Herc's Mix - Queen's Greatest Hits - the original 1981 edition

The most vivid memory of Queen's music in HERC's head is the day he accidentally scratched his father's 45 of "Bohemian Rhapsody" trying to slide it back into the wire rack where all of his singles were kept. Soon thereafter, he was found out and punishment was meted out because HERC's father's records were "off limits" but thanks to the mechanisms and manners of the mind HERC fails to remember what his punishment was.

scan courtesy of Amazon user Tim Butler

HERC's first Queen record was Greatest Hits.  He bought it primarily because of his favorite song at the time: "Flash".  [Come back to the Hideaway on Friday for more on that!] 

But the rest of the songs grew on him and his next purchase was The Game followed by Hot Space.  Whatever stigma he had attached to the music of Queen dissipated and soon thereafter, HERC had purchased every Queen album in their discography up to that point.  

When compact discs began to appear 30 years ago, HERC bought the first Queen one he could find, an import copy of Greatest Hits.  Capitol Records began issuing their latter titles (The Works, A Kind Of Magic and The Miracle) but it would be another couple of years before Hollywood Records sealed a deal to put out all of Queen's catalog for the band's 20th Anniversary with each release featuring at least one bonus track.

By HERC's count there have been roughly a gazillion compact discs issued called Queen's Greatest Hits or some variation of that title: Absolute Queen, Classic Queen, Greatest Hits II, Queen Rocks, Stone Cold Classics, Queen A-Z, Crown Jewels, Greatest Hits III and several simply titled Greatest Hits.  HERC is that fan who purchases each and every one knowing full well that he already has all the songs.  The (20th and) 40th Anniversary Editions, The Remasters, The Deluxe Versions, The Japanese Editions - it makes no difference because sooner rather than later they are added to HERC's Hideaway Audio Archives.

If HERC had his way (and he usually does), there would be (and there is, thanks to a once blank TDK CD-R) a single 80 minute disc containing all of his favourites.  Once upon a time, back when such practices were fashionable, HERC had a 100 minute cassette tape that was his "Ultimate Queen Comp".  Along with his version of K-Tel's Rock 80 and Prince's Purple Rain, it was among the most played tapes in the small box of cassettes HERC carried with him in the HERCmobile.

Thanks to the joys and wonders of Spotify and the band's amazing 40th Anniversary remastered double disc releases last year, HERC is now able to share his "Ultimate Queen Comp" with the world or at least the people reading this here blog today.