Queen

I really think of this as the 3rd wave of Queen. At this point they’re just a group of guys who know how to push through and craft pop hits. Maybe they were always that way. Like “Under Pressure”, “One Vision” came out a group jam. And it sounds like it. Continue Reading

A slight ballad with just Freddie and Brian closes The Works and it’s the saddest and most socially conscious song the band has come up with so far.The world was awakening to the hunger problems in Africa and elsewhere so Freddie wrote some heartfelt lyrics that asked the title’s question. Continue Reading

Thanks, Brian. Not sure why “Hammer to Fall” comes so late on The Works, with it’s big Red Special crunchy chords, the (long missed) multi-layered chorus, it’s classic Queen. Freddie is in full snarl, the voice that made him one of the singularly greatest singers in rock history. The band Continue Reading

Apparently Queen’s obsession with Hollywood wasn’t quenched with Flash Gordon. They hitched their wagon to another crapfest. This time it was the movie adaptation of “The Hotel New Hampshire”. I have no idea how….what….why….. The title of the song is an oft-repeated mantra in the book. The cynicism is astounding. Continue Reading

The video, with the band crossdressing as characters from a British show that no one knew in the US is what killed Queen in the States once and for all. They would never recover. Truth is, they are wayyyyyy past their relevance at this point. This song may as well Continue Reading

Oh, Roger, you techno-embracer, you. It’s been obvious for a few records now and his own solo debut, that Roger is more interested in moving away from humans and toward programmed technology based music. Continuing the “Hey, we did it once before, let’s rewrite it!” template, this is “Calling All Continue Reading

So, if there’s one pattern on The Works, it’s that the band seems to be touching on all things familiar from their past and hodgepodging a record out of those ideas.Tear it Up is “It’s Late”.“It’s a Hard Life” is “The Game”.“Man on the Prowl” is “Crazy Little Thing…” A Continue Reading

Touching on their noted Opera tropes, Freddie’s paean to love opens with Vesti la Giubba from Paggliacci and then moves into more Queen-y territory.As a song, it could be “Play the Game Pt 2” and that’s not a bad thing. It’s fine. Not very exciting but if you like Freddie’s Continue Reading

Wait…what’s that sound?It’s a big ass drum sound…and a call for readiness…and some real crunchy guitars…and….a lead solo? Queen is back. The retro-fuck-techno sojourn has been put to rest, it seems, in favor of an “It’s Late” type stadium rocking sound from Brian May. Thank goodness. Ya can’t beat a Continue Reading

It’s a hit single for Roger! But…not without help. First. From his son. Who was listening to the radio and said, since he was a baby, “Radio Ca ca.” Certainly one can picture Roger, king of songs that are lethargic, indulgent and never happy or uplifting, thinking, “Yeah! That’s a Continue Reading