The way it worked was that the Columbia Record Club would send a monthly newsletter/catalog. Inside there would be a broad choice of popular, classic and new releases. If you didn’t return the enclosed card with your choice then you got a random LP sent that you had to pay for. Some time in 1974 I chose Queen II as my album for that month.  I made this decision based solely on how cool the cover was since I’m not sure I’d heard Queen yet.  At the time, Queen wasn’t being played on the radio yet. I don’t remember them being played until “Killer Queen” came out on Sheer Heart Attack later in the year.

I still remember sitting on my bed opening the album for the first time.  The front cover, with Freddie, Brian, John and Roger’s faces surrounded in black is iconic.  Then I opened the gatefold and took in the photo of the band clothed in white with an all-white background.  Clearly this represented the light and dark sides of Queen, the melodic and the heavy.  Because Queen, in their early days, and especially on this album, could be really fucking heavy!

I put the record on and it was everything I ever wanted from music.  And now, 50+ years later, it remains a touchstone that marks the beginning of a lifelong love (obsession?) of discovering new music.   

*Unfortunately these pics are not of my original copy of Queen II. That record is long gone and these are from the 2015 Hollywood Records 180g recreations of the album.