Back after a long absence, in between other writing and musical activities.
Back after a long absence, in between other writing and musical activities.
Member since:13.07.2000
Reviews:258
Members who trust:44
While Queen showed an uncanny ability to stay abreast of changing musical fads and fashions most of the time without falling flat on their faces, by the early 1980s it was starting to look if they had had their day. Blondie and the Boomtown Rats both made mediocre bandwagon-jumping albums in 1982, the same year that Queen came up with the similarly ersatz funk-influenced 'Hot Space', their weakest ever.
Thankfully they redeemed themselves with 'The Works', by and large a return to what they did best. Though it has its faults, it certainly remains their best album of the later years.
Several tracks were potential singles - and in fact, within a year of the album's release, all nine cuts had also appeared on the A- or B-side of new singles (albeit with differences, for which read on).
'Radio Ga Ga' was the first and most successful (No. 2), and though one of their perennial
favourites, I admit to finding this one of my less preferred Queen hits. Clever lyrics, crafty use of synth percussion, yes, and a brilliant track if you loved the Thompson Twins and the rest of the New Romantic mega-names - which I for one didn't. 'I Want To Break Free' (No. 3) was much better, with an impassioned vocal from Freddie which, though intended as an angry love song, was later adopted as a rallying anthem by freedom campaigners in developing countries, rather ironically in view of the Sun City controversy. The notorious drag video, however, was ample proof that the group didn't take the song too seriously. [Note - this album version is shorter than and inferior to the single version, as it excludes the majestic synth intro and part of the instrumental break].
The third single was one of Freddie's best ballads, the grandiose, mock-operatic 'It's a Hard Life' (No. 6). The track chosen as a follow-up is my personal favourite, 'Hammer to Fall' (No. 13). Probably the most hard-rocking track on the album, it had a passionate anti-nuclear message in the lyrics - "What the hell we fighting for - Just surrender and it won't hurt at all". (In the light of recent events, it's arguably more relevant than ever before) In contrast to 'Break Free', the album version is about 40 seconds longer than the single edit, with a longer lead guitar break that makes the edit, still to be heard on 'Greatest Hits II', sound tame by comparison. I saw the Brian May Band live in 1993 and this song, one of the encores, really brought the house down.
It says much for the band's versatility that all four tracks were penned by different members of the band. Of the remaining five tracks, special mentions for 'Tear It Up' and 'Machines' are a gritty mix of rock and funk, the latter having something to say on the subject of technology taking over and dehumanising the world. 'Man On The Prowl' is a playful rock'n'roll song - yes, why shouldn't Queen take on the then very successful Shakin' Stevens on his own ground.
With 'Is This The World We Created', a short acoustic closing song, the opening line "Just think of all those hungry mouths we have to feed", proved extremely prescient in the year which was to end with Band Aid dominating not only the charts but the entire musical scene in a way which none of us who can recall the age will never forget. OK, maybe it's easy for four millionaires to pontificate on Third World hunger - but this isn't the place to debate the issue - and many of us will remember the song being performed at Wembley shortly before the UK finale in July 1985.
To sum up, this was a good album on a musical level, and lyrically it was a cut above the rest as well. So much for the plus points. The minus points are that this album represents questionable value for money, with only around 38 minutes playing time. EMI have reissued this on CD, duplicating the original 1984 vinyl release. A recent US CD reissue includes three bonus tracks, extended versions of 'Radio Ga Ga' and 'I Want To Break Free', plus 'I Go Crazy', the original B-side of 'Radio Ga Ga'. The inclusion of these tracks, plus the 1984 stand-alone A-side 'Thank God It's Christmas' (which I think is one of the best festive singles of all time) on the CD, would have been a good idea.
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Excellent review. I want to get this on CD to replace my old vinyl copy, but as you say, the current UK edition isn't really worth the full-price EMI are STILL charging for it. If your suggested re-issue (a great idea, btw) ever materialzes, I'll definitely add it to my collection. Cheers, J.
spangle359 03.10.2001 23:53
Great Op...easy to read and enjoyable....thanks caroline:)
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JOHNV 30.09.2001 16:18
Thanks for the comments below. No Hannah, I don't write for a music magazine. But for several years I reviewed records (all sorts, mainly pop/rock/dance) for our local regional mewspaper group, used to edit and write for a 70s fanzine (fun, but time-consuming and a major financial burden), wrote three articles for Record Collector in the 80s (they paid me for all three, but only published one), was commissioned fo a few entries in Guinness Rockopaedia in 1997, and have done a couple of biographies for CD booklets. Nice work when you can get it, but it's often a matter of luck and being in the right place at the right time!
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