Queen
Made in Heaven

THE REVIEW

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.