Queen - The Game (1980)

Tracklist:
1. Play the Game
2. Dragon Attack
3. Another One Bites the Dust
4. Need Your Loving Tonight
5. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
6. Rock It (Prime Jive)
7. Don't Try Suicide
8. Sail Away Sweet Sister
9. Coming Soon
10. Save Me



A Half-Baked Queen Classic - 7/10

And that pretty much sums it up. We are at the start of a new decade with Queen’s The Game, and the difference with the past is quite noticeable. As will be clear in a mere listen, half of the album was written in the 1979 and the other half in 1980, which causes the differences in style and songwriting, even among the songs. The album itself contains fairly great hits such as “Another One Bites the Dust”, “Play the Game” and “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. Actually this album was the only Queen album to reach #1 in the States. I recognize the album as solid in terms of ideas, yet it doesn’t feel all that well at times.

After the experimental Jazz album Queen returned with the crossover record The Game, which is the beginning of what the band would offer on later albums. Luckily we have some tunes on here left over from the 70s. Apart from that, the album is a lot more simplistic in style and is basically back to basic, especially in the dry “Another One Bites the Dust”. There’s an unnoted lack of true rock songs on the album, which mostly features pop tracks, some beautiful, some lame and some alright. At that point, the album falls apart and gets beaten by every predecessor. I don’t mind the fact they chose the more mainstream and pop direction, but the lack of good songs is the main problem here.

There are however some great tunes scattered all across, beginning with opening track “Play the Game”. It’s a very melodic track with a bit of an epic touch to it but drags along the line of anthems very well and makes a good entrance for The Game. Then there is “Crazy Little Thing Called Love”. It’s one of Queen bigger hits and not undeserved. They’ve adopted a bit of a rockabilly sound for this song and swinging rhythm guitars and overall created a true party song, perfect for a live concert. Then there’s “Rock It (Prime Jive)”, a Taylor-penned sung with his vocals as well. It begins with some gentle plucking on the guitars with Freddie singing an epic melody, just before it bursts into a driving fast-paced guitar riff with energetic drums. Actually the song is a bit ruined by the end where the familiar Queen choir shouts “we want some prime jive” and everything that follows. The rest of the song is actually good and rocks. Of course Brian May sings us a good song as well with “Sail Away Sweet Sister”. It begins as a gentle ballad with concerning vocals by May but soon evolves into a more explosive chorus, showing signs of the power ballad syndrome. This is surely one of the highlights of the second half of the album, together with epic closer “Save Me”.

That was the good part of the album. The others could be baked a little better. “Dragon Attack” has an annoying riff which is presented as the riff of riffs, while it just isn’t great. “Another One Bites the Dust” has a catchy and funky bass line, but apart from the cool second verse doesn’t hold anything of interest. Hell, the break is even dead boring with the odd sound effects while Taylor just drums the same boring rhythm on and on and on like a machine. “Need Your Loving Tonight” is enjoyable at best but doesn’t feature anything great. It’s one of those songs that depend on the real standout tracks for it to shine. “Don’t Try Suicide” is the dumbest Queen track ever recorded in terms of lyrics. Besides the music being wannabe funny and terribly misplaced at a topic such as suicide, the lyrics show Freddie’s lack of knowledge about the human psyche. I am not a psychologist, but even I know people who want to commit suicide would not be stopped with a phrase like “nobody cares”. If nobody cares then you can go ahead, right? Seriously, for that song only I’d want to throw an album into the trash can. At last we have “Coming Soon”, another Taylor-penned track with vocals shared by Mercury and Taylor. Actually the song is quite nice but fails to really stun the listener, but as most of Taylor’s songs it is fun to listen to and flows along with the album.

In short, The Game is quite half-baked. With one foot in 1979 and the other in 1980 the two faces of Queen meet here. High quality against medium quality. Unfortunately it is the medium to low quality that sets the tone for the whole album, yet The Game is also the last of Queen’s old school records containing real epics of the likes of “Sail Away Sweet Sister” and “Save Me”. Goodbye 70s! On the other hand we will hear more of the type of “Another One Bites the Dust”, which for some will be a delight, but for me a disappointment. Hence I will not recommend this album to new Queen fans. Instead you should have a look at the amazing Queen II or A Night at the Opera.

Strongest tracks: “Play the Game”, “Save Me” and “Sail Away Sweet Sister”.
Weakest tracks: “Don’t Try Suicide”, “Another One Bites the Dust” and “Dragon Attack”.