Well Eye Never

Queen Album Review – Queen II – Collector’s Edition

Back in 2024, Queen released a collector’s edition of their debut album with new mixes, session outtakes, backing tracks and live performances, which I reviewed at the time.

And now, as has been long anticipated since then, they’ve brought out a collector’s edition of Queen II, their fantastic and highly complex second album, in much the same vein. So naturally I’ve been looking forward to checking that out as well.

Once again, there are multiple formats available from various retailers, including a big box set with 5 CDs and 2 LPs, a much simpler 2-disc CD edition with the new mixes and the sessions material, and others.

And just like last time, I’ve plumped for the digital download instead. It’s just £17.99 for the contents of all 5 CDs compared to the frankly ludicrous £194.99 for the physical equivalent, which has 2 vinyl records I’d have no use for and 2 of the CDs contain live tracks I already have from older releases. Sure, the book and photo prints look really nice, but I can live without them in the circumstances.

Considering the 6-CD box set for their previous album was an already steep £149.99, I’m baffled as to how this new 5-CD set is £45 dearer! Maybe it’s because it has 2 LPs rather than 1 like the previous set, one of which is white vinyl rather than black (as the album has ‘Side White’ and ‘Side Black’ instead of Sides 1 & 2). But it’s a lot extra just for that. If there had been a similar set without the vinyl LPs for a much cheaper price, I’d have been tempted to get it, but it’s quite common for box sets these days to have vinyls I don’t want. It always bugs me when artists do that.

Anyway, back in lockdown I wrote an extensive post reviewing the tracks on Queen II, along with related live performances and covers, so I’m not going to repeat that kind of thing here. Instead, I just want to compare the new mixes to the originals and look through the bonus material, and I’ve added the new tracks to my Queen II playlist as well. Nothing here is sponsored or gifted, because I bought the new download myself, and I hope you enjoy!

Queen Album Review – The Game

Way back in lockdown, to fill some of the time, I wrote in-depth reviews of the 1970s studio albums by Queen, my favourite band, which took me from their self-titled debut up to the Jazz album. And they’re about to release a new deluxe edition of Queen II, which I’m looking forward to downloading and reviewing, just like I did for their Queen I box set.

However, it’s long been my intention to review the rest of their albums as well, and now I’ve got more time on my hands, I’m going to delve back into them at long last.

So we’ll kick off the 80s with The Game, the album that produced Queen’s best-selling single of all time, and the only two number 1 hits they ever had in America (where it was also their only number 1 album, selling over 4 million copies). The Game also reached number 1 in the UK for 2 weeks, and stayed in the top 40 for 15 weeks altogether. Overall it sold over 12 million copies worldwide.

Freddie Mercury, sporting a moustache and wearing a black leather jacket over a red top, leaning back against a railing overlooking a snowy landscape with trees and a couple of buildings.

Brian May, with his hands in his light brown jacket pockets, leaning back against a railing overlooking a snowy landscape with trees and a couple of buildings.

It’s also the first Queen album to feature a synthesizer (an Oberheim OBX), with their previous releases proudly stating that they never used them. Plus they had a new producer (Reinhold Mack, known simply as Mack), and they recorded the songs in a new location, at Musicland Studios in Munich. It therefore marked a new period of experimentation for the band, as they were persuaded to shift towards a more pop-friendly sound, although still infused with rock of course and it still sounds unmistakably like Queen.

It wasn’t always easy, with arguments in the studio as the band members were keen to be represented fairly on the record. But ultimately they were able to reach suitable compromises and produce another decent album with several great tracks. And as shown by the chart positions above, it enabled them to maintain their popularity in an era where other rock veterans were struggling, and even have their peak of success in the USA. The music scene was changing significantly in the 80s, but Queen were still very much in the game and still winning, at least for now.

So here are my reviews of all the songs, along with alternate versions, music videos, live performances, and a small selection of the many covers and remixes out there. And there’s lots more to see on my Queen & Covers playlists for this album as well that I haven’t mentioned here. I hope you enjoy!

Doctor Who Review – The War Between The Land And The Sea

The latest spin-off from Doctor Who, The War Between The Land And The Sea, aired on BBC One here in the UK in December, marking the last part of the collaboration with Disney. Although, strangely, it still hasn’t dropped on Disney+ to my knowledge, which is extremely unfair on international audiences, given that they had posted new episodes of Doctor Who simultaneously with the BBC. I know Disney aren’t that bothered about the franchise any more, but still, it’s not very polite.

Anyway, I saw it on BBC iPlayer last year and gave a spoiler-free review in my Christmas Favourites. But now I’ve bought the Blu-ray that’s just been released, I wanted to rewatch the series to discuss each of the episodes in more depth, as well as looking through the extra features, just like I’ve been doing with my other modern era Doctor Who reviews.

In general, the series is a mixed bag. It is entertaining in many ways, with some great acting performances, cool special effects, big twists, evocative music, and a strong environmental message that isn’t preachy, asking what might happen if the creatures of the sea could really communicate with us. One particular character from Doctor Who gets a fantastic sub-story here as well. But in other respects the show doesn’t fully live up to the title or the hype, as it descends into a predictable love story more than a war drama, meaning it tails off towards the end rather than reaching an epic conclusion.

So on the whole I do think it’s worth a watch, whether you’re a Doctor Who fan or not, just as long as you manage your expectations a little bit. And with that in mind, I hope you enjoy my episode reviews here.

January 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s got off to a good start. For me, as noted in my recent update about my career and being a carer, my circumstances are set to change due to my mother’s ongoing support needs and funding cuts for my current job role. But Mum is much better than she was last year, I’ve already secured a new freelance position, and I have other financial support, so there’s good reason to be positive and hopeful about the year ahead.

I’m also celebrating 10 years of blogging and YouTubing, and that decade has really flown by! Thank you so much if you’ve played any part in that, whether it’s quietly reading my posts or interacting with me in some way, I really appreciate it!

But to focus on January, I have started going out and about more again, now that my mother’s situation has eased a bit. So I’ve met a couple of friends, eaten some delicious food and taken a few nice walks. Meanwhile at home, alongside my usual favourite TV programmes, I’ve been having a stand-up comedy binge by watching several specials and finishing an autobiography. So there’s quite a bit to mention as usual, none of which is sponsored to appear here, and I hope you enjoy!

Ten Years Of YouTubing

Yesterday I made a post celebrating my 10 years as a blogger. And therefore by definition I’ve also passed my 10th anniversary on YouTube, so it seems only right to do a post about that too. My YouTube channel actually came first, in the second half of 2015, but there’s only one video I’ve kept from the two I filmed as an experiment back then, before I started posting more regularly a year later, in August 2016. With everything else going on last year, the milestone passed me by, so now’s as good a time as any to reflect on it.

Of course, I could do a video about this, buy as well as my general reflections I want to explore the statistics behind my channel like I did for my blog yesterday, which will naturally be easier to go through in written form. While statistics will be of no interest to some, I’m interested in seeing them personally as I don’t normally pay any attention to them, and they’re a nice way of marking a point in time that I can refer back to in another 5 or 10 years if I’m still blogging or filming then, to see how I’ve progressed.

It will also help me to complete a streak of posts here on my blog, as when I do my Favourites post tomorrow I’ll have posted every day for a week for the first time ever. So that seems another nice way to mark my 10th anniversary, following my most prolific month ever, as I made 13 posts during January, largely thanks to all those Freddie Mercury exhibition posts!

Ten Years Of Blogging

Incredibly, this month marks the 10th anniversary of my blog, as I registered with WordPress and started rambling away here at the start of February in 2016, talking about my conditions aniridia and nystagmus. The old journal posts listed before then were added and backdated retrospectively during the Covid lockdowns as something to do, although in that regard I’m impressed that I’ve been able to fill a blog with content spanning over 25 years, and that people have been so interested in reading about my past as well as the present.

I’ve also just started my 10th year of living in London, so while my anniversary of the big move isn’t technically until next Christmas, and I will probably say more about that particular milestone when the time comes, it’s practically a double celebration.

And on top of all that, thanks to some fortuitous timing, I’ve managed to ensure that this particular post is my 500th to be published here. Sure, there have been more than that in total, as a few posts have been merged or deleted over time, and I’m not counting the index pages. But in terms of currently published posts on my homepage, there are now 500 exactly.

Carer & Career Updates – January 2026

After everything Mum and I went through last year, it’s fair to say that 2026 has had mixed beginnings for us. But ultimately there are signs of hope and potential for the 12 months ahead. So I wanted to give an update about caring for Mum and have a little rant about my work situation, so you know where we stand at the moment, before I do my Favourites post about the month soon.

Chris McCausland – Keep Laughing Review

I’ve mentioned Chris McCausland several times in my blog in recent years, because he’s one of my favourite comedians, and not because he’s blind. He’s very funny, clever and down to earth, a genuine nice guy, and I got to see him live a few years ago, which I hope to do again at some point. Recently I also enjoyed his fascinating documentary Seeing Into The Future, and he’s done great podcast interviews with the BBC, Channel 4 News and Romesh Ranganathan.

And now my mother and I have listened to the audiobook of his new autobiography, Keep Laughing, and we’ve really enjoyed it, so I wanted to do a review here as well. This isn’t sponsored or gifted, I’m just a fan, and I hope you find it interesting.

Freddie Mercury’s World – Part 10 – The Performer

We got there in the end. To conclude my series of photos that I took at the Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own exhibition at Sotheby’s in 2023, we’re paying close attention to what the Queen frontman was best known for – his songwriting and performing.

There are some very significant items here, most of which are from the On Stage auction, but there are a few pieces from other auctions thrown in too. It all depends on how Sotheby’s had things on display in the galleries.

As has been the case in all the previous posts, clicking on the images will blow them up and the item links will take you to the description pages. So I hope you enjoy!

Freddie Mercury’s World – Part 9 – Stage Fashion

Here’s the penultimate collection in my series of amazing items that I saw on my visit to Freddie Mercury: A World Of His Own, the exhibition that took over Sotheby’s in 2023.

We’re now turning our attention to the On Stage auction, where items relating to Freddie’s songwriting and performing – some of which are very recognisable and important to big Queen fans like myself – sold for a total of £9,476,740! Most of the clothing shown here is from that auction but, as with previous posts, there are a few pieces from other auctions mixed in as well.

As ever, you can click on the images to enlarge them and the item names to read more, and I hope you enjoy seeing the wide selection I’ve included here.

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