Greatest Hits by Queen
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the British rock group Queen. When released in November 1981, the album consisted of Queen's best-selling singles since their first chart appearance in 1974 with "Seven Seas of Rhye", up to their 1980 hit "Flash" (though in some countries "Under Pressure", the band's 1981 chart-topper with David Bowie, was included). There was no universal track listing or cover art for the album, and each territory's tracks were dependent on what singles had been released there and which were successful. Queen's Greatest Hits was an instant success, peaking at number one on the UK Album Chart for four weeks. It has spent 476 weeks in the UK Charts, and is the best-selling album of all time in the UK. It is certified eight times platinum in the United States, and is Queen's most commercially successful album worldwide with over 25 million copies sold, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
The pomp-rock giants awake for their brilliant second decade. After a fairly muted start—the pop-funk excellence of 1981 Bowie collaboration “Under Pressure” a highlight—mid-80s standouts “Hammer to Fall” and “One Vision” recapture their harmonic, hard-rocking best. They struck another rich vein of stupidly infectious pop-rock (“I Want To Break Free”, “Radio Ga Ga”) until Freddie Mercury’s deteriorating health prompts the dignified sadness and stoicism of “The Show Must Go On”.
