Queen: Freddie Mercury (vocals, piano, synthesizer); Brian May (vocals,
guitar); Roger Taylor (vocals, drums); John Deacon (bass).
Recorded at Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany.
Japanese edition.
Following up the most idiosyncratic album of their career (JAZZ), Queen makes
the transition here from weird pomp-rock band to weird pop band, marking a new
musical direction for their '80s output. The major development here is the
incorporation of funk into Queen's already-broad stylistic pallete. The
mega-hit “Another One Bites the Dust” is based around an irresistibly funky
bass riff that would be sampled by countless rappers over the next two decades.
“Dragon Attack” mixes the funk quotient with some fiery guitar heroics from
Brian May.
The pure pop aspect of Queen's music blossoms into full flower as well. “Need
Your Loving” could be a Badfinger or Records out-take. “Crazy Little Thing
Called Love” predates (at least in the U.S.) the Stray Cats-led rockabilly
revival of the early '80s. There are hints of late-period ELO on “Coming
Soon.” On “Rock It” the band shows that they still know how to pull out
all the rock & roll stops. THE GAME is arguably Queen's most artistically
successful, fully realized work.
THE GAME found Queen at the top of their craft and the top of the charts, with
two number-1 singles (“Crazy Little Thing Called Love” and the
Chic-inspired “Another One Bites The Dust”). It also featured the first
appearance of a synthesizer on a Queen album.
What the critics say…
Q (8/02, p.148) – “…Saw them adapt their sound for the first time: to the
rockabilly and funk groove fads of 1980…”