Queen’s Most Disappointing Album?
Queen are one of those bands that can seemingly do anything. Whether it is hard rock, pop, opera, glam rock, or even disco inspired music, they usually find a way to make it work. That is why Flash Gordon is such a strange album to listen to. Not because it is different, but because it is one of the few times where Queen try something ambitious and completely fail to make it enjoyable.
Released in 1980 as the soundtrack to the film of the same name, Flash Gordon is often described as a Queen album, but I do not really think that is accurate. Yes, Queen wrote and performed the music, but this does not feel like a proper Queen album. It feels like a soundtrack first and a Queen record second, and that is exactly where most of the problems begin.
There are some good moments here. In fact, there are a few tracks that show exactly what this album could have been. Unfortunately, those moments are surrounded by so much filler, dialogue, and forgettable soundtrack material that listening to the album becomes more frustrating than enjoyable.
The Good Stuff
The obvious highlight is “Flash”.
Even people who have never seen the film probably know the famous “Flash! Ah ah!” hook. It is catchy, energetic, and larger than life in the way only Queen could manage. The song immediately grabs your attention and gives the impression that you are about to hear a ridiculous but entertaining science fiction rock album.
The problem is that the rest of the album never lives up to that promise.
“The Hero” is another standout. In many ways it feels like the only other track that fully remembers this is supposed to be a Queen album. Freddie Mercury sounds fantastic, Brian May’s guitar finally gets some room to breathe, and the whole thing has a sense of drama and scale that is missing from most of the record.
“Battle Theme” and “Football Fight” are also enjoyable. They have energy, they are memorable, and they actually sound like ideas that were developed rather than musical sketches thrown together to fill space between scenes.
What makes these tracks frustrating is not just that they are good. It is that they show how much potential the album had. Every time one of these songs appears, you start thinking that maybe things are about to improve.
Then they do not.
A Soundtrack Disguised as an Album
The biggest issue with Flash Gordon is that it simply does not work as a standalone listening experience.
When I listen to a Queen album, I expect songs. I expect memorable choruses, strong melodies, and moments that stick in my head long after the album has finished.
Flash Gordon gives me very little of that.
Instead, much of the running time is made up of short instrumental passages, atmospheric pieces, and music that clearly exists to support scenes in a film. There is nothing inherently wrong with that. After all, this is a soundtrack.
The problem is that once you remove the film, a lot of this material loses its purpose.
There are long stretches where the album feels like background noise rather than something worth actively listening to. Tracks come and go without leaving much of an impression. By the time one piece ends and another begins, I often found myself struggling to remember what I had just heard.
Good soundtrack music can absolutely stand on its own. Plenty of film scores manage it.
This one rarely does.
The Dialogue Gets Old Very Quickly
One of the most annoying aspects of the album is the constant use of dialogue from the film.
The first time you hear it, it is kind of interesting. It helps establish the story and gives some context to what is happening.
The tenth time you hear it, you just want it to stop.
The dialogue constantly interrupts the music. Just as a track starts building momentum, somebody starts talking. Just as a musical idea becomes interesting, another clip from the film appears.
It completely destroys the flow of the album.
I understand why it is there. This music was written for a movie, and the dialogue helps connect everything together. The problem is that most people are not going to sit down and listen to Flash Gordon because they want to relive scenes from the film. They are listening because Queen’s name is on the cover.
For a band with Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, and John Deacon, there is an astonishing amount of time spent not actually letting them do what they do best.
Queen’s Most Ambitious Failure
What makes Flash Gordon interesting is that I can see exactly what Queen were trying to do.
This was not a lazy project.
This was not a cash grab.
This was a genuine attempt to create something different.
In some ways, it might actually be one of the most experimental records they ever made. The band moved away from the traditional rock album format and tried to create something cinematic. There are recurring themes, electronic textures, sound effects, and musical ideas that appear throughout the record.
I respect that.
I respect the ambition.
I respect the willingness to take a risk.
What I do not respect is the final result.
For all its ambition, Flash Gordon rarely feels exciting. It spends so much time building atmosphere that it forgets to write enough memorable music. The album often feels more interested in creating a science fiction mood than creating songs people will actually want to revisit.
That is why I find it difficult to call the album a success.
The Biggest Disappointment
The most disappointing thing about Flash Gordon is that it could have been great.
The ingredients were all there.
Queen were one of the most creative bands on the planet in 1980. The idea of them creating a science fiction concept album sounds fantastic on paper. You imagine huge choruses, dramatic storytelling, incredible guitar work, and Freddie Mercury at the centre of it all.
Instead, what we got was something that often feels unfinished.
Not unfinished in a technical sense, but unfinished creatively.
Many of the tracks feel like pieces of a bigger puzzle rather than complete ideas. They work as part of a film, but they struggle to justify themselves outside of it.
The album is not completely terrible. There are enough good moments to stop it from being a disaster. “Flash”, “The Hero”, “Battle Theme”, and “Football Fight” are all worth hearing.
The problem is that four good tracks are not enough to carry an entire album.
Final Thoughts
I can appreciate what Queen were trying to achieve with Flash Gordon, but appreciation and enjoyment are two different things.
This is one of those albums that is more interesting to talk about than it is to listen to.
Its best moments remind you why Queen became one of the greatest bands of all time. Its worst moments remind you that even great bands can get things wrong.
As a soundtrack, it probably does its job well enough.
As a Queen album, it falls far below the standard they had already set for themselves.
There are flashes of brilliance here and there, but not enough to save a record that feels weighed down by dialogue, filler, and music that depends too heavily on the film it was written for.
For me, Flash Gordon is easily one of the weakest releases in Queen’s catalogue.
Score: 4/10
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