Queen made so many great albums in the ’70s – Sheer Heart Attack, News Of The World, Jazz, A Day At The Races and, most famous of all, A Night At The Opera. But for Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith, the best of them is Queen II.
“I love Queen,” Smith said, “and for some reason I just love that second record.”
Released on 8 March 1974, Queen II was described by esteemed British rock critic Malcolm Dome as “arguably the heaviest Queen album”.
It was recorded in August 1973 at London studios Trident and Langham 1, and co-produced by the band with Roy Thomas Baker and Robin Geoffrey Cable.
Beginning with the instrumental track Procession and ending with the hit single Seven Seas Of Rhye, the album had its two sides of vinyl named ‘Side White’ and ‘Side Black’.
The first, ‘Side White’, was comprised of songs written by guitarist Brian May, save for one track, The Loser In The End, written by drummer Roger Taylor, while ‘Side Black’ featured six tracks composed by singer Freddie Mercury, including a hard-rocking number in Ogre Battle and an early example of the band’s flamboyance in The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke.
In a 2009 interview with Classic Rock, Chad Smith named Queen II as not only his favourite Queen album but his favourite album, period.
“It’s a little more off the wall for Queen,” Smith said, “and I love how the record starts, with Procession – it creeps in, fades up, and I always turn it up and that’s a good trick. You crank the shit out of it, so by the time Father To Son kicks in, that’s the volume they want you to hear it at.”
He continued: “I don’t know if they toured so much with the first record, but the second one sounds more cohesive as a band. They had a sound!
“It says on the record: ‘No synthesizers’. That’s so cool. And I love Ogre Battle – danga-danga, ‘Waaaaah!’
“Queen II has a lot of power, it has wonderful orchestration, and it has incredible playing. Brian May is a genius!”
Smith also recalled how was introduced to this album as a teenager.
“I lived in Chicago,” he said, “and my friend’s older brother, we used to hang out in his basement, and he had Queen II. He was like, ‘Hey, these guys are supposed to be the next Led Zeppelin!’ So I was like, ‘Oh shit, I gotta hear that!’
“I hadn’t heard the first Queen album. And when I saw the cover of Queen II – these guys looked like they’re dead! It was very mysterious.
“I have great memories of smoking pot and playing pool and listening to Queen II over and over.”
