Okay, today’s a bonus day. Two songs for one day! But, not really.
Jesus is awful. It’s a trippy, neo-quasi-semi psychedelic telling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. It wasn’t uncommon for metal bands to mine the bible (or Tolkien, or the middle ages) for material. I don’t recall anyone being as blatant as this entry by Queen. It’s a pretty boring song and it ends a mediocre album for good reason. If you made it to the end you might become a fan. With it’s plodding, marching rock sound meets Andrew Lloyd Webber-esque flowing robes/flower power sentiment, it’s just a long exercise of dumb rock. May’s solo toward the end shows some promise, though.
Now, I can’t totally blame Queen for all of the mess that this song and the rest of the album is. They only got to record on off hours as part of their deal with their management and Trident Studios. So, it’s no wonder the record is a hodgepodge. Things would only get better.
Right?
The other song is the actual album closer. A “coda” if you will. The legend goes that Freddie wasn’t done writing “Seven Seas of Rhye” but they included what they had anyway. It sounds incomplete. Like a band that has great ideas but not enough time or money to complete them. Freddie’s playing hints at some really great things to come. I’ve always been curious about the decision to put a half written, not entirely conceived song on an album. Seems like a weird thing to do. It’s not like it’s long enough to qualify as “filler”. Oh, well. They’ll get back to it.
Jesus Grade: D
Seven Seas of Rhye: C
No Vid for Seven Seas. You’re just gonna have to wait….trust me.
