re: How awesome was Freddie Mercury?

I was listening to Night At the Odeon this morning. Every time I listen to it, I'm gobsmacked at how good of a band this was (at full strength). The version of "White Queen (As it Began)" from this is a great example.
Queen I / II were recorded at the "state of the art" Trident Studios, which were fairly new at the time. Even though Roy Thomas Baker was producer, you can't forget that the band was only allowed to record only during the "down time" in the studio, because they weren't actually signed to a label yet. In essence, the studio acted as their label for a while.
They were basically allowed to do whatever they wanted to do in the studio, and May has said that they decided to explore the full potential of the studio, essentially using the studio as a 5th member of the band.
When you consider the technology that was available at the time, the first 4-5 albums are arguably masterpieces, and show just how innovative this band truly was.