I’m on the fence about this one. Queen has always had a penchant for schmaltz but with Freddie in the throes of full blown AIDS they really seemed to step up the maudlin.
I think the nadir of this song (Besides lyrics like “the one thing we’re all waiting for is peace on Earth and end to war”) is Freddie’s spoken word call and response that comes in the second half.
For latter day Queen this is also the apex, however, because by the late 80s nearly every bloated ROCK BAND had been infected with Live Aid, Farm Aid, Kampuchea-itis. It was everywhere. Rock was so socially conscious that it was inescapable. This was your father’s rock. It had to die.
A shame, really. But, not unexpected. You can only re-invent the wheel once. Mayyyybe twice. But, eventually you get comfortable. Like in a marriage or a friendship.
I think the thing I like the LEAST about this song is how it starts to rock nera the end and, just when you have hope, the uptempo rocker portion of the song is overtaken by more schmaltz, a hand holdy chant of “A time will come, one day, you’ll see, when we can all be friends…”
Yuck. And, surprise, surprise, it was written by Deacon and Mercury.
I guess I wasn’t really on the fence after all.
Grade: D+
