Even with modern-rock radio beginning to pull itself out of the Pearl Jam-alike rut, those ’70s-centric stations don’t sound so bad. Any format that can offer the Stones, ELO, and Sabbath in the same hour is working the edge of some sort of diversity. Love or hate ’em, Queen has survived in memory as one of the most unduplicable bands of the era. That’s where part of the problem with this affectionate but ultimately unsatisfying tip of the motorcycle cap lies; many of the group’s classiest tunes are avoided by Dragon Attack’s guest list of hard rock and metal veterans, as if they recognized the futility of trying to squeeze more out of “Somebody to Love” or “Killer Queen” than was present to begin with. There is a nice job done of massed vocals on “We Are the Champions,” though former Quiet Riot/Rough Cutt member (and This Is Spi¬nal Tap cast member) Paul Shortino’s vocal just doesn’t carry the same mythic buzz as Freddie Mercury’s. There’s one perfect match, maybe two, on “Tie Your Mother Down,” where Lemmy meets Ted Nugent and enlists both Freddie and the Great White Buffalo into the Motörhead Army. The irresistibility of Queen’s hits does come through, though, even if these professional over-the-toppers can’t match the over-the-topness of the originals.

—Rickey Wright