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If “Innuendo” was the swan song, “Made in Heaven”, the eagerly awaited posthumous publication, represents the testament of one of the greatest bands in the history of pop music.
The album, without needing biographical references, serves as a sound commentary on the last troubled months of Freddie Mercury's life, highlighting the emotional changes in his final moments. The recordings were made after the “Innuendo” sessions by the surviving members of Queen, who reworked some music tracks following the death of their flamboyant singer: thus, the work was born as a tribute to a great musician, as well as an excellent singer, although the elegance of such a tribute would be diminished by the lucrative reunion a few years later.
The record opens with the essential and crystal-clear notes of “It’s a Beautiful Day”, a brief piano composition in which Freddie sighs, “The sun is shining, and no one can stop me”, which in its tender simplicity, takes on a courageous and moving connotation, giving a nostalgic touch to the whole work, comparable to a deep emotional as well as musical journey.
The first part of the album is certainly the most compelling: the peak of the album is marked by the track that carries its title, a majestic and chameleonic epic-rock piece that condenses the best moments of Queen's typical class, with peaks of great pathos, emphasized by Brian May's guitar riffs. “Let Me Live”, the third track, a gospel-rock inspired by Janis Joplin’s “Take a Piece of My Heart”, stands among the best compositions by Queen from the '80s onwards, characterized by catchy melodies.
The nightmare of an early death creeps in with the notes of “Mother Love”, one of the last songs created, in which all members participate both in singing and performing, given that the by-then suffering singer did not manage to complete the album recordings: the initial atmosphere, made of gentle percussive strokes reminiscent of “Days of Our Lives”, is shattered by Freddie’s voice invoking, “My heart is heavy, and my hope is gone...”, only to return to a childlike search for security in subsequent verses (“Mama please, let me back inside”).
The subsequent “Heaven for Everyone” surprises with its delicacy, leading the listener into an ethereal atmosphere, made of intangible and delicate emotions, underscored by the evocative voice of Freddie, who seems already at peace with himself. “My Life Has Been Saved”, as well as “I Was Born to Love You”, are instead fillers, used to give more depth to the album, which contains snippets or tracks already used in Mercury's solo publications, who certainly had other ideas in store for us, unfortunately inaccessible.
The conclusion is entrusted to a peaceful “A Winter’s Tale”, a soft and unexpected track that recalls the 1950s swing atmospheres already known in a piece like “My Melancholy Blues”; the closure returns us to the notes of “It’s a Beautiful Day”, made endless by the addition, at the end, of strings and keyboards, which give the idea of a painful farewell.
Therefore, this album can be forgiven for containing elements not new to the ears of fans, because right from the first listening, one perceives the heartrending communicative necessity of one of the greatest musicians of the century.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
07 Heaven for Everyone (05:36)
This could be heaven
This could be heaven
This could be heaven for everyone
In these days of cool reflection
You come to me and everything seems alright
In these days of cold affections
You sit by me - and everything's fine
This could be heave for everyone
This world could be fed, this world could be fun
This could be heaven for everyone
This world could be free, this world could be one
In this world of cool deception
Just your smile can smooth my ride
These troubled days of cruel rejection, hmm
You come to me, soothe my troubled mind
Yeah, this could be heave for everyone
This world could be fed, this world could be fun
This should be love for everyone,
This world should be free, this world could be one
We should bring love to our daughters and sons
Love, love, love, this could be heaven for everyone
You know that
This could be heave for everyone
This could be heave for everyone
Listen - what people do to other souls
They take their lives - destroy their goals
Their basic pride and dignity
Is stripped and torn and shown no pity
When this should be heaven for everyone
09 You Don't Fool Me (05:24)
Words and music by Queen
You don't fool me
You don't fool me...
Da, da da da dah
Da da da dah
Da da dah...
You don't fool me - those pretty eyes
That sexy smile - you don't fool me
You don't rule me - you're no surprise
You're telling lies - you don't fool me
Mmm, mama said be careful of that girl
Mama said you know that she's no good
Mama said be cool, don't you be no fool
Yup bup ba ba ba ba da da da dah!
You don't fool me
You don't fool me, you don't fool me
She'll take you
You don't fool me, and break you
You don't rule me, you don't fool me
You don't fool me, she'll take you
You don't fool me, and break you
Sooner or later you'll be playing by her rules
Baby you don't fool me, yeah
You don't fool me, you don't have to say 'don't mind'
You don't have to teach me things I know
Sooner or later you'll be playing by her rules
Oh, (fool you) oh, (rule you) she'll take you (take you)
And break you (break you)
Yeah
Mama said be cool
Mama said she'll take you for a fool
She'll take you, and break you
Ba ba ba ba bap bap ba baah
La la la la la lah
You don't fool me
You don't fool me...
10 A Winter's Tale (03:49)
It's Winter-fall
Red skies are gleaming, oh
Sea-gulls are flyin' over
Swans are floatin' by
Smoking chimney-tops
Am I dreaming
Am I dreaming?
The nights draw in
There's a silky moon up in the sky, yeah
Children are fantasizing
Grown-ups are standin' by
What a super feeling
Am I dreaming
Am I dreaming?
Woh woh woh woh
(Dreaming) So quiet and peaceful
(Dreaming) Tranquil and blissful
(Dreaming) There's a kind of magic in the air
(Dreaming) What a truly magnificient view
(Dreaming) A breathtaking scene
With the dreams of the world in the palm of your hand
(Dreaming) A cosy fireside chat
(Dreaming) A little this, a little that
(Dreaming) Sound of merry laughter skippin' by
(Dreaming) Gentle rain beatin' on my face
(Dreaming) What a extraordinary place
And the dream of the child is the hope of the hope of the man
It's all so beautiful
Like a landscape painting in the sky, yeah
Mountains are zooming higher, mmm
Little doves scream and cry
My world is spinning and spinning and spinning
It's unbelievable
Sends me reeling
Am I dreaming
Am I dreaming
Oooh it's bliss
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Other reviews
By zuckina
Listening to it gave me magnificent emotions; it didn’t seem real to me.
His immortal spirit powerfully lives again through his last and old works, unexpectedly delivering to history one of the greatest singers and showmen in the history of music.
By claudio1
MADE IN HEAVEN... is a worthy conclusion to the story of Queen!
I like to believe that Heaven For Everyone and Too Much Love Will Kill You are two gift-tributes from Roger and Brian to Freddie.
By Old King Cole
These clever guys thought it wise to mix everything together and create a new album, passing off the songs (sung by Mercury) contained within it as new.
For a band whose strength lies thus in live performances, what sense does it make to release an album that can never be brought onto a stage, as it is 'sung by a DEAD person'?! Well, the answer is so simple… Money, money, money!
By andrew1992
"Made In Heaven is certainly an album full of pathos; not so much for the tracks but more so for the period that both the fans and the band were experiencing."
Freddie had an ambition: to create a universal art that united music with the art and magic of theater, and he did not want death to destroy his desire.
By Frenk
This album cannot and must not be interpreted as an album... This is a goodbye, this is a 'hey people, this is us, we are Queen, this was Freddie.'
'Mother Love... The most emotional moment... a spine-chilling solo, completely clean, there is nostalgia, pathos, suffering, fear, the end.'
