What should have been the track listing to Absolute Greatest?

Jesus
Fairy Feller's Masterstroke
She Makes Me
Seaside Rendezvous
You And I
Who Needs You
Leaving Home Ain't Easy
Don't Try Suicide
Escape From The Swamp
Cool Cat
Put Out The Fire
Machines
Man On The Prowl
One Year Of Love
Don't Lose Your Head
Pain Is So Close To Pleasure
Rain Must Fall
My Baby Does Me
Delilah
My Life Has Been Saved

For Absolute Greatest, I think there should have been a tracklist for the UK/Europe... and another tracklist for the US....

So let's take a look at Queen 20 or so Biggest Hits in these areas:

Starting with the UK:

1. Bohemian Rhapsody - #1
2. These are the Days of Our Lives - #1
3. Under Pressure - #1
4. Innuendo - #1
5. Radio Ga Ga - #2
6. We Will Rock You - #2
7. We are the Champions - #2
8. Somebody to Love - #2
9. Killer Queen - #2
10. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - #2
11. Heaven for Everyone - #2
12. I Want to Break Free - #3
13. A Kind of Magic - #3
14. I Want it All - #3
15. It's a Hard Life - #6
16. A Winter's Tale - #6
17. You're My Best Friend - #7
18. Another One Bites the Dust - #7
19. One Vision - #7
20. Breakthru - #7

US:

1. Another One Bites the Dust - #1
2. Crazy Little Thing Called Love - #1
3. Bohemian Rhapsody - #2
4. These are the Days of Our Lives - #2
5. We Will Rock You - #4
6. We are the Champions - #4
7. Body Language - #11
8. Killer Queen - #12
9. Somebody to Love - #13
10. You're My Best Friend - #16
11. Radio Ga Ga - #16
12. Bicycle Race - #24
13. Fat Bottomed Girls - #24
14. Under Pressure - #29
15. Play the Game - #42
16. Flash - #42
17. A Kind of Magic - #42
18. Need Your Loving Tonight - #44
19. I Want to Break Free - #45
20. Tie Your Mother Down - #49

Now Let's have a look at Queen songs most people should know:

- Killer Queen
- Bohemian Rhapsody
- You're My Best Friend
- Somebody to Love
- We Will Rock You
- We are the Champions
- Bicycle Race
- Fat Bottomed Girls
-Don't Stop Me Now
- Crazy Little Thing Called Love
- Another One Bites the Dust
- Under Pressure
- Radio Ga Ga
- I Want to Break Free
- A Kind of Magic
- I Want it All

Other songs that have Significance in Queen's Career:

- Seven Seas of Rhye (first top ten hit)
- These are the Days of Our Lives (Famous for Video)
- Heaven for Everyone (#2 hit released 4 years after Freddie's Death)

Other songs that were big hits in the UK:

- One Vision #7
- Breakthru - #7
- Innuendo - #1
- It's a Hard Life - #6
- A Winter's Tale - #6

Other Songs that were big hits in the US:

- Body Language - #11

So far an Absolute Greatest Tracklist we need:

Songs that were massive in the US or UK
Songs that were massive in both US and UK
Hit songs that had significance in Queen's Career
Trademark Songs
Songs from different eras of Queen's career (ie Rhye, Pressure, Heaven for Everyone)
Songs that have varied styles.

Primarlily, my tracklist will be simular to the actual AG tracklist but there should be different tracks:

1. We Will Rock You
2. We are the Champions
3. Radio Ga Ga
4. Another One Bites the Dust
5. I Want it All
6. Crazy Little Thing Called Love
7. A Kind of Magic
8. Under Pressure
9. Fat Bottomed Girls
10. You're My Best Friend
11. Don't Stop Me Now
12. Killer Queen
13. These are the Days of Our Lives
14. Innuendo
15. Seven Seas of Rhye
16. Heaven for Everyone
17. Somebody to Love
18. I Want to Break Free
19. The Show Must Go On
20. Bohemain Rhapsody

Here are what I believe to be Queen's 20 "Absolute Greatest" tracks.  I'm curious as to what everyone thinks of my choices.  My criteria are inventiveness, performance, musicianship, and vocals.  (Of course, my choices are subjective, as are any such choices.)

Liar
White Queen
Tenement Funster/Flick of the Wrist/Lily of the Valley (Medley)
Now I'm Here
Death on Two Legs
You're My Best Friend
'39
Love of My Life
Bohemian Rhapsody
Tie Your Mother Down
The Millionaire Waltz
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy
Somebody to Love
Spread Your Wings
Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Save Me
One Vision
I Want It All
Innuendo
The Show Must Go On (the only Queen song that sends shivers down my spine)

The UK and USA are not the whole world.  It is pointless to base an Absolute Greatest on only two countries.

paulosham wrote: The UK and USA are not the whole world.  It is pointless to base an Absolute Greatest on only two countries.

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I agree. Queen had tons of hits in Canada and Japan, along with Austria, Romania, Italy, and basically every other country in the world.

Personally, Absolute Greatest is a pointless release.

Realistically, to the casual fan, the only Queen releases that are a must own are Greatest Hits 1 & 2. As those albums feature the biggest hits the band had. Those 2 albums are also among the best selling albums worldwide. Even the 2011 remasters series, which albums sell and cost the most; GH 1 & 2.

To the hardcore; every other release.

Many casual fans don't feel the need to jump into a 2 CD pairing. All it took for me was Classic Queen, 1 CD, to start exploring the albums. 

In the US, yes, there are many (some would say too many) hits collections, but that's less of an issue around the world. Most territories have either the Platinum Collection (3 CDs), Absolute Greatest (1 CD), Queen Rocks (1 CD), Deep Cuts 1 & 2 (2 individual CDs), the 2011 Remasters of Hits 1 & 2 (2 individual CDs) and Greatest Hits 3 (1 CD). If you're a young kid looking for a place to start, maybe only knowing a few tracks (if that), the Platinum Collection is a scratch, so would be the Deep Cuts (perhaps) so one of the remaining single disc collections are you main options. If I dare presume to compare it to my situation looking at Classic Queen or the red Greatest Hits: I chose CQ because one of the four songs I knew was "Bohemian Rhapsody," which was huge at the time...GH had WWRY, WATC and AOBTD, which I only vaguely knew from pop culture (hockey, baseball and the occasional movie)...and the gold on blue sleeve looked cooler than the red.

Anyway, sorry for rambling. If AG was sitting on the shelf, with 20 songs, I likely would have grabbed it at the time instead of CQ, because all 7 songs I recognized were on it. Now, I fully appreciate that my course into Queen differs from everyone else's, but many people have strange, non-linear routes into the music they like and having a few extra choices is not a bad thing. Honestly, I don't think anybody on Earth has ever stood at the shelf (or thumbed through iTunes) and said, "Gosh, there're too many choices!" (hint: our lives are not TV commercials.) At most they'd compare track listings, spot the songs they know and pick one, knowing full well they may not be getting a complete sampling of the band.

It might be truthful and hurtful but this is a pointless discussion that we had 18 months ago.

Some of the alternatives suggested are absurd.

I'll go right out and say that no tracks should have been put on it as it shouldn't have been released.

It felt like a 'contractual obligation' album.  Now that we know that Queen were preparing to leave EMI that appears to have been the case.

Cheers,

The Voice.

Then don't read it.

Here's my opinion on whether I think each track is worthy to be on an 'Absolute Greatest'

01. WWRY - Quite a bit overrated, but fair enough.
02. WatC - Quite a overrated, but fair enough.
03. Radio Ga Ga - It hit #2 in Britain and stayed on the charts for 11 weeks, so its big enough of a good hit.
04. AOBTD - Stateside number-one and a modest #7 smash here in the UK, an absolute classic hit.
05. IWIA - Underrated rocker. Worthy of a 'greatest' slot, it needs more attention.
06. CLTCL - Reasonably well-known, I guess... but not really a 'great' one in the AG respect.
07. AKOM - A bit underrated, actually. Worthy of an AG slot.
08. Under Pressure - Everyone knows the bassline because of that novelty rap song, but people need to know the original!!!!
09. One Vision - Horribly underrated for a classic Queen rocker. It screams 'absolute greatest' in its every chord!!
10. YMBF - For a track on probably the greatest album of all time, it needs more awareness among causal fans (if they're fans) 
11. DSMN - OVERRATED!! Ask ANYONE for a Queen song, and they reply with this, cause its the ONLY ONE THEY KNOW!
12. Killer Queen - For such a Queen landmark (first UK Top 5 hit!) it's basically dead. Definitely worthy of an AG spot.
13, TATDoOL - Great song, and for something so poignant (Freddie's unofficial last song) it's ground into muck by most people
14. WWTLF - I think it was #24 in Britain, and didn't chart at all in US. Not really a good song, actually, and not really a hit.
15. Seven Seas - For the band's breakthrough song and FANTASTIC tune, it's modern popularity has SUNK. Definitely worthy.
16. Heaven for Everyone - Fine song, no question. But it is really well-known enough?
17. Somebody to Love - CLASSIC - if people don't confuse it with the modern song of the same *shudders profusely*
18. IWTBF - I used to critcise it for being overrated like DSMN, but now I think even this song is lessening among causal fans
19. TSMGO - Nice and poignant. You'd THINK it was well-known, but for a good track, it's not. I've heard it ONCE on Radio 2
And last but certainly not least...
20. Bo Rhap - Greatest song ever... and most UNDERRATED song ever! If people do recall it, they'll echo 'Galileo' forever. It's soooooo much more than that. Everytime I play it on the PC (I happen to playing it right now, actually) Freddie's vocals flood my brain and I can feel the instruments' power on my veins! Especially Bri's guitar solo in the middle. E-P-I-C!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here comes the Wayne's World bit, I better start headbanging...