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Rating: We all agree that true great artists, the ones we call "icons," are born once among a thousand stars and starlets that crowd our charts. Despite what is said, Frederick Bulsara was indisputably a symbol, an icon, a legend.
Eclectic, extravagant, histrionic, his genius is responsible for songs that have entered history, true anthems like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "Who wants to live forever," "Let me live," "Innuendo." A forerunner of glam, the inventor of rock opera, a pioneer of the music video trend, the adjectives to describe this key figure of the international rock scene of all time are limitless. In him blended restlessness and candor, a joy of living alternated with moments of deep despair, but above all, courage, great courage to always be offbeat, out of the ordinary, and beyond common morality.
He did not hesitate to appear on stage in tight multicolored leotards (who doesn't remember the video of "Friends will be friends") that accentuated his athletic physique, nor did he hesitate to dress as a woman (in "I want to break free" he boasts a miniskirt that shows legs like a true top model) and, more importantly, he did not hide from the world first his nature as a happy homosexual and then the drama of his illness.
Perhaps one of the last true musical geniuses of our times, a sacred monster who left us too soon. The long discography of Queen continues to unveil musical gems that help illuminate Freddie's compositional and vocal talent, yet this album collects many spin-offs, many solo projects realized parallel to his work with Queen, which he never left but which allowed him to find himself as well.
Eleven "stylistic exercises" that deviate slightly from the imposing rock to which the Queen had accustomed us. "The great pretender," for example, is the cover of a famous sixties song also sung by Elvis, in whose video Freddie poses as a seducer declaring himself a liar who can also lie well, hiding his loneliness. Sumptuous voice and usual self-irony for a classic piece, but there is nothing old or boring about it. "Foolin around," "Let's turn it on," "Your kind of lover," they resemble each other a bit, small forays into easy pop from one who always made rock his bread and butter. Easy pieces, captivating rhythms, slightly subdued voice (almost disco-music in some parts) that nevertheless remain enjoyable. Beyond the fooling around, in some deeply autobiographical moments, we discover the torment of an artistic soul, with all its insecurities and fears. In "Mr. Bad Guy," Freddie talks about himself in a sacrilegious and playful manner as was his style. Well, know that he is indeed a real bad guy, and you can't help but like him for what he is, but it is in "In my defence" that he reveals all his pains. A piece with a wonderful melody, sincerely painful yet authentic, sung with a voice that is both suffering yet light, rising with the usual power to declare that he is just a singer with a song, that there is nothing he can do to fix what is wrong and in his defense... well, there is nothing else to say. There is still so much to say about the other tracks on this CD, the instrumental "Exercises in free love" (musically impeccable and poetic, Freddie could also be very "classical"), the super famous disco-glam chart-breaking single "Living on my own" that still today lights up the dance floors and that at the time launched the catchphrase "dee-do de-de, dee-do de-de." "Barcelona" was the anthem of the Spanish Olympics in 1992, a competition Freddie never saw but honored with his tenor voice, as delicate as a caress yet strong, in this prestigious duet with the Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballé where the two voices, the male rock and the female lyric, blend together to sing the praises of the Catalan city in an unexpected yet beautiful harmony.
But, as Freddie himself says in perhaps the most beautiful and suggestive piece on this CD, "Time waits for nobody" and this extraordinary character leaves us in 1991, after a life spent and told in music, in the studio until the last minutes when he was able to stand (the recordings of "Made in Heaven" continued even with him now skin and bones, in a wheelchair, frequently interrupted due to the resurgence of symptoms of his illness), surrounded by the affection of millions of fans around the world who mourned the genius, the recklessness, but above all the man who, struck by the "plague of the century," did not hide, but remained until the end in front of the cameras to denounce, to let his voice still be heard extraordinarily powerful and almost untouched by the virus, also in aid of those who, like him, knew they were inevitably destined to leave this Earth too soon.
His last image is that of the last frame of the video "These are the days of our lives," where neither the makeup nor the aid of black and white manage to conceal the thinness and the dark circles and it is precisely that gaunt face that murmurs "I still love you" that is the last image we have of an extraordinary rock interpreter, a trendsetter but a student of the great classics who made transgression his banner... we will always remember him triumphant in the jam-packed Wembley Stadium and in adoration as he bursts onto the scene with the crown and cloak... trying to think of him at the moment he attacked the oceanic crowds in a white leotard and yellow jacket playing sensually with the microphone stand, when the black beast that took him away was still far away... we miss you Freddie. We miss you because the music after you has never had such a weighty representative, we miss you because you knew you were great, but it seemed you didn't care, busy as you were teasing yourself and us. You said it yourself that no one lives forever, no one dares to love forever... and as you said in an interview... "C'est la vie"... someone still loves you.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 The Great Pretender (03:28)
Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Pretending I'm doing well (ooh ooh)
My need is such I pretend too much
I'm lonely but no one can tell
Oh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Adrift in a world of my own (ooh ooh)
I play the game but to my real shame
You've left me to dream all alone
Too real is this feeling of make believe
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal
Ooh Ooh yes I'm the great pretender (ooh ooh)
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not (you see)
I'm wearing my heart like a crown
Pretending that you're still around
Yeah ooh hoo
Too real when I feel what my heart can't conceal
Oh yes I'm the great pretender
Just laughing and gay like a clown (ooh ooh)
I seem to be what I'm not you see
I'm wearing my heart like a crown
Pretending that you're
Pretending that you're still around
02 Foolin' Around (03:36)
You're so beautiful, you just lay it on me
Foxy lady, you really are the greatest show in town
You want to play,
You wanna eat your cake and have it your way
You got it easy and you don't give a damn
Fooling around, you just keep fooling around with me.
Walking down the street, people watching closely
Such a tease, you can turn on any man you want
You masquerade,
You're the catch of the season every night and day
You, you, you don't have any time for me
You just keep fooling around with me.
Fooling around - everywhere I go you're the only,
Only, only sexy lady
Fooling around, all you do is keep me hanging around
You're really so hard to please
You've gotta really watch that, baby!
You just, you just, fooling around with me
You just, you just, fooling around with me
You keep fooling, you keep fooling
Fooling, fooling, fooling, fooling,
Fooling...
Want to play, but you always want it all your own way
You got it easy but you don't give a damn
Fooling around, you just keep fooling around with me.
You just keep fooling around with me, yeah
I'm a fool, fool, fool, fool for you baby,
Keep fooling around
I'm a fool, fool, fool, for you sexy baby,
Keep fooling around
I'm a fool, fool, fool, fool for you baby,
Keep fooling around
04 Your Kind of Lover (03:59)
Now you say you're leaving me
I just can't believe it's true
You're my kind of lover
Wanna little bit of feeling
Add a little bit of meaning to my life
I wanna little bit of feeling
A little bit of sunshine to my life
I wanna be your kind of lover
Give a little bit of feeling
Just a little bit of feeling
Add a little bit of meaning to my life
I wanna boogie down with you, brother
Boogie down with bassman
Win love on the grandslam
I'll be there waititng when you call.
Just step right into my heart
Come a little closer
Don't tell me that it's over
Make a brand new start
We can work it out just next to nothing
Work it out, work it out just next to nothing
With feeling, feeling, feeling, with feeling
We can work it out
Let me show what I can do,
I can be your kind of lover
We can work it out
Let me show what I can do,
I can be your kind of lover
I wanna be your kind of mother
Let's talk about loving right
Don't talk about doing wrong
Put a little bit of sense into your mind
We gotta talk it out man to man
Make each other understand
Right now a little happiness would be fine
Just step right into my heart
Come a little closer
Don't tell me that it's over
Make a brand new start
We can work it out just next to nothing
Work it out, work it out just next to nothing
With feeling, feeling, feeling, with feeling
We can work it out
Let me show what I can do, I can be your kind of lover
We can work it out
Let me show what I can do, I can be your kind of lover
Your kind of lover
06 In My Defence (03:52)
In my defence what is there to say
All the mistakes we made must be faced today
It's not easy now knowing where to start
While the world we love tears itself apart
I'm just a singer with a song
How can I try to right the wrong
For just a singer with a melody
I'm caught in between
With a fading dream
In my defence what is there to say
We destroy the love - it's our way
We never listen enough never face the truth
Then like a passing song
Love is here and then it's gone
I'm just a singer with a song
How can I try to right the wrong
For just a singer with a melody
I'm caught in between
With a fading dream
I'm just a singer with a song
How can I try to right the wrong
I'm just a singer with a melody
I'm caught in between with a fading dream
Caught in between with a fading dream
Caught in between with a fading dream
Oh what on earth
Oh what on earth
How do I try
Do we live or die
Oh help me God
Please help me
07 Mr. Bad Guy (03:56)
Let's go chasing rainbows in the sky
It's my invitation
Let's all take a trip on my ecstasy
I'm Mr. Bad Guy
Yes, I'm everybody's Mr Bad Guy
Can't you see I'm Mr. Mercury
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me
Your big daddy's got no place to stay
Bad communication
I feel like the President of the USA
Mr. Bad Guy, yes I'm everybody's Mr Bad Guy
Can't you see I'm Mr. Mercury
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me
I'm Mr. Bad Guy, they're all afraid of me
I can ruin people's lives
Mr. Bad Guy, they're all afraid of me
It's the only way to be
That's my destiny
Mr. Bad Guy, Mr. Bad Guy, Mr. Bad Guy
It's the only way to be
It's my destiny, oh yeah
Mr. Bad Guy, yes I'm everybody's Mr Bad Guy
Can't you see this is my destiny
Oh, spread your wings and fly away with me
08 Let's Turn It On (03:46)
Let's turn it on, and get everybody thinking, thinking,
thinking,
Let's turn it on, everybody song and dancing, dancing,
dancing,
Let's turn it on, let's turn it on,
All the people got to get the right impression
Turn it on, turn it on, turn it on,
Why don't we turn it on and let's stop everybody fighting.
Let's get it on, let's get everybody jumping,
Let's get it on and get everybody stamping,
Let's get it on, let's get it on,
All the people got to get the right impression,
Let's get it on, turn it on, and let's get everybody dancing.
Let's turn it on, yeah
Nobody is giving it up, yeah, yeah,
Everybody is living it up, yeah,
Everybody is living it up, living it up, let's turn it on,
Yeah, nobody is giving it up, everybody is living it up, yeah,
Everybody is living it up
Let's turn it on, turn it on, yeah,
Dancing, dancing, dancing, dancing
Let's turn it on, and get everybody swinging,
Let's turn it on, get right into that lovely feeling,
Let's turn it on, yeah, come on all you people get together,
Turn it on, turn it on, turn it on,
And let's get everybody dancing.
Turn it on and get everybody happy,
Let's turn it on, let's make everybody happy,
Let's turn it on, let's turn it on,
come on all you, all you happy people together,
Turn it on, yeah, turn it on, turn it on,
Let's make everybody crazy!
09 Living on My Own (03:39)
Sometimes I feel I'm gonna break down and cry (so lonely)
nowhere to go nothing to do with my time
I get lonely so lonely living on my own
Sometimes I feel I'm gonna break down and cry (so lonely)
nowhere to go nothing to do with my time
I get lonely so lonely living on my own
Sometimes I feel I'm always walking too fast
and everything is coming down on me down on me
I go crazy oh so crazy living on my own
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I don't have no time for the monkey business
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I get so lonely lonely lonely yeah
got to be some good times ahead
sometimes I feel nobody gives me no warning
find my head is always up in the clouds
in a dream world
It's not easy living on my own
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I don't have no time for the monkey business
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I get so lonely lonely lonely yeah
got to be some good times ahead
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I don't have no time for the monkey business
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I get so lonely lonely lonely yeah
got to be some good times ahead
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I don't have no time for the monkey business
Dee do da da Dee do da da
I get so lonely lonely lonely yeah
got to be some good times ahead
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Other reviews
By claudio12345
I cannot consider it the BEST OF FREDDIE MERCURY, which could have been achieved by adding songs like THERE MUST BE MORE TO LIFE THAN THIS or LOVE ME LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW.
'IN MY DEFENCE is one of Freddie’s best-sung songs... the chorus is powerful and energetic.'
