New York, NY (Top40 Charts)There have been countless anniversaries and milestones that have celebrated the rock supergroup queen and the lives of those involved in recent years. The anniversaries of births, deaths, iconic appearances, and the release dates of some of Queen's most well-known pop songs have all featured on the musical calendar in the past couple of years. However, there is one date that recently passed by with little fanfare that certainly deserves more recognition.
This summer marks the 40th anniversary of the release of Queen's eighth studio album, The Game, which was the first album in which Queen deployed the use of synthesizers and completely changed direction. It was, as some have said, the album in which Queen broke all the rules. Let's take a closer look at why this album holds such an important position in music history.
Why The Game Matters
There are few actual tracks on The Game that stand out among their more well-known hits. Besides 'Another One Bites the Dust' and 'Dragon Attack', there are not a lot of songs that most people on the street would actually know. Despite this, The Game's impact at the time was phenomenal.
It was and remains the only Queen album to ever go to number one in the United States, selling four million copies and igniting a resurgence of interest in the band on both sides of the Atlantic at such a late stage in its career.
Such an achievement was all the more surprising given the tone and production of the album, which marked a major departure away from Queen's previous fill-your-boots hard rock towards a more experimental, techno-infused oeuvre.
To the surprise of virtually the entire music industry at the time, not to mention the record label, Queen, at Freddie Mercury's behest, decided to record the album in two sessions at Musicland Studios in Munich. There they met with German producer Reinhard Mack, who brought in the synthesizers and introduced techno music to Queen's discography, at a time when Kraftwerk's influence on the European scene was only beginning to be felt.
The fact that such an electronic-focused album performed so well in the US, a country that was famously against such "European" music at the time, is a testament to Queen's ability to consistently make music history and prove industry pundits wrong.
Why Did Queen's Other Albums Have a Bigger Impact?
Despite this obvious success, The Game has not made its mark on popular culture in the same way that albums such as their 1977 release News of the World did, despite selling an equal number of copies. A mere glance at the tracklist of News of the World is a whistle-stop tour through some of history's most iconic tracks.
'We Are the Champions', 'We Will Rock You', and 'Spread Your Wings', are just a few of the legendary songs from this album. The cultural impact is undeniable; 'We Will Rock You' has featured on everything from Pepsi commercials to countless Hollywood movie soundtracks.
It's hard to say why exactly News of the World has had so much more staying power than The Game. We Are the Champions has been used widely across all forms of entertainment, even forming the basis of a popular Queen-themed online slot game from Bell Fruit Gaming. It's examples such as this that really illustrate the reach of Queen's impact across all genres of entertainment.
Some might argue that NOTW was a commercially 'safer' album, but that doesn't explain why The Game performed better in the US and sold the same number of copies worldwide. It may just be that the songs from earlier in Queen's career are more timeless, while the sound of The Game is in many ways very emblematic of the time when it was produced, on the cusp of the 1980s.
In the four decades that have passed since the release of The Game, the album's musical influence can still be felt, albeit in less obvious ways.
