Queen GREATEST HITS (HOLLYWOOD)

This is the album most of the world has known and loved as Queen’s Greatest Hits for more than two decades. But it’s only just now being released in the US as a single CD, to coincide with the stateside premiere of the rock hall-of-famers’ hit musical We Will Rock You. There’s one big difference between this disc and the previous two American versions with the same title: it includes nothing released after the band’s kitschy theme from the 1980 movie Flash Gordon. That means no "Body Language" or "Under Pressure," but "Bohemian Rhapsody" makes a triumphant return after being excised from the 1992 version. That best-selling artifact of the Wayne’s World era remains in print, but this is the one to get. All the smashes from the group’s late-1970s heyday are here, from the disco ("Another One Bites the Dust") to the arena ("We Will Rock You"). Sure, fans of Queen’s heavier side would rather hear the bombastic "Tie Your Mother Down" than the fey "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy." But on such tracks as their first US hit, "Killer Queen," the old-world flamboyance of Freddie Mercury’s voice and Brian May’s guitar show why they are one of the most beloved rock bands of all time.