Its existence itself is extremely rare and maniacal. A slightly unusual official work has been decided to be released. The content of this work is the 1976 cassette tape “BEST 16: All about Queen.” This is a compilation album released only in Japan. As some of you may have already noticed, I once introduced the series “All About Deep Purple”, and this work is the QUEEN edition. This work is truly a rarity. This is not a typical promotional product, but an official product sold at a regular price of 2,800 yen. Although it was reissued in 1978, this work is the original version from 1976, and the katakana logo designed to look like an enka cassette also has a strong impact. There may be some collectors who are seeing it for the first time. And the contents are the best of everything from “The Scarlet Princess” to “A Night at the Opera.” Let’s organize the selection… Side A (30:56) – Princess of Terror (6 songs): Keep Yourself Alive/My Fairy King/Liar/Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll/Son and Daughter/Seven Seas of RhyeQueen II (2 songs): Father to Son/White Queen (As It Began) B side (30:07)Queen II (2 songs); Some Day One Day/Ogre BattleSheer Heart Attack ( 4 songs): Killer Queen / Now I’m Here / Flick of the Wrist / Lily of the Valley / A Night at the Opera (2 songs): Love Of My Life / Bohemian Rhapsody … and so on. Although it is good that the songs are arranged in chronological order rather than as a mix, the selection is far from the current sensibility. While more than half of “Dread Princess” was selected, only two songs from “A Night at the Opera” were selected, neither “You’re My Best Friend” nor “’39.” For the time being, the singles from that time are covered…I thought that “Seven Seas of Rhye” is an instrumental version of the debut work. But this is also the flavor of 1976. Unlike today, there is no way to know which songs are standard at live performances, and you can only get a sense of their popularity among users. The mysterious feeling that the record company staff of that era would have chosen based solely on their own tastes and intuition overflows. And what makes this feeling even deeper is the sound. In the DEEP PURPLE edition, I was surprised by the unexpectedly excellent sound that far exceeded the CD, but this work is not like that. However, that feeling is extremely nostalgic. A slightly warm sound, edges that aren’t too sharp, and a completely natural texture. Perhaps because the tape was kept in good condition, the sweet sound like nectar flows out in a glossy manner throughout. This indescribable nostalgia. The selection is different from the similar selections of live albums and normal best albums, and the sound is full of analog feel that you can never get on modern CDs. The feeling of nostalgia tickling your nostrils is refreshing in itself. Even today, people often turn to analog records in search of high-quality sound, but that’s not the only advantage of analog. It brought back “those days” when I listened to this song on the list of famous songs by QUEEN, carrying the cassette deck I bought with my spare money. A piece that allows you to experience the “power that transcends time” that music has. Taken from the original Japanese cassette (Elektra, YLA1016E) *officially released only in Japan 1976 (Warner official version) (61:10) Side One 1. Keep Yourself Alive 2. My Fairy King 3. Liar 4. Modern Times Rock ‘n’ Roll 5. Son and Daughter 6. Seven Seas of Rhye (Inst.) 7. Father to Son 8. White Queen (As It Began) Side Two 9. Some Day One Day 10. Ogre Battle 11. Killer Queen 12. Now I’m Here 13. Flick of the Wrist 14. Lily of the Valley 15. Love Of My Life 16. Bohemian Rhapsody
