 Queen
 Becoming Queen DVD
 Review by Gary Hill

While I am a Queen fan, I’m far from a hardcore Queen fan. For that reason, my knowledge of the band was reasonably limited, that is until I watched this DVD. While this is an unauthorized documentary, it contains a lot of interesting information. There’s a lot of stuff about the formation of the band and then about the history of the group throughout their period of stardom. One thing lacking, because of the unauthorized nature, is real Queen music. Also, the interview clips with the band members were not recorded for this release, but rather borrowed from other audio and video interviews. Still, I learned a lot about Queen from watching and have a deeper respect for the group than I did before. While it might be a bit redundant for hardcore Queen fans, and might confuse those who know little about the group since you can’t hear the music, people like myself who fall in the middle ground will surely find this an interesting documentary. And, yes, I know that not everything Queen ever did fit into progressive rock neatly, but honestly, when you look at their early releases, it’s clear they were a progressive rock band, but doing it their own way.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2011 Volume 4 at lulu.com/strangesound.
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