Queen
Jazz

THE REVIEW

Jazz? Jazz? Jazz? How so? No, dear readers! That's just nonsense. This is rock!

The Queen's album from 1978 titled “Jazz” has almost nothing of that genre but can be fully classified as the album, along with the debut one, being the most rock and roll of the Queen. A return of style? In some ways, yes, but, you know, at the time it was more seen as a “fall of style.” Sales were low, don't even mention America. Let's go through the tracks together and find out why.

1) “Mustapha”. Freddie Mercury, as previously mentioned, didn't love foreign languages and didn't love to tell anything about his life before London, i.e., Zanzibar and Panchgani (Bombay). Here, however, he truly surprises us. It’s a really captivating track with an Arab-musical scent that goes hand in hand with a bouncing rhythm. Freddie shoots words, without great “philosophy,” in a language he knew well and obsessively repeats “Mustapha Ibrahim, Allah prays for you!” He knew that language, it was his childhood tongue. There's a sense of anticipation in the piece, but there's no real text. A great explosion in a finale complete with choirs. Dizzying carousel.

2) “Fat Bottomed girls”. Sure, dedicating a track to girls with big bums turned out to be too brazen for the USA, but in Europe, it didn't do too badly. Written by May, it's a pounding in a great march style, but in a rock key with a sumptuous chorus in Queen style. At the time, many didn't like it, but it wasn't an insult because May encouraged the “fat-bottomed girls to turn this crazy world around.” Messy song, too much for Brian May.

3) “Jealousy”. Mercury's most melodic piece on the album. Certainly cliché, sweet, predictable, but one can't deny a splendid vocal performance by the Indo-English singer which turns any song into a gem. We Italians love these pieces. Elsewhere it didn't meet with success. I think it's right that way.

4) “Bicycle Race”. The emblematic track of the album. Still a splash in the style of “Mustapha” but much more articulated and varied. It goes from slow to fast, from bouncing to musical interruption with an orchestra made only of bicycle bells and a very funny riff by May. Truly ironic piece: “You say coke, I say caine, you say John, I say Wayne, you say smile, I say cheese” and many more to discover. The video with naked girls on bikes shocked everyone and caused the entire album to fall into the depths. This track is, on the contrary, worthy of the best Queen.

5) “If you can't beat them”. Written by an all-round author Deacon, very engaging rock where the bassist invites you to join the stronger ones if you cannot beat them. Surely a light rock. It suffers from lengthiness but there's a strong portrayal.

6) “Let me entertain you”. One of the most compelling songs in Rock history. I'm not exaggerating when I state this. Back then, Freddie really left everyone stunned who saw him live. He was a whirlwind, a pure-blooded entertainer. This is one of those tracks to play at 2000 watts to blow everything up! Heart-racing!!!

7) “Dead on Time”. One of May's pieces par excellence! One of the cult guitar pieces! A violent storm where Brian showcases his supreme guitar technique both in accompaniment and solo. Frenetic track, Freddie sings quickly just as May's “Red Special” travels at the speed of light. It conveys the sense of pressure and obsession today for the punctuality that wears us down. Full maturity of May, breath-taking song.

8) “In only seven days”. Oh, Deacon again! Incredible! He got a taste for it but, like Mercury's “Jealousy,” this too is a track inserted in the mix only to temper slightly too high rhythms. The strategy makes sense, but these slow pieces seem to lack great attention from the group, too focused on driving rock pieces. It narrates a fantastic week spent with a girl and revisits those 7 fantastic days. Romantic, Keatsian, nostalgic but of little depth. Nonetheless, it gives a good feeling.

9) “Dreamer's Ball”. Here it is, there's finally the only jazz track on the album! By May, of course! After the mish-mash of "News of the World," the Queen may have realized that filling an album with different styles in each track was pointless. Here, a bit of jazz goes perfectly, and the piece turns out to be, although not original and shocking, quite carefree, dreamy, simple but well-crafted in every detail. Certainly not outstanding but surely of high appreciation.

10) “Fun it”. Roger Taylor doesn't agree. He said he wanted to bring disco music to Queen and he did, imposing himself. Just like “Fight from the Inside,” even here, however, his desire for disco seems a bit jarring in the album. Queen were used to rock anthems, triumph, or draw from tradition. This has been their trademark so far. That's why the disco music still feels hybrid to them. “Fun it,” sung by the Freddie/Roger duo, isn't too bad and also draws a lot from rock counter-times. Taylor paved the way for the future Queen, but the real disco turn will be by Mercury and Deacon.

11) “Leaving home ain't easy”. Another slow piece and definitely the one with the most intense theme. Written and sung by May, it talks about how difficult it is to leave home when it's the last chance. Musically speaking, I suppose it's treated the same way as the other slower pieces, but it's the text that makes it so rich with emotion.

12) “Don't stop me now”. Anthological melodic rock'n'roll, purely perfect where Freddie Mercury lays out all his creative virtuosity, all his youthful zest, and his angelically celestial voice capable of adapting to all genres. No Freddie, back in those years, you were really someone no one could stop. A song hard to hate, like a work of art.

13) “No more of that Jazz”. I wonder: 'How is it possible that in an album where almost nothing was wrong so far and where the number of tracks is abundant, this half trash-half Queen musical creature can be inserted?' Yes, because it's actually a poor composition by Taylor (of which it only has the title jazz) and then there's a collage of parts from pieces of the entire album, an idea that could have been avoided. In the last albums, Queen had the best closures, but this time it's a misstep for Taylor and Queen included.

“Jazz” which also means “nonsense, tales” is a return to the old Queen, from the debut that play rock again without taking it too seriously (so much so that the “Bicycle Race” video buries them) now that they are famous. The disc turns out to be more homogeneous than the previous but less complex and experimental compared to “Queen II,” “A Night at the Opera,” and in some ways “A Day at the Races.” This coherence, however, makes it stand out compared to “News of the World.” It's undeniable that it churned out truly beautiful tracks, but when a group is born to shock like the first Queen did, going back to old habits and styles can lead to falls even if an album is well made.

The glories of the past start to weigh heavily…