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Queen Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition]
Queen's Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition] recontextualizes the band's debut with archival grace and sonic precision, answering whether the collection is worth revisiting by foregrounding its earliest ambitions. Across three professional reviews the release earns an 82.67/100 consensus score, with critics consistently praising how the new stereo mixes and restored sessions sharpen performances and illuminate songwriting choices.
Reviewers agree that remixing and archival restoration turn once-muddy recordings into vivid statements of early band virtuosity. Critics repeatedly single out “Great King Rat”, “Liar” and “Keep Yourself Alive” as standout tracks - while Record Collector also highlights “The Night Comes Down” - noting that May's layered guitars, Taylor's propulsive drumming and Mercury's theatrical delivery benefit from increased sonic clarity. Across the reviews, the set's studio outtakes, session tapes and live translations are praised for revealing creative process rather than merely padding a reissue, with Variety and Mojo pointing to previously overlooked items like the inclusion of “Mad the Swine” and CD3's candid studio chatter.
While critics celebrate the forensic care of the remixes and the archival material, their tone is appreciative rather than hagiographic: the project restores grandeur without rewriting history, and some assessments imply the value lies primarily for devoted fans and curious newcomers seeking the best songs on Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition]. The critical consensus suggests this Super Deluxe Edition is both an essential document of the band's early experimentation and a rewarding listen for those who want clearer, fuller versions of these formative tracks.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
The Night Comes Down
1 mention
"succeeds especially on The Night Comes Down's clearly defined separations of May’s many multi-layered guitars"— Record Collector
Great King Rat
2 mentions
"Taylor’s rapid-fire fills near the top of Great King Rat sound like a one-man Edinburgh Tattoo."— Mojo
Liar
2 mentions
"Liar’s primal riffage and operatic, one-word refrain have monolithic power"— Mojo
succeeds especially on The Night Comes Down's clearly defined separations of May’s many multi-layered guitars
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Play The Game - Remastered 2011
Dragon Attack - Remastered 2011
Another One Bites The Dust - Remastered 2011
Need Your Loving Tonight - Remastered 2011
Crazy Little Thing Called Love - Remastered 2011
Rock It (Prime Jive) - Remastered 2011
Don't Try Suicide - Remastered 2011
Sail Away Sweet Sister - Remastered 2011
Coming Soon - Remastered 2011
Save Me - Remastered 2011
Save Me - Live In Montreal / November 1981
A Human Body - B-Side
Sail Away Sweet Sister - Take 1 With Guide Vocal
It's A Beautiful Day - Original Spontaneous Idea / April 1980
Dragon Attack - Live At Milton Keynes Bowl / June 1982
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Re
Critic's Take
In this affectionate reassessment the reviewer positions Queen’s Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition] as a revelatory rebuild that makes the best tracks shine anew, notably “Great King Rat” and “The Night Comes Down” where May’s layered guitars and Freddie’s theatrical voice benefit from the new stereo mix. The narrative leans into the painstaking studio craft, celebrating how demos and sessions reveal the band’s evolution rather than merely repackaging hits. It also flags the live material as a valuable counterpoint, emphasising the set’s ability to illustrate the group’s early concert intensity and archival interest. Overall the review reads as appreciative and analytical, explaining why listeners searching for the best songs on Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition] will find those revelations rewarding.
Key Points
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The new stereo mix makes tracks like "The Night Comes Down" stand out through clearer guitar separation and warmer ambience.
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The box set's core strengths are its revelatory sessions, detailed book, and live material that together document Queen's early craft and stage presence.
Critic's Take
Queen's debut receives a revelatory redo on Queen I, where the best tracks - notably “Keep Yourself Alive” and “Liar” - emerge with startling clarity. Jem Aswad writes in his typically vivid, conversational tone that the sonic overhaul turns the muddy originals into punchy, detailed performances that finally match the band's ambition. He praises the archival riches and the Sessions takes for showing how songs evolved, and he singles out the jaunty addition of “Mad the Swine” as an important corrective to the original sequencing. The review answers the question of the best songs on Queen I by privileging those early anthems that benefit most from the clean, remixed sound.
Key Points
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The best song is "Keep Yourself Alive" because the remastering finally lets its energy and details cut through the previous muddy mix.
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The album's core strength is the archival depth and the dramatic sonic overhaul that reveals the band's early ambition and performance clarity.
Themes
Critic's Take
Queen's Queen 1 [Super Deluxe Edition] is a lavish, forensic resurrection that makes the best tracks feel newly vivid - notably “Great King Rat” and “Liar”, whose primal riffage and rapid-fire fills are foregrounded with thrilling clarity. McNair writes with affectionate authority, celebrating how Taylor's drumming and Mercury's shapeshifting vocals are finally audible in their youthful exuberance. The box set's outtakes and sessions also reward curiosity, with CD3's studio chatter and tricky takes illuminating why “Doing All Right” and “Keep Yourself Alive” mattered from the start. This is archival care that restores grandeur without rewriting history, and it makes searching for the best songs on Queen 1 a genuine pleasure.
Key Points
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Great King Rat stands out for its newly audible rapid-fire drumming and restored power.
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The box set's meticulous remixing, outtakes and live discs reveal archival care and early Queen's virtuosity.