "he went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal".

1285 - Queen Ogre Battle 1974

"Ogre Battle" is a song by British rock band Queen. Composed by lead vocalist Freddie Mercury, it is the sixth track on their second studio album Queen II, recorded on August 1973 at Trident Studios, London. Mercury first composed the song in 1972 but Queen put off recording the song for their debut album because they wanted more studio freedom to perfect the song which because of their debut album's hectic recording schedule they didn't have that. The song is considered to be one of Queen's heaviest works with its loud heavy metal guitar riff composed by Mercury on guitar but played by guitarist Brian May on the recording, the song also contains thrash metal-like drumming performed by drummer Roger Taylor. The song opens with the songs ending gong but played in reverse which creates a building wave sound, this opening eventually evolves into the songs signature guitar riff. Mercury performs "Ogre like" screams and May performs sound effects with his guitar in an attempt to recreate the sounds of a large battle. Taylor performs the high harmonies at the end of the chorus hook. Many consider it to be one of the first or at least a precursor to speed metal.

1139 - Queen Sweet Lady 1975

"Queen will be the Cecil B. DeMille of rock," proclaimed singer Freddie Mercury, and this is where the band let its over-the-top tendencies loose in their album "A night at the opera", with heavy metal cuts such as this "Sweet Lady". Roger Taylor remembers it as the most difficult drumming part he ever recorded.

1089 - Queen Sail Away Sweet Sister (To The Sister I Never Had) 1980

“Sail Away Sweet Sister” was ostensibly written by May “to the sister I never had” (according to the epigram on the lyric sheet), but the lyrics are, at best, ambiguous.
A quiet piano opening clears the mist around May as he beholds the sweet female of indeterminate relation before him. This slightly sentimental rocker was never a hit, but features a killer transition from the bridge into the solo section, and then one of Brian's best (if not flashy) guitar solos.

721 - Queen One Year of Love 1986

"One Year of Love" is a song by John Deacon. The album version features Deacon playing Yamaha DX-7 synth, a string orchestra conducted by Lynton Naif and a saxophone played by Steve Gregory. The song doesn't feature May. Deacon decided to substitute the guitar components with a saxophone solo after a discussion with May. It was released as a single in France and Spain only, and appeared during the bar scene in "Highlander".

490 - Queen Stone Cold Crazy 1974

"Stone Cold Crazy" is a song by English rock band Queen from their successful 1974 album Sheer Heart Attack. The song is the eighth track on the album. Although the song was never released as a single, it has been featured on Queen compilation albums and was played live on almost every show in their first ten years. The song was among the fastest song in Queen's repertoire and, at the time, it was uncommonly quick-paced in the rock and roll genre. It was also among the heaviest songs recorded at the time. The song remains popular among Queen fans. "Stone Cold Crazy" is a precursor to the metal sub-genres of speed and thrash metal. Even beyond the fast tempo, May's staccato riffs and Taylor's jackhammer drums are similar to later metal styles. Songs such as this one influenced metal bands for years to come.

287 - Queen I Want It All 1989

Following their massive 1986 European stadium tour for the "A Kind of Magic" album, Queen took an extended break. Rumors swirled about an impending breakup, but it turned out the break was brought on by a painful marital divorce for guitarist Brian May (who subsequently battled depression and contemplated suicide), and Freddie Mercury being diagnosed with AIDS. Instead of sinking further into misery, the band regrouped, worked on each other's mental state, and recorded one of their most inspired albums, 1989's "The Miracle". "I Want It All" was composed by Brian May in 1987, the title is said to be inspired by his girlfriend Anita Dobson who would frequently utter "I want it all and I want it now". The idea of having intro, verses, choruses and solos over the same chord progression was reused on their next album with another May song, "The Show Must Go On". Mercury and May share the lead vocals. Mercury played keyboards, May played classical and electric guitars and Taylor used double-kick bass drum for the first time.

226 - Queen Bohemian Rhapsody 1975

"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song written by Freddie Mercury and originally recorded by the band Queen for their 1975 album "A Night at the Opera". The multi-part epic, “Bohemian Rhapsody” took months to construct. Beginning as piano ballad, morphing into cod-Mozart and then stomping monster rocker and back to ballad, goodness knows how the band must have felt when Mercury first unveiled it at the keyboard. The operatic section leads into an aggressive heavy metal musical interlude with a guitar riff that was written by Mercury. During group sing alongs (including a famous scene in the film "Wayne's World"), it is traditional to "headbang" during this passage. At 4:14, a double-tracked Mercury sings angry lyrics addressed to an unspecified "you," accusing him/her of betrayal and abuse and insisting "can't do this to me, baby." Three ascending guitar runs follow, which May described as something he had to "battle with" when performing the song live. Mercury then plays a similar run on the piano.