The second track on Queen’s debut record is a dribbly ballad that wishes it was Zeppelin but comes across as a treacly ode to the burgeoning California sound. It breaks into sections, falls into a minor key, comes back as a jazzy groove number, it’s all over the place and then it explodes for no real reason. It’s a schizophrenic as a song could be. And just when you think it’s going to go over the top it submits to it’s own naive ineptitude and repeats this cycle, playing out as the hard rocker it never was and resolves itself to be a footnote in the band’s catalog. Co-written by Brian May’s Smile bandmate Tim Staffell, it’s the last time an outside co-writer would be included until the band’s final year. Good thing.
Grade: D+
