Queen
Made in Heaven

THE REVIEW

November 25, 1991: a myth fades, a legend lives on.

Freddie Mercury leaves this world, not without a stir, with a testament that was already Innuendo but would be, four years later, Made In Heaven.

In his last months of life, in precarious conditions, Freddie strives to record new vocal tracks to entrust to his companions, along with others belonging to solo projects or old discarded recordings. Brian, John, and Roger gather what their frontman left them to craft the final album of the Queen phenomenon; a strange album that I find different from the usual. But comments to follow, let's move on to the album.

Having purchased the CD, Freddie's statue stands before us: Made In Heaven recounts him, turning him into notes.

First track, here begins It's A Beautiful Day: a light play of synth, piano, and John's riff on which Freddie's voice rests. He sings that no one will stop him, because this is a beautiful day; indeed, he's no longer here, but no one will ever stop him. This melody gives the entire album a decidedly nostalgic atmosphere, which is the purpose of the entire composition. At the core, there is emotion, nothing else.

Made In Heaven, Brian awakens and gives us a taste of the majestic riffs that have always made a difference in any Queen composition; made in Heaven, a deliberately and rightly pretentious track, the Queen are here, they are playing.

Here comes one of my favorite tracks, Let Me Live. A composition that plays on the piano and a slightly saturated guitar, it's a party that everyone partakes in, even in the singing. Well, not John, but as we know, he's hopeless, the poor bassist; but perhaps we do hear his little voice in the chorus... Brian's solo has a frightening effect, with an incredible alternation of feelings, from carefreeness to reflection, much like the whole song. Very delicate, precise, right.

Mother Love, in the end, I think it's the track that transmits all it can convey. One of the songs I would recommend to anyone. The words of a man now near the end, resigned, almost shattered but still able to stagger, still able to think about what once was, and prays to feel those sensations once more. After Innuendo, it was hard to imagine such an emotional collaboration between a voice and a guitar: Freddie draws out the words with suffering, the guitar is astonishing, I go crazy listening to every single soft note. A spine-chilling solo, completely clean, there is nostalgia, pathos, suffering, fear, the end. Freddie didn't manage to sing even the last verse, the challenging task fell to Brian May, who fulfilled it by singing as he knows how and managing to convey his state of mind with just four words. The final flashback is terrifying, I say no more. The most emotional moment.

My Life Has Been Saved brings us back afloat, at least the melody gives us a bit of carefreeness. It's more of a breath of fresh air after crying, but it's not as serene as it might seem; Freddie speaks to us about what he sees in today's world, with resignation. In reality, though, his life wasn't saved.

I Was Born To Love You is the only truly calm track, a snippet of carefree love, no torment.

Heaven For Everyone attempts and succeeds in creating an entirely peculiar atmosphere: despondent relaxation of two tracks ago, the theme is more or less that. The world could be serene and it's not; I think it better conveys the idea than the other track. Freddie is relaxing, he's simply sharing his thoughts on an empty afternoon.

Here is the track I am most attached to, Too Much Love Will Kill You. Dying of love. There is suffering, descending into golden shadows. A magical voice, an astounding sound, loops of stunning simplicity for the effect they produce. In the solo, Brian wants to speak after Freddie; the guitar weeps profusely, the heart is broken, the wound can't be healed. It's impressive how this track can bring tears to the eyes, experience it with the heart, there's no better way, and I can't find other words.

You Don't Fool Me as a piece never thrilled me, except for the initial notes which are highly evocative and used repeatedly by Queen; a beautiful solo that doesn't share much with the others described, in my opinion (Brian has class always and anyway, though). It's a kind of Drum n' Bass quite driving for the rhythm, but it transmits little to me, lyrics included.

A Winter's Tale is a typically Christmas song, yes, here it is, another carefree song after I Was Born To Love You. Very dreamy, decidedly intense in progression, the peak, I find, is in the solo (what can you do, guitarist's vice), few measured notes.

The album concludes in the most complete dream. It reprises the theme of It's A Beautiful Day, the track Yeah concludes it, and the enigmatic final track, the Untitled. Duration of 22 minutes, as the years passed since the first album; it is thought to be a kind of reconstruction of Queen's history, in any case, it's decidedly evocative. The life of Queen and Freddie concludes in one word, Fab.

Well, what can I say? Queen raised me, even though I was born a few months before the departure of one of my greatest musical and life examples. This album cannot and must not be interpreted as an album, comments like "compared to the first four albums it's crap" don't make sense. This is not an album, this is a goodbye, this is a "hey people, this is us, we are Queen, this was Freddie, we have two things to tell you." One of the most emotion-filled albums, coincidentally along with Innuendo. An album listened to with the heart and not the ears, just as they produced it.