Queen: Complete Works

by Georg Purvis

Mixing and clashing an outrageously eclectic set of influences—the close harmonies of the Beatles, the guitar pyrotechnics of Jimi Hendrix, the heavy sound of Led Zeppelin, and the glamour of David Bowie—Queen found a winning formula by channeling this strange cocktail through its charismatic frontman, Freddie Mercury. More than a decade after Mercury's death, Queen's fan base continues to grow. This meticulous, session-by-session, album-by-album, tour-by-tour chronicle of the band is the book that Queen fans have been waiting for.

Genres: Music, Reference, Nonfiction

424 pages, Paperback

First published October 27, 2011

Reviews

[Scott Holstad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! This was exhausting to read and it had to be exhausting to write. This is the most comprehensive reference book I've ever seen relating to a rock band, or any musician for that matter. It's amazing how much information is contained in this book. As the blurb on Goodreads says, "Georg Purvis's meticulous, session-by-session, song-by-song, album-by-album, tour-by-tour record of the band's progress is the complete reference source that Queen fans have been waiting for." No kidding. This book details every album, every song (even unreleased songs), every tour and set list, every side project and solo efforts of the members of Queen. It's unbelievable! Now, I've been a big Queen fan since the mid '70s, so I'm biased. Someone who's not a fan probably wouldn't get much out of this book. And even though I'm giving it five stars, there are some weaknesses. Redundancy is a big one. There are only so many descriptions one can read of the same tour for North America, Europe, Japan, Australia, and South America with maybe three song changes in the set lists before boredom sets in. And I don't care as much about all of the side project and solo work of the band members, so reading about Roger Taylor's adventures with his band The Cross was uninteresting to me. But each song -- are you kidding me??? That is research, my friends! The author of this book is a Queen fan, but also a strict critic who pulls no punches with songs he considers to be weak or bad. He also reports many of the reviews the band received, both good and bad. I learned a lot in reading this heavy 475 page book, and at times, it was highly enjoyable. But, as I mentioned, at other times it was drudgery. One thing the book lacked that surprised me was commentary on the album cover art. I would have enjoyed reading about that and am disappointed it's not in there. There's commentary on the videos, so why not the album art? However, I can get past that. I've read a lot of Queen books and have many more to read and while it often seems there's not much more I can learn about the band, a book like this comes along and you realize how much you don't know at all. It was a lengthy process to get through this book, but I'm glad I did. Recommended for any Queen fan.

[Meredith Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm contractually obligated by the vows of marriage to review this book and give it 5 stars. (But seriously, it really is a very comprehensive, detailed account of the band and all they've done.)

[Matthew Chabe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's exhaustive, that's for sure. Not light by any means. Good read, though, if you're into music ephemera.

[Piotr · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating for the original version would be 4 stars. Not 5, because although I admire and appreciate the amount of work Georg Purvis put into this book, there are still some mistakes, myths that had already been debunked before 2006 and other inconsistencies. What's more, the author's opinions about the albums and songs are often too subjective and biased. I reaslly don't care about his opinion, that such and such song is bullsh*t and should be replaced with one of the B-sides.
The problem is that I have read it in Polish translation, which is truly abysmal. English syntax, idioms translated directly, wrong sex attributed to names and generally very poor style, to name just a few of the faults. The translation itself would get 1 star, so I think it's only fair to give this edition 3 stars.

[Alessandro Vicenzi · Rating 5 out of 5]

L'unico libro sui Queen di cui potreste mai davvero avere bisogno.
È una biografia della band attraverso i dischi, le singole canzoni (anche quelle inedite di cui si sa solo un titolo), i tour, le partecipazioni ai dischi altrui, i progetti solisti.
Un lavoro di ricerca spaventoso, una miniera di piccoli aneddoti che raccontano anche la quotidianità del gruppo e permettono di ricostruire con chiarezza alcuni passaggi del post-Freddie. L'unico difetto è che arriva solo al 2009 e quindi non copre anche i tour con Adam Lambert (che, all'epoca della stesura, vede come un'ipotesi possibile ma umiliante per il povero Paul Rodgers). Cinque stelle, bacio accademico e inno nazionale inglese a tutto volume.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK: on the one hand, this is clearly an ambitious project. On the other, there are so many falsehood and rumors presented as truth (viz: midgets with coke on their heads? That one's been debunked, friends) in the narrative, that it's hard to take this seriously. Moreover, the editorializing on the tracks and the albums is ridiculous. Just because the author doesn't like certain songs or albums doesn't mean that's the consensus of Queen fans or Queen historians. This is a useful compendium if you're looking for a completist's list, but it's certainly not an authoritative text.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, technically, I can't say that I've actually read this entire tome, cover to cover. But I have consulted it many times, reference work that it is, and my experiences in doing that are enough for me to rate this five stars.

ETA: And since I haven't read it cover to cover, I'm not counting it in my self-imposed 150 book goal for 2011; I've upped the number to 151, and I'll just call it 150. ;P

[Rob Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the details from every Queen song...........Brilliant!

[Juli · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story behind each and every Queen song. I do wish the author had kept some of his opinions to himself, though.

[Brett Grossmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but written like a Wikipedia post. Lots of info with very little insight or flair