QUEEN SURVIVOR: Results - Innuendo wins!
- Thread starter Mosh
- Start date
I guess it's no surprise this survivor stalled at The Works, Queen's safest, blandest, most corporate, least interesting album.
Remember when Queen boasted about no synthesizers? Radio Gaga is soulless, calculated, programmed pop. It's also well-sung, well-constructed and catchy. Don't mind the song at all, but it doesn't inspire any strong feelings.
It's interesting that after saying fuck you again to the rock fans disillusioned by Hot Space with the opening track, Queen immediately panders to them with track two. I don't mind Tear It Up at all; it's fun. But let's not kid ourselves, it is a blatant, calculated Billy Squier rip-off, right after Squier kicked their asses as the opening act on the Hot Space tour.
I'm of two minds about It's A Hard Life: in the context of the first two songs, its pretty difficult not to read it as a deliberate pandering to the old fans; on the other hand, it's a fine Freddy ballad and a good song.
And the calculation continues with Man on the Prowl: "hey, let's do Elvis again; the fans ate it up last time." Like so much of this album, it is well-put-together, inoffensive and completely lacking any emotional resonance.
I like the rhythm guitars and groove on Machines (Or Back To Humans), a song with some ridiculously dated effects, and lyrics loaded with embarrassing irony. The song never really takes off, but at least it sounds like they were trying for something different here, even if they don't really succeed.
I Want to Break Free works for me. And I think it's because Freddy sounds like he is really feeling the lyrics - an outstanding vocal performance. The orchestrations and that classic Brian guitar sound cutting through in spots meld the traditional Queen sound with the synth-pop sounds of that era. It's soulless pop, but good soulless pop.
A lot of what I wrote above also applies to Keep Passing the Open Windows. The little keyboard run is a good hook and used tastefully.
Say what you will about anthemic rock, but Queen does it well. Hammer to Fall is a good example. Simple riff, catchy melodies, interesting solo, with those lush Queen background vocals supporting Freddy's emotive leads - it's very by-the-numbers, but it wears like a favourite old pair of jeans.
The band has always walked a fine line between the gloriously unself-conscious and cringeworthily vulnerable. Is This the World We Created? flirts with danger but walks that line successfully. Smart of them to keep it so brief.
I don't mind most of the songs on The Works, but as a collection, it's an ultimately disappointing effort aimed primarily at reclaiming the commercial status killed by Hot Space. They aren't creating inspired art here. They're just four guys doing a job.
Remember when Queen boasted about no synthesizers? Radio Gaga is soulless, calculated, programmed pop. It's also well-sung, well-constructed and catchy. Don't mind the song at all, but it doesn't inspire any strong feelings.
It's interesting that after saying fuck you again to the rock fans disillusioned by Hot Space with the opening track, Queen immediately panders to them with track two. I don't mind Tear It Up at all; it's fun. But let's not kid ourselves, it is a blatant, calculated Billy Squier rip-off, right after Squier kicked their asses as the opening act on the Hot Space tour.
I'm of two minds about It's A Hard Life: in the context of the first two songs, its pretty difficult not to read it as a deliberate pandering to the old fans; on the other hand, it's a fine Freddy ballad and a good song.
And the calculation continues with Man on the Prowl: "hey, let's do Elvis again; the fans ate it up last time." Like so much of this album, it is well-put-together, inoffensive and completely lacking any emotional resonance.
I like the rhythm guitars and groove on Machines (Or Back To Humans), a song with some ridiculously dated effects, and lyrics loaded with embarrassing irony. The song never really takes off, but at least it sounds like they were trying for something different here, even if they don't really succeed.
I Want to Break Free works for me. And I think it's because Freddy sounds like he is really feeling the lyrics - an outstanding vocal performance. The orchestrations and that classic Brian guitar sound cutting through in spots meld the traditional Queen sound with the synth-pop sounds of that era. It's soulless pop, but good soulless pop.
A lot of what I wrote above also applies to Keep Passing the Open Windows. The little keyboard run is a good hook and used tastefully.
Say what you will about anthemic rock, but Queen does it well. Hammer to Fall is a good example. Simple riff, catchy melodies, interesting solo, with those lush Queen background vocals supporting Freddy's emotive leads - it's very by-the-numbers, but it wears like a favourite old pair of jeans.
The band has always walked a fine line between the gloriously unself-conscious and cringeworthily vulnerable. Is This the World We Created? flirts with danger but walks that line successfully. Smart of them to keep it so brief.
I don't mind most of the songs on The Works, but as a collection, it's an ultimately disappointing effort aimed primarily at reclaiming the commercial status killed by Hot Space. They aren't creating inspired art here. They're just four guys doing a job.
I consider this a return to form for them. It's pretty overproduced, but the songwriting is back in form. Some of their best songs on here, like One Vision, Princes of the Universe, and One Year of Love. Finally it feels like Queen is back on track.
I don't think A Kind of Magic is a great album, but it is a damn sight better than the two that came before.
When you look at Turbo, 5150, even Somewhere in Time, One Vision fits very well with the sound of it's time. It's also a solid rock song, made for the arena, uptempo, with a catchy riff and chorus and enough changes to stay interesting.
It is the same type of song as Radio Gaga and I Want to Break Free, but A Kind of Magic never got the same kind of commercial attention, at least in my part of the world. Not sure why, because to my ears, it's just as accessible and more musically interesting with that lazy groove and some nice band interplay.
Of all the schmaltzy songs in the Queen catalogue, One Year of Love might be the schmaltziest. Tooting sax fills, lush production, cornball lyric...it is the opposite of the type of music I generally gravitate too. It is saved by Mercury's vocal. He is so on fire, it just burns through everything else.
Pain and Pleasure is another lush, twee, groovy track, miles a way from the type of music that drew me to Queen. Like the two preceding tracks it works for me better than some of the band's other work in this area. They just seem more comfortable in the genre here. This one is a lesser track than the two that came before though.
The latter can be said of Friends Will Be Friends. This one is closer to a more "traditional" Queen and even flirts with some rock guitar in the mid-section. You'd think it might make it resonate more, but it does the opposite, like their heart is not quite in that spot any more.
The over-the-top drama of Who Wants to Live Forever exactly combines the theatrical bombast of early Queen with the polished production and composition values of the mid-eighties. It is also very much movie score music and has withstood the test of time very well. Despite one strong challenger, it is the best track on the album.
The rock riffing is suitably jagged and the bagpipes-style instrumental section is great, but Gimme the Prize falls short of its potential because of the slick production. I have no issues with the movie injecting itself into the track, it just needs a grittier sound and better melody. It does add a welcome rock element to the album stew.
Twenty-five years ago, the sappier songs would have been my picks for the album's weak points. Today, Don't Lose Your Head is the easy choice. This style was so much better realized a few years later on Ride the Wild Wind. Here it comes across as a weak club groove interlude rather than fully-realized song. Maybe it's a few bits of The Highlander soundtrack that got forced into an album track. The bridge is insipid.
The second-best song on the album is easily Princes of the Universe. Such a kickass boast, musically and lyrically; it is as much a declaration of the band as it is a theme for the movie. Very much underrated.
I still get the sense that Queen was still very much pulling in four separate directions here, but they are starting to pull in directions where they seem more comfortable in their own skins, making the music they want to make. A Kind of Magic is not a great album, but it has its moments and is worth a listen.
When you look at Turbo, 5150, even Somewhere in Time, One Vision fits very well with the sound of it's time. It's also a solid rock song, made for the arena, uptempo, with a catchy riff and chorus and enough changes to stay interesting.
It is the same type of song as Radio Gaga and I Want to Break Free, but A Kind of Magic never got the same kind of commercial attention, at least in my part of the world. Not sure why, because to my ears, it's just as accessible and more musically interesting with that lazy groove and some nice band interplay.
Of all the schmaltzy songs in the Queen catalogue, One Year of Love might be the schmaltziest. Tooting sax fills, lush production, cornball lyric...it is the opposite of the type of music I generally gravitate too. It is saved by Mercury's vocal. He is so on fire, it just burns through everything else.
Pain and Pleasure is another lush, twee, groovy track, miles a way from the type of music that drew me to Queen. Like the two preceding tracks it works for me better than some of the band's other work in this area. They just seem more comfortable in the genre here. This one is a lesser track than the two that came before though.
The latter can be said of Friends Will Be Friends. This one is closer to a more "traditional" Queen and even flirts with some rock guitar in the mid-section. You'd think it might make it resonate more, but it does the opposite, like their heart is not quite in that spot any more.
The over-the-top drama of Who Wants to Live Forever exactly combines the theatrical bombast of early Queen with the polished production and composition values of the mid-eighties. It is also very much movie score music and has withstood the test of time very well. Despite one strong challenger, it is the best track on the album.
The rock riffing is suitably jagged and the bagpipes-style instrumental section is great, but Gimme the Prize falls short of its potential because of the slick production. I have no issues with the movie injecting itself into the track, it just needs a grittier sound and better melody. It does add a welcome rock element to the album stew.
Twenty-five years ago, the sappier songs would have been my picks for the album's weak points. Today, Don't Lose Your Head is the easy choice. This style was so much better realized a few years later on Ride the Wild Wind. Here it comes across as a weak club groove interlude rather than fully-realized song. Maybe it's a few bits of The Highlander soundtrack that got forced into an album track. The bridge is insipid.
The second-best song on the album is easily Princes of the Universe. Such a kickass boast, musically and lyrically; it is as much a declaration of the band as it is a theme for the movie. Very much underrated.
I still get the sense that Queen was still very much pulling in four separate directions here, but they are starting to pull in directions where they seem more comfortable in their own skins, making the music they want to make. A Kind of Magic is not a great album, but it has its moments and is worth a listen.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Dragon Attack is eliminated yet Best Friend...
I would love to see Queen do something similar to what The Beatles did with Let It Be and release remixes of the last three Queen albums with a more raw sound. I like a lot of the music but the songwriting is spoiled by the thin artificial sounding production.
I liked the Miracle - the second Queen album I ever bought - better I remembered.
It pales next to the behemoth double-shot that opened News of the World, but the Party/Khashoggi's Ship is harmless bit of lightweight, mostly forgettable hard rock fun - each brief enough not to offend, each needing a more muscular sound.
The dry production better befits the more progressive nature of The Miracle. It has some nice melodies and a varied mix of sections that slide together pretty seamlessly. It might be the most natural-sounding blend of Queen's '80s pop sheen and its more adventurous '70s identity.
What the title track lacks in toughness the album makes up for with the follow-up track. I Want It All is everything a hard rock anthem should be: catchy, emotional, tough. Great riff, great verse, great chorus, great break. No one can do these arena songs like Queen and Freddy sounds so great.
Has anyone written more catchy bass lines than John Deacon? Throbbing and relentless, it powers the dance-pop of The Invisible Man. Not a huge fan of the breakdown before it, but the bridge adds a rock touch emphasized by Brian's Gatling gun scattershot guitar solo and accents. Michael Jackson would be proud.
I'm not sure why the unabashed bright pop of Breakthru works for me, but it's just bright, sunny fun.
Despite the subject matter, I'd say the same about Rain Must Fall. It's pure puffery, and I have to be in a mood, but since I'm writing this from my sunny deck after a pint of Whistler Coastal Common Lager, I'm feeling it.
After three straight light pop tracks, it was a good decision to segue into one of few tracks on the album with any depth. Taylor and Deacon lay down a serious groove and Freddy emotes the hell out of the lyrics. Scandal isn't a good song for '80s Queen, it's just a good song.
Deacon lays down another slinky groove between Taylor's precise accents on My Baby Does Me, while May showcases his versatility with some heart-tugging fills. Freddy is a little too much here, but for a lightweight song, it has some tasty parts.
If there is one song the thin production hurts a lot, it's the closer. Was It All Worth It? is Queen at its bombastic best with a chunky riff, huge chorus and all kinds of orchestral flourishes. If the tinny keyboard washes were switched out for fuller sounds befitting the composition, it might rank among some of the all-time tracks. Still one of the album's best.
I think the production is too thin, and at least half the album is filled with the type of music I usually don't like. Yet I can play The Miracle from start to finish and usually find myself unconsciously humming the melodies and tapping along to the rhythms. I think the best conclusion I can make from that is the band is back in terms of writing and performing the music it wants to, and to the best of its considerable talents.
It pales next to the behemoth double-shot that opened News of the World, but the Party/Khashoggi's Ship is harmless bit of lightweight, mostly forgettable hard rock fun - each brief enough not to offend, each needing a more muscular sound.
The dry production better befits the more progressive nature of The Miracle. It has some nice melodies and a varied mix of sections that slide together pretty seamlessly. It might be the most natural-sounding blend of Queen's '80s pop sheen and its more adventurous '70s identity.
What the title track lacks in toughness the album makes up for with the follow-up track. I Want It All is everything a hard rock anthem should be: catchy, emotional, tough. Great riff, great verse, great chorus, great break. No one can do these arena songs like Queen and Freddy sounds so great.
Has anyone written more catchy bass lines than John Deacon? Throbbing and relentless, it powers the dance-pop of The Invisible Man. Not a huge fan of the breakdown before it, but the bridge adds a rock touch emphasized by Brian's Gatling gun scattershot guitar solo and accents. Michael Jackson would be proud.
I'm not sure why the unabashed bright pop of Breakthru works for me, but it's just bright, sunny fun.
Despite the subject matter, I'd say the same about Rain Must Fall. It's pure puffery, and I have to be in a mood, but since I'm writing this from my sunny deck after a pint of Whistler Coastal Common Lager, I'm feeling it.
After three straight light pop tracks, it was a good decision to segue into one of few tracks on the album with any depth. Taylor and Deacon lay down a serious groove and Freddy emotes the hell out of the lyrics. Scandal isn't a good song for '80s Queen, it's just a good song.
Deacon lays down another slinky groove between Taylor's precise accents on My Baby Does Me, while May showcases his versatility with some heart-tugging fills. Freddy is a little too much here, but for a lightweight song, it has some tasty parts.
If there is one song the thin production hurts a lot, it's the closer. Was It All Worth It? is Queen at its bombastic best with a chunky riff, huge chorus and all kinds of orchestral flourishes. If the tinny keyboard washes were switched out for fuller sounds befitting the composition, it might rank among some of the all-time tracks. Still one of the album's best.
I think the production is too thin, and at least half the album is filled with the type of music I usually don't like. Yet I can play The Miracle from start to finish and usually find myself unconsciously humming the melodies and tapping along to the rhythms. I think the best conclusion I can make from that is the band is back in terms of writing and performing the music it wants to, and to the best of its considerable talents.
Deus_Adrian
Prince of the Final Frontier
Actually I like the Miracle over any of the albums past The Game. There is not a single throwaway track on this one. Innuendo is good but the sentimental value on it is higher than the actual quality of the music.