Absolute Greatest

Absolute Greatest is a 2009 compilation album by the British rock band Queen. The album contains 20 of their most famous songs, and is available in several formats, including the single CD edition, a 2 CD special edition featuring audio commentaries by Brian May and Roger Taylor, a 52-page hardback book with the 2 CDs, digital download, and an LP edition box set. Each track has been remastered from the original tapes.[5]

Absolute Greatest
Greatest hits album by Queen
Released	11 November 2009
Recorded	1973–1995
Genre	Rock
Length	79:29
Label	Parlophone Hollywood
Producer	various
Queen chronology
The Singles Collection Volume 2 (2009) Absolute Greatest (2009) The Singles Collection Volume 3 (2010)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Classic Rock	[2]
Q	[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

A promotion running on the band's official website, Queen Online, gave fans the opportunity to guess the placings of the tracks on the album and win a prize if their answer was correct (a new track was revealed daily). The prize winner was then chosen in a random selection.[6]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"We Will Rock You" (from News of the World, 1977)	Brian May	2:02
2.	"We Are the Champions" (from News of the World, 1977)	Freddie Mercury	3:01
3.	"Radio Ga Ga" (from The Works, 1984)	Roger Taylor	5:48
4.	"Another One Bites the Dust" (from The Game, 1980)	John Deacon	3:35

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
5.	"I Want It All" (single version, from The Miracle, 1989)	Queen (May)	4:01
6.	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (from The Game, 1980)	Mercury	2:44
7.	"A Kind of Magic" (from A Kind of Magic, 1986)	Taylor	4:25

Side three

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
8.	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie, from Hot Space, 1982)	Queen, Bowie	4:08
9.	"One Vision" (single version, from A Kind of Magic, 1986)	Queen (Taylor)	4:04
10.	"You're My Best Friend" (from, A Night at the Opera, 1975)	Deacon	2:51
11.	"Don't Stop Me Now" (from Jazz, 1978)	Mercury	3:30

Side four

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
12.	"Killer Queen" (from Sheer Heart Attack, 1974)	Mercury	3:00
13.	"These Are the Days of Our Lives" (from Innuendo, 1991)	Queen (Taylor)	4:13
14.	"Who Wants to Live Forever" (Greatest Hits II edit, from A Kind of Magic, 1986)	May	4:55

Side five

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
15.	"Seven Seas of Rhye" (from Queen II, 1974)	Mercury	2:46
16.	"Heaven for Everyone" (single version, from Made in Heaven, 1995)	Taylor	4:43
17.	"Somebody to Love" (from A Day at the Races, 1976)	Mercury	4:55

Side six

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
18.	"I Want to Break Free" (single version, from The Works, 1984)	Deacon	4:19
19.	"The Show Must Go On" (from Innuendo, 1991)	Queen (May)	4:32
20.	"Bohemian Rhapsody" (from A Night at the Opera, 1975)	Mercury	5:56

Personnel

• Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals, piano, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
• Brian May - guitar, backing vocals, keyboards, synthesizer, orchestral arrangements on "Who Wants to Live Forever", co-lead vocals on "I Want It All" and "Who Wants to Live Forever"
• Roger Taylor - drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer, electronic drums, backing vocals
• John Deacon - bass guitar, piano, guitar, keyboards, synthesizer
• David Bowie - vocals, hand claps, finger snaps, keyboards on "Under Pressure"
• Fred Mandel - synthesizer on "Radio Ga Ga" and "I Want To Break Free"
• National Philharmonic Orchestra - strings on "Who Wants To Live Forever"
• Michael Kamen - conductor and orchestral arrangements on "Who Wants To Live Forever"

Charts and certifications

Charts Chart (2009) Peak position Australian Top 50 Albums[7] 18 Austrian Top 75 Albums[8] 10 Belgium (Wallonia) 100 Albums[9] 22 Danish Top 40 Albums[10] 6 French Compilations[11] 11 German Albums Chart[12] 23 Hungarian Top 40 Albums[13] 4 Irish Albums (IRMA)[14] 9 Italian Top 100 Albums[15] 21 Mexican Top 100 Albums[16] 22 Norwegian Top 40 Albums[17] 6 Portuguese Top 30 Albums[18] 4 Spanish Top 100 Albums[19] 20 Swedish Top 60 Albums[20] 5 Swiss Top 100 Albums[21] 15 UK Albums Chart[22] 3 Chart (2010) Peak position Belgium (Flanders) 100 Albums[23] 15 Netherlands Top 100 Albums[24] 36 New Zealand Top 40 Albums[25] 6 Chart (2011) Peak position Finnish Top 50 Albums[26] 15 Chart (2018) Peak position Canadian Albums (Billboard)[27] 10

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[28]	Gold	35,000^^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[29]	Gold	15,000^^
Hungary (MAHASZ)[30]	Platinum	6,000^^
Ireland (IRMA)[31]	Platinum	15,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[32]	Gold	30,000^*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[33]	Platinum	15,000^^
Poland (ZPAV)[34]	Gold	10,000^*
Portugal (AFP)[35]	Gold	10,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[36]	2× Platinum	600,000^^
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

1. Absolute Greatest at AllMusic
2. Terry Staunton. "Queen – Absolute Greatest" (JPG).
3. "The Official Queen Website". QueenOnline.com. Archived from the original on 14 August 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
4. "Queen: Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
5. Press Release: Absolute Greatest Archived 5 January 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Queen online, 3 September 2009. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
6. Tracklisting Competition Archived 13 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Queen online. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
7. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
8. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
9. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
10. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Danish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
11. "Les "Charts Runs" de chaque Album Classé". InfoDisc (in French). Archived from the original (PHP) on 20 August 2008. Find "QUEEN" under the drop-down menu to see statistics.
12. "Chartverfolgung / Queen / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Archived from the original on 29 June 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
13. "Archivum: Top 40 Album". Mahasz (in Hungarian). Retrieved 29 July 2011.
14. "Irish-charts.com – Discography Queen". Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
15. "Top album Classifica settimanale WK 47". FIMI. 16 November 2009. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
16. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)". Mexican Charts. Hung Medien. Archived from the original (ASP) on 6 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
17. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
18. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Portuguese Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
19. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Spanish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
20. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
21. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
22. "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 28th November 2009". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
23. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
24. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
25. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). New Zealand Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
26. "Queen – Absolute Greatest (Album)" (ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
27. "Queen Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
28. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2009 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
29. "Danish album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest". IFPI Denmark.
30. "Adatbázis – Arany- és platinalemezek – 2010" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
31. "Irish album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest". Irish Recorded Music Association.
32. "Italian album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select "Tutti gli anni" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Absolute Greatest" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Album e Compilation" under "Sezione".
33. "Latest Gold / Platinum Albums". Radioscope. 17 July 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011.
34. "Polish album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
35. "Portuguese album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest" (in Portuguese). Associação Fonográfica Portuguesa. Enter 2009 in the field Ano at the bottom of the page. Click Vêr. 
36. "British album certifications – Queen – Absolute Greatest". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Absolute Greatest in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.

External links

• Queen official website: Discography: Absolute Greatest (no lyrics included)
• Television ad (official video)