Queen looked to Led Zeppelin following critical response to debut album

Queen recently released the box set Queen 1, dedicated to their self-titled debut album, and in the latest installment of their Queen The Greatest video series, they are giving fans a little insight into the making of the record.

Guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor share what it was like when they got into the studio for the first time, with Taylor noting, “it was tough in the beginning,” because they could only get studio time during odd hours when it was free. 

Despite the difficulties, which also included different producers and pressures to sound a certain way because of the studio, May notes, “I think us as a band, we came through.”

But when the album came out in 1973, critics were indifferent, with Taylor calling it a “tsunami of nothing.” 

“Tell you what helped, we looked at some of the reviews for the Led Zeppelin albums that had been out at that time, some of which were appallingly bad,” May shares. “And we thought, well, if they can run these people down, we shouldn’t be too worried about being run down ourselves.”

The audience also helped, with May noting, “once we had that first album out we had an audience that understood us and were really behind us …That really gives you the energy you need.”

With the new box set, Queen was able to use modern technology to right some of the wrongs they felt happened during the recording.

“Essentially with the Queen 1 box set we’ve made the actual album sound the way we wanted it to sound,” Taylor notes. “The overall sound of it is better … I think we’ve greatly improved it.”

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