QUEEN EMC 3006 (-73) UK

A major rock act of the seventies and eighties, early on moving through the rock subgenres with trials in prog, hard rock, pop and glam before they found their own formula. But when hearing this debute I'm amazed how much of what later made them big is here already. The melodic songwriting, whining guitars, lead vocals and background quires. It's like they had all ingredients from the start, just needing some further molding to make the pieces fit. A little more hard rock than the following albums and with less hit feeling, still totally recognizable. It's a grower not a shower. Can be harder to get into in comparison to their bigger sellers but once you're there it's very good listening. Favorite tracks - "Great King Rat" and "Liar". Apparently the earliest pressings came from either of two separate plants - regular EMI and Fontana (?) . The former has a "U" after the matrix number (- 2U) while the latter just has the number (A//2) followed by three or four digits. There are also messages etched into the matrixes depending on number or order (more of that here http://www.queenmuseum.com/?p=1458). This copy has A//2 (message "HUGGY POO KISSY KISSY") and B//2 (message "KATHY PAT SUE KIP JOHN RAY") Don't know if it's the very first, but should be early. It came with label as shown here and thin matt cover. (QÄN*)