Anybody who was a little dismayed by the pop inclinations of The Game would have been totally distressed by Queen's 1982 follow-up, Hot Space, an unabashed pop and dance album.
The band that once proudly proclaimed not to use synthesizers on their albums has suddenly, dramatically reversed course, devoting the entire first side of the album to robotic, new wave dance-pop, all driven by drum machines and colored by keyboards, with Brian May's guitar coming in as flavor only on occasion.
The second side is better, as it finds the group rocking, but there are still electronic drums.
But the Beatlesque "Life Is Real (Song for Lennon)" is a sweet, if a bit too literal, tribute and with "Calling All Girls" Queen finally gets synth-driven new wave rock right, resulting in a sharp piece of pop.
But the album's undeniable saving grace is the concluding "Under Pressure," an utterly majestic, otherworldly duet with David Bowie that recaptures the effortless grace of Queen's mid-'70s peak, but is underscored with a truly affecting melancholy heart that gives it a genuine human warmth unheard in much of their music.
Frankly, "Under Pressure" is the only reason most listeners remember this album, which is as much a testament to the song's strength as it is to the rather desultory nature of the rest of Hot Space.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Staying PowerFreddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 04:12 | 9 MB | 26 MB |
| 2 | DancerBrian May | Queen | Play | 03:50 | 8 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | Back ChatJohn Deacon, John Richard Deacon | Queen | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 26 MB |
| 4 | Body LanguageFreddie Mercury, Queen | Queen | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 5 | Action This DayRoger Taylor | Queen | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 6 | Put Out the FireBrian May | Queen | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 7 | Life Is Real [Song for Lennon]Freddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 03:32 | 8 MB | 20 MB |
| 8 | Calling All GirlsRoger Taylor | Queen | Play | 03:51 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 9 | Cool CatJohn Deacon, John Richard Deacon, Freddie Mercury | Queen | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 19 MB |
| 10 | Under PressureDavid Bowie, John Deacon, John Richard Deacon, Brian May, Freddie Mercury, Queen, Roger Taylor | Queen, David Bowie | Play | 04:06 | 9 MB | 24 MB |
| 11 | Body LanguageFreddie Mercury, Queen | Queen | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 24 MB |
| 12 | Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love) | Queen | Play | 04:31 | 10 MB | 27 MB |
| 48 mins | 110 MB | |||||
| 48 mins | 289 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | John Barr | Artwork |
| 2 | David Bowie | Composer, Performer, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocals |
| 3 | John Deacon | Bass, Composer, Guitar |
| 4 | John Richard Deacon | Composer |
| 5 | Simon Fowler | Photography |
| 6 | Josh MacRae | Engineer, Producer |
| 7 | Arif Mardin | Arranger, Producer |
| 8 | George Marino | Engineer |
| 9 | Brian May | Banjo, Composer, Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals |
| 10 | Freddie Mercury | Composer, Concept, Piano, Vocals |
| 11 | Kevin Metcalfe | Remastering |
| 12 | Steven Miller | Artwork |
| 13 | Queen | Composer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 14 | Queen/Mack | Producer |
| 15 | Susan Rogers | Remixing |
| 16 | Roger Taylor | Composer, Drums, Vocals |
| 17 | Norm Ung | Artwork |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |