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Rating: If with "A Night At The Opera" Queen had reached the pinnacle of their "baroque pompousness" understood as a triumph of choirs and complex guitar overdubs in the service of theatricality often over the top, now epic and tragic, now carefree and irreverent, if with "A Day At The Races" they had tried to repeat themselves albeit in more sober tones, with "News Of The World" the music changes... significantly.
It's 1977, rock is almost dead and gone, historic bands that emerged a decade earlier have now reached their end, new trends are at the door or are already raging (punk, metal), new free zones of music are being created and everyone is rushing to grab a piece. "News" represents yet another, chameleonic (and for many, irritating) strike from the Queen, to demonstrate that, even in times of great upheaval, the four know how to keep their balance on the moving train. Nothing to do with the "sonic gigantism" of past years, the arrangements become essential, dry, skeletal; voice and guitar add a vigorous musculature now devoid of the frills and trappings of "Opera".
The reference runs to "Sleeping On The Sidewalk", a blues marked by guitar, bass, drums and stops (May using only one guitar?!?), or to "It's Late" (my favorite, a matter of taste...) where the vocal cords connect to the heart, the six strings scratch, the bass pumps and the drums excite in all its roar in the purest rock'n roll spirit. The songs are born from a single generative cell, rhythmic or melodic, like the elemental but terrifyingly effective (and thus brilliant) beginning of "We Will Rock You"; an octave jump of the bass for "Get Down Make Love" (I like to consider it a tribute to "Whole Lotta..." by Zeppelin, the analogies are there, including the central climax that echoes that of Plant and company). If Taylor plays at winking at punk with "Sheer Heart Attack" and delves into a acid funky with "Fight From The Inside", Deacon raises our blood sugar with his honest romanticism (let's forgive him...) of "Spread Your Wings" where Freddie does not spare his vocal cords (thank you, truly...) and the Hawaiian "Who Needs You" which sounds a bit like: "We are Queen and we do whatever we want".
The peaks in terms of composition belong to Mr. Mercury who knows how to play with his craft, knows how to put the chords in the right place, knows how to sing with irreverent swagger a "We Are The Champions" that no one else could have afforded without falling into the ridiculous. The closing entrusted to "My Melancholy Blues" is delightful and refined. The only flaw, in my opinion, is "All Dead, All Dead", nothing more than an exercise in style seasoned with the usual harmonizations by May, but never mind...
As usual, free from the responsibility of having to say something new, to please the critics, to get a label stuck on them, jokingly taking themselves seriously, the Queen have a blast, play with genres tasting a bit of this and a bit of that as a child would in a pastry shop... then the serious ones and the "defenders of true musical taste" might also lash out... but as the "mustache" said: -WHY ALL THE FUSS? ... THEY'RE JUST SONGS!-
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 We Will Rock You (02:02)
Aah
Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shouting in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place
We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make
You some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody betta put you back into your place
We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you
Everybody
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Alright
02 We Are the Champions (03:01)
I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through
And we mean to go on and on and on
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world
I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it
I thank you all
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race
And I ain't gonna lose
And I need to go on and on and on
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions
03 Sheer Heart Attack (03:27)
Well you're just 17 and all you want to do is disappear
You know what I mean there's a lot of space between your ears
The way that you touch don't feel no nothin'
Hey hey hey hey it was the D.N.A.
Hey hey hey hey that made me this way
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
I feel so in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar-tic-u-late
Gotta feelin' gotta feelin' gotta feelin' like a paralyse
It ain't no it ain't no it ain't no it ain't no surprise
Turn on the TV let it drip right down in your eyes
Hey hey hey hey it was the D.N.A.
Hey hey hey hey that made me this way
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
I feel so in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar-tic-u-late
Just how I feel
Do you know do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
05 Spread Your Wings (04:35)
Sammy was low
Just watching the show
Over and over again
Knew it was time
He'd made up his mind
To leave his dead life behind
His boss said to him
'Boy you'd better begin
To get those crazy notions right out of your head
Sammy who do you think that you are?
You should've been sweeping up the Emerald bar'
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Pull yourself together
'Cos you know you should do better
That's because you're a free man
He spends his evenings alone in his hotel room
Keeping his thoughts to himself he'd be leaving soon
Wishing he was miles and miles away
Nothing in this world nothing would make him stay
Since he was small
Had no luck at all
Nothing came easy to him
Now it was time
He'd made up his mind
'This could be my last chance'
His boss said to him 'now listen boy
You're always dreaming
You've got no real ambition you won't get very far
Sammy boy don't you know who you are?
Why can't you be happy at the Emerald bar?'
So honey
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Pull yourself together
'Cos you know you should do better
That's because you're a free man
Come on honey
FLY WITH ME!
08 Sleeping on the Sidewalk (03:08)
Words and music by Brian May
I was nothin' but a city boy
My trumpet was my only toy
I've been blowin' my horn
Since I knew I was born
But there ain't nobody wants to know
I've been sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I may get hungry
But I sure don't want to go home
So round the corner comes a limousine
And the biggest grin I ever seen
Here sonny won't you sign
Right along the dotted line
What you sayin' are you playin'
Sure you don't mean me?
I've been sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I may get hungry
But I sure don't want to go home
(Now I tell you what happened...)
They took me to a room without a table
They said 'blow your trumpet into here'
I played around as well as I was able
And soon we had the record of the year
I was a legend all through the land
I was blowin' to a million fans
Nothin' was a missin'
All the people want to listen
You'd have thought I was a happy man
And I was sleepin' like a princess
Never touch the road
I don't get hungry
And I sure don't want to go home
(Have to have some fun...)
Now they tell me that I ain't so fashionable
An' I owe the man a million bucks a year
So I told 'em where to stick the fancy label
It's just me and the road from here
I'm back to playin' and layin'
I'm back on the game
I'm sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I sure get hungry and
I sure do wanna go home
(Yeah)
10 It's Late (06:26)
You say you love me
And I hardly know your name
And if I say I love you in the candlelight
There's no one but myself to blame
But there's something inside
That's turning my mind away
Oh how I could love you
If I could let you stay
It's late - but I'm bleeding deep inside
It's late - is it just my sickly pride?
Too late - even now the feeling seems to steal away
So late - though I'm crying I can't help but hear you say
It's late it's late it's late
But not too late
The way you love me
Is the sweetest love around
But after all this time
The more I'm trying
The more I seem to let you down
Now you tell me you're leaving
And I just can't believe it's true
Oh you know that I can love you
Though I know I can't be true
Oh you made me love you
Don't tell me that we're through
It's late - but it's driving me so mad
It's late - yes I know but don't try to tell me that it's
Too late - save our love you can't turn out the lights
So late - I've been wrong but I'll learn to be right
It's late it's late it's late
But not too late
I've been so long
You've been so long
We've been so long tryin' to work it out
I ain't got long
You ain't got long
We gotta know what this life is all about
Too late much too late
You're staring at me
With suspicion in your eye
You say what game are you playing?
What's this that you're saying?
I know that I can't reply
If I take you tonight
Is it making my life a lie?
Oh you make me wonder
Did I live my life alright?
It's late - but it's time to set me free
It's late - yes I know but there's no way it has to be
Too late - so let the fire take our bodies this night
So late - so let the waters take our guilt in the tide
It's late it's late it's late it's late
It's late it's late
It's all too late
11 My Melancholy Blues (03:30)
Words and music by Freddie Mercury
Another party's over
And I'm left cold sober
My baby left me for somebody new
I don't wanna talk about it
Want to forget about it
Wanna be intoxicated with that special brew
So come and get me
Let me
Get in that sinking feeling
That says my heart is on an all time low - So
Don't expect me
To behave perfectly
And wear that sunny smile
My guess is I'm in for a cloudy and overcast
Don't try and stop me
'Cos I'm heading for that stormy weather soon
I'm causing a mild sensation
With this new occupation
I'm permanently glued
To this extraordinary mood so now move over
Let me take over
With my melancholy blues
I'm causing a mild sensation
With this new occupation
I'm in the news
I'm just getting used to my new exposure
So come into my enclosure
And meet my
Melancholy blues
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Other reviews
By poeta73
"'We Will Rock You' is a structure as simple as it is unconventional, pure triumph live."
"News Of The World reaffirms Queen’s rock identity without renouncing the parade of classics."
By led&zep
The start of the platter is legendary, the summation of what will later be defined as arena-rock.
'We Will Rock You' demonstrates how the band...can continually express original and nonconformist musical concepts.
By Walterstarman1
"‘We Will Rock You’: a simple and pounding three-beat that is one of the most powerful songs in music history."
"Queen, riding the wave of success, appear a bit tired at the compositional level... creating a hybrid with few great points of light."
