By time queen went in to the studio to record what would be, at that time, the most expensive album ever recorded, they had broken up with their manager, Norman Sheffield. A man so evil by all accounts that, despite having a number one hit, Freddie had to beg to borrow a few quid to buy a new piano. Shameless.
So, Freddie penned a screed so hateful, funny and lacerating that it could be used as a poison pen letter for, well, just about anyone or any circumstance warranting it.
The studio magic is effortless and leaps above anything they had done before. In a way it calls to mind Ogre Battle in it’s sheer bombast but there’s a biting subtlety or nuance to it.
Starting off with a piano as calliope, it descends into madness and then back to glam meets rock theater piece. It’s got teeth, this one, not just lyrically. This song is loaded for bear. Better heard on headphones, there’s so much going on, fitfully stopping, disappearing, starting again, soloing, it’s the kitchen sink of Queen.
And then it’s gone.
Fred’s pissed off but he’s still above it. On this track, he transforms himself from pomp rocker to the Oscar Wilde of music.
Grade: A+
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