Queen – Queen II

I compared this press with the French 1974 one from Pathé Marconi. The sound is almost identical. There's no problem with that. But the constant slight crackling only in the right channel is not clear to me. Bad vinyl mass quality?

It is true that at the end of each side there is some distortion, the pressing is bad and the vinyl is of poor quality but with all that it is superior to the 2011 remaster.

Love this album. Make sure you turn it up a bit louder than normal, and you'll have a good time.

I've never heard a great pressing or mastering of this album... this one is no exception. But I think people are blaming the pressing for the poor mix.

Having said that, there were quite a few loud pops throughout my brand new copy. Even after a cleaning in an ultrasonic.

Listening on Technics SL-1700mkii with Audio Technica VM540ML

These Hollywood represses all seem to suffer the same fate. No depth, very narrow soundstage and an overall lacklustre presentation. For albums that leaped out of the speakers in their original form these pressings just leave so much behind. I assume they are digital as there is simply no body just a tinny facsimile of the Queen sound. These are albums that gloried in their lushness and grandeur, and this along with the other reissues I unfortunately bought has none of that

Sad to say I have a very bad pressing as well.
Mine is heavily distorted, especially on side B, which is harsh and shrill to the point of being unlistenable from track "March of the Black Queen" on.
That said, I have no original pressing to compare this with and would be very curious to know how they sound.

I had this pressing for a few years until I finally came across US originals that were decently clean for a good price. DO NOT BUY THIS PRESSING, or any 2009 Hollywood Pressings for that matter. They have barely any bottom end and the highs are super shrill. When I originally got it there were scuffs and paper bits all over it. The albums I had from this run were the debut, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, ADATR, and News of the World. The only one that was listenable imo was the debut, then again that's probably justified because I only paid $13 for it at a barnes and noble. If you're on a tight budget, these can be a place holder until you get originals or even the 2015 pressings. Avoid if possible I beg of you.

This press is very listenable, and even more so when you only shell out $16, what a great deal, packaging to boot. Queen albums, the early ones, are a hit and miss game, but this one sounds solid to me, not quite boxed in or over compressed. The vinyl is quiet, the treble is silky, the bass is big and the mids are pretty tame. It reminds me of the DMM Rush remasters a bit. And the vocals are nicely balanced overall. Love this album, and very glad owner.

Packaging is Great, Vinyl Sounds Decent, Not a Bad Pressing.

I'll just note that I feel this pressing is perfectly decent. While I cannot compare it to the SACD or original, it's certainly not lackluster, and my system produced plenty of mid-range & bass. Super quiet, no distortion, I fail to see the issue. I too agree that the packaging is gorgeous.

Buyer beware: this isn't a particularly good pressing and pulls off the not-quite-irable trick of being both a little toppy whilst remaining lacklustre at the same time. Compared to the 2011 SACD and original 1974 vinyl pressing, it falls short in many respects.

On a positive note, the sleeve is nice and retains the high gloss finish present on the original.