In this episode, I thank you for putting up with my podcasting learning curve. I’m used to singing into a microphone, but not talking into one.
I observe the 22nd anniversary of the death of Freddie Mercury, one of my favorite musicians of all time. He was born Farrokh Bulsara, but chose the best stage name ever. Just like when JFK was assassinated, people remember where they were when they found out Freddie died. I was in Weatherford, Oklahoma, finishing up my degree with classes like bowling and tennis. I was dating a grunge girl.
Freddie was one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. I went over to my best friend, Phil’s, apartment, and we listened to Queen and tried to come to terms with the bad news.
Queen’s Greatest Hits from about 1981 was the first Queen record I bought. It had “Bicycle Race” and “Fat Bottomed Girls” on it, and I was only ten or eleven years old, but I liked that. “Flash” was a huge hit, and I love it. I even try to sing it for you. “The Game” was the first rock record I ever bought, and it changed my life. I also bought “The Long Run” at the same time. My grandma bought them for me at KMart. I bet she thought I was going into a phase. The Eagles were good, but not as good as Queen.
“The Game” was the first Queen album to use synthesizers. They always created their futuristic sound just with Brian May’s guitar. “Play the Game” is an emotional hammer, followed by the funky “Dragon Attack”. “Need You Loving Tonight”, “Crazy Little Thing” etc. They all sang except Deacon. “Prime Jive” is sung by the drummer and it rocks! The album ends with some ballads that will knock you in the dirt. I implore you to seek out that album.
The next album of theirs I got into was “The Works” with “Radio Gaga” on it. It had some other minor hits like “I Want To Break Free”. “It’s a Hard Life” sounds just like “Play the Game”. There were lots of synths on that album, but not as many as on “Hot Space”, which sounds like a sequenced album. I talk about “Life Is Real”, which Freddie wrote for John Lennon.
I got into “Innuendo” a lot, which was in 1991, the year Freddie died. It had a different sound. Freddie was very sick and almost couldn’t sing sometimes. He had a strong will to perform, and it wasn’t for money. He could play piano better than Elton John. There are some full length shows on YouTube you should watch. “The Show Must Go On” closed the album, and Freddie was really hurting when he recorded it.
In 1988 I got Queen II. It’s a very different album, talking about fairies and stuff, like Tolkien. “Ogre Battle” is as complex as Metallica. I bought an import CD that had a pound notes price sticker on it, which made me proud.
“Sheer Heart Attack” is a rocker and has a great cover. You should check it out. It’s got “Killer Queen” on it and “Now I’m Here”, as well as the gay anthem of all time, “Misfire”. John Deacon wrote it and played guitar. Freddie sings like an angel and there is much double entendre.
Then they did a trio of albums named after Marx Brothers movies. The first two, “A Day at the Races” and “A Night at the Opera” are the finest example of layered rock music ever. I bought a gold plated CD of “Opera”. Both of these albums have period pieces like vaudeville on them. British families after the war learned instruments and had family time together playing songs. They didn’t watch TV.
“Made In Heaven” is the final Queen album. The cover is beautiful and looking at it made me tear up. It features Freddie in front of Lake Geneva. Freddie was dying during the recording, but the song’s messages are hopeful. That was Freddie, and I miss him.
I speculate whether Freddie’s buck teeth contributed to who he became as a performer. Samson had his hair, and Barbara has her nose, and Freddie had his teeth. I saw a picture of him as a child and his teeth were huge. That humbled him. Now kids have too much unearned self-esteem. I used to feel like I was showing off just by wearing sunglasses. Freddie faced down what stared him in the mirror and overcame it as the biggest star on Earth.
Next, I observe the 45th anniversary of the Kinks “We Are the Village Green Preservation Society” album, which is a masterpiece. They are the quintessential British band. The album has lots of character studies and role playing inspired by the Beatles. The Village Green is a working class place in the post war era mentioned on multiple albums. The post war era was very influential to British bands like the Stones, the Who, and others. They were very worldly at a young age. All the Kinks albums of the period were loose concept albums. Ray Davies was lamenting the passing of old British traditions on these albums. He was part of the cultural change, but at the same time he was melancholy about it. The album came out in 1968 and was recorded at Pye Studios. Ray produced it. You wouldn’t know the songs unless you like the Kinks, but all the songs are good.
My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com. You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter @PaperbackRocker. Email me at [email protected]. Thanks for listening!