For drummer Taylor Hawkins, it just doesn't get any better than the first Queen album.
My earliest Queen memory is of the movie King Kong. I went to see that movie when I was six years old and a typical 70s kid. On the drive home with my parents I heard We Will Rock You on the car radio. Somehow in my mind there was now a correlation between King Kong and the sound of Roger Taylor's drums. Somehow they fitted so well with the image of this monster stomping through the city that I couldn't seperate the two.
A few years later when I started playing drums myself, I heard my sisters copy of The Game and thats when I really started to listen. From here, I went back and discovered the others: A Night At the Opera, New Of The World, Jazz, which I still love because it sounds so cool and weird.
If I had to choose three favourite Queen tracks, I'd have: Dragon Attack, because it has such a great riff and that insane drum solo; Play The Game, which I remember from first hearing The Game album and which still sounds incredible; and, finally, Under Pressure. I remember one time with the Foo Fighters when we were on our way to a rehersal studio in Virginia just before we made There Is Nothing Left To Lose. We were driving along, with the radio playing, and Under Pressure came on. We sat there, silent, just listening. Then, when it was over, dave Grohl turned round to the rest of us and just laughed; "Why are we even trying? Like we're going to do anything even close to that song."
I decided the other day that if I had to pick my favourite Queen album ever it would still be Queen I. great King Rat, Liar, Keep Yourself Alive... I love those songs and the album as a whole vibe. I hope thy play them on this upcoming tour with Paul Rodgers. In fact, I'm going to call up Roger Taylor now and tell him he has to...
Taylor Hawkins,
February 2005
