Music Review: QUEEN ~ "Queen 40th Collector's Box Set Volume 3"

The 40th Anniversary of the rock band Queen comes to a close with the release of "Queen 40th Collector's Box Set Volume 3."

Released exclusively through Amazon.com this set is comprised of the band's last 5 studio albums, "The Works," "A Kind Of Magic," "The Miracle," "Innuendo" & the Freddie Mercury posthumous release "Made In Heaven." Each album contains a bonus disc of b-sides and rarities that prove the band were energized and at a peak creatively!

Unfortunately for American audiences the set includes not one top 10 hit or top 20 album! All the momentum Queen gained in the U.S. with it's break through 1980 release "The Game" was lost with the follow-up releases "Flash Gordon" & "Hot Space" and by the time the band returned to form with 1984's "The Works" American audiences just didn't care anymore and that's a shame because "The Works" is not only one of the best albums in the Queen discography it also would have been a perfect follow-up to "The Game."

History has shown that music fans are fickle and although Queen continued to have great success in the rest of the world their career was over in America.

But it's not too late so wake up "Yanks!"

This is your chance to discover what the diehard fans have known for years... Queen went out with a bang not a whimper and the proof can be found on these 5 remastered CDs.

1984's "The Works" contains such crowd pleasers as "Radio Ga Ga," "Hammer To Fall" and "Is This The World We Created?" all of which were played live during Queen's career defining performance at 1985's "Live Aid" concert. "A Kind Of Magic" was released in 1986 and would ultimately mark the end of Queen as a touring entity.

After being diagnosed with AIDS in 1987, Freddie and the band decided to concentrate on recording new music and making videos to promote the music rather than tour which was out of the question as Mercury's health began to decline. During this time the band released 2 stunning studio albums: 1989's "The Miracle" and 1991's "Innuendo." These 2 albums would contain the last new music the world would ever hear from Mercury.

In retrospect it is hard to believe that a person as ill as Freddie was would be able to deliver such powerful vocal performances as the ones on "Innuendo." From the title track opener to the haunting "The Show Must Go On" Mercury proved that he was a fighter until the end and no matter what the odds it was the music that mattered most.

4 years after his death original band members Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon released the final Queen album "Made In Heaven." This album was pieced together with vocal tracks Mercury had recorded over the past years and served as a goodbye to the fans.

In the wake of his passing songs such as "Made n Heaven," "Let Me Live," "My Life Has Been Saved" and "Too Much Love Will Kill You" take on a whole new meaning and at times are eerie to listen to while at the same time uplifting.

If you have never experienced the power of Queen's last 5 studio efforts I highly recommend the "Queen 40th Collector's Box Set Volume 3" to learn why Freddie Mercury continues to live and breathe everyday through the music he left behind.

Drumroll please... 10 out of 10 Crowns!!