When Hollywood Records signed Queen in the late 80's, it seemed like the height of folly. The band had been out of the public eye for years, had not had a hit in the US for nearly a decade, and the first thing the band did was throw a huge party on the Queen Mary. Then Freddie Mercury dies of AIDS in 1991, and Innuendo began to receive a second look. Then came a little film called Wayne's World.

Thanks to a pivotal scene in that movie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" took on a second chart life, peaking even higher than it did the first time. Hollywood rushed this compilation out to capitalize on the moment, and found Queen in the Top Ten albums for the first time since The Game. Essentially a long awaited follow-up to the original Queen Greatest Hits, the set takes on songs from The Works, A Kind of Magic, The Miracle and "Innuendo." With "Bohemian Rhapsody" added as bait and a few other early songs ("Stone Cold Crazy," "Tie Your Mother Down," "Keep Yourself Alive") dropped in for balance, it gave credence to the notion that Queen's output from Hot Space on had been sorely neglected.

A better bet is to pick this CD with Queen - Greatest Hits, or go whole hog and get the double set Queen - Greatest Hits Vols 1&2, which packages them together AND adds a couple bonus songs. They all include nice book packages and lyrics. Frankly, any of the Queen hits collections is worth it, and Hollywood has done their best to issue as many as possible as the Queen legacy soldiers on.

This album truly is a "must-have" for the true Queen fan. If you were to select 1 album with the essentials (i.e., Bohemian Rhapsody, Who Wants to Live Forever, Show Must Go On, These are the Days of our Lives, Under Pressure, Radio Ga Ga), this is the album for you. One notable song missing, I Want to Break Free. However, if you were to attempt to find all songs on 1 disc, this has most of the essentials. Long live the legacy of Freddie Mercury, Long live Queen!

I've always enjoyed Freddie Mercury and the boys musical endeavors, and this album of songs was one that gave me the opportunity to hear some of the rarer selections. Other than the usual "greatest hits" that you will get on most other collections, this collection of tunes hits a higher mark. If you're a big Queen fan, I highly recommend this disc for you collection. Some of the cuts are a bit obscure, but that's what makes it happen for me on this one.

What hasn't been said about Queen? They are definitely one of the best classic rock bands of all-time. Led by Freddie Mercury, they made some of the best rock of the '70s, '80s and early '90s.

And now to the review. 'Classic Queen' is full of five star music. But, is this really necessary? I don't think so. Yes, 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is here, but like 'I Want To Break Free' on the American version of 'Greatest Hits,' it's out of place. 'Classic Queen' mostly focuses on the 1981-1991 time period, so why are these '70s tracks here?

Thank goodness for 'The Platinum Collection' and 'Greatest Hits I & II.' Those are the original U.K. hit collections. Do yourself a favor and seek that out instead. There, you will find most of the songs offered on 'Classic Queen' and 'Greatest Hits (American version).' I suggest 'Greatest Hits I & II' because of how mediocre 'Greatest Hits III' is (that appears on 'The Platinum Collection'; it doesn't on 'Greatest Hits I & II.')

Overall, save your hard earned cash. If you want a Queen collection, 'Greatest Hits I & II' is the way to go. The good news is, disc one focuses on 1973-1980 and disc two focuses on 1981-1991, meaning that it devotes one disc per phase for Queen. Disc one is phase one, disc two is phase two.

Save your money. You will be glad you did. This isn't a bad compilation, and again, everything here is five stars, but the three stars are here because there are so many better options.

Recommended for the easily pleased Queen fan.

I try not to review best ofs too often but sometimes that's all I own of a group. It occured to me the other day that all the Queen I ever owned in the past I have sold off for cigarettes and beer while living in the cold depths of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

So I ran off to buy me some Queen. I figured I'd start with the most obvious and get all the hits I could. This collection is for sure a great way to start, with the hits like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You" etc. I can't stop listening to it. Unfortunetly they had so many hits, they had to put out a second version called "Classic Queen" which has "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Under Pressure" so I bought that one too. There is a remastered Greatest Hits out there but once again it doesn't have all the songs, perhaps one day someone will come up with the perfect Queen mix. Until then Queen Classic Queen and Queen's Greatest Hits will do just fine.