Freddie Mercury & Monserrat Caballé
Barcelona

Let me start by saying: listening to this album, especially at first glance, is anything but easy, mainly because it is a completely different genre from Queen's albums and Mercury's other solo works.

In fact, this is a too redundant work, where the mere 8 songs have significant lengths, and at times very, very boring (see: "Ensueno," "Guide Me Home," "Overture Piccante"). Something less boring comes with "The Fallen Priest," and at this point, I can move on to the album's positive aspects.

The idea of "La Japonaise" with verses sung in Japanese is definitely original, and the title track is powerful, although, heard too many times, it can become "heavy." The two remaining tracks deserve a separate mention: "How Can I Go On" is surely one of the most emotional songs written by Freddie Mercury; what is regrettable is that the album, not having had much luck, led this song to fade into obscurity. However, the real masterpiece that adds a vote to the album is "The Golden Boy": a multifaceted song with a spectacular performance by Freddie both solo and in dialogue with the choir, even Caballé makes a good contribution to this piece, after having "ruined" a good part of the other songs.