At the Beeb by Queen
At the Beeb is a live album by the English rock band Queen, released on vinyl, cassette tape, and compact disc in 1989. Subsequently, it was released in 1995 in the United States under the title Queen at the BBC on compact disc and as limited edition picture disc vinyl. The album comprises tracks recorded in two sessions for the BBC Radio 1 Sound of the 70s programme. The first four tracks were recorded on 5 February 1973; the rest were recorded on 3 December 1973. All but one track appeared on the album Queen; the exception is "Ogre Battle", which appeared on Queen II. However, the versions featured on At the Beeb are different from the original versions, being closer to the songs as performed live. This is most notable on "Ogre Battle", as it starts right away with its riff (without any long intro), does not have any effects that the version on Queen II has and sounds much less polished. The BBC version of "Ogre Battle" did originally have a long intro featuring a grand guitar build up. It was not used for this release, allegedly because the original tape was damaged.
When Roc-A-Fella Records set up its first office in Manhattan, the company didn’t land in midtown Manhattan, but in the financial district—an area far from the music, but close to the money. It was a testament to just to just how much creative and commercial ground JAY-Z had managed to cover in his first few years. During that time, he became a transformative figure not only in the craft of rap, but also in the business of bringing it to the mainstream. That may explain why 2000’s <i>The Dynasty: Roc La Familia</i>, which had originally been planned as a showcase for Jay’s thriving label, wound up instead being marketed as a proper JAY-Z record. By then, he’d become more than an artist—he was a brand, one whose name and image would surely help <i>Roc La Familia</i> move a lot more copies. But this guest-heavy, 16-track collection is no mere cash-grab: “I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)” is one of Jay’s catchiest tracks, and “Soon You’ll Understand” one of his most candid—proof he could make club pop while still finding new avenues for self-expression. And <i>Roc La Familia</i> also gives Jay’s protégés plenty of time to shine, most notably Freeway (“1-900-Hustler”) and Beanie Sigel (“This Can’t Be Life”, which finds Sigel holding his own next to Scarface, no less). There’s new talent on the production side, as well, including The Neptunes (“I Just Wanna Love U”), Just Blaze (“Streets is Talking”) and a then-unknown Kanye West (“This Can’t Be Life”). Still, this is a Jay album through and through. He opens <i>Roc La Familia</i> with a breathtaking boast: “Watch it, my n****s/I’m tryin’ to be calm but I’m gon’ get richer/Through any means, with that thing that Malcolm palmed in the picture.” It’s a reference to the author Frantz Fanon’s justification of violence in the name of civil rights, a philosophy later adopted by Malcom X. It wasn’t meant as a slight to a bigger struggle, Jay wrote later—he just felt like they had more pressing concerns on hand. And in a capitalist system, what gets taken more seriously than money?
