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Rating: <We spent entire days sitting in the waiting rooms of Trident Studios, hoping someone would cancel a session. Sometimes someone would come and say: "Hey guys, David Bowie finished early today, if you want to record something, you have time from three in the morning until seven, when the cleaning ladies arrive>. (Brian May)
Brian Harold May is a capable student of astrophysics at Imperial College in London as well as a promising guitarist who in 1964 plays in a band with a futuristic name: 1984. His fellow adventurers are: Tim Staffell (vocals), Dave Dilloway (bass), Richard Thompson (drums), and John Garnham (guitar). The adventure 1984 (which would open a window in 1990 with a reunion at Dilloway's house in Surrey) would end in 1968, after including in its curriculum a supporting performance for Jimi Hendrix right at Imperial College. Staffell and May prefer to focus on their studies without abandoning them, concentrating on finding a drummer for which role a young dentistry student named Roger Meddows Taylor is chosen. Thus the Smile take shape. In the same period, Staffell introduces to the rest of his bandmates an exuberant Indian-origin student with a challenging name, Farookh Bulsara, who immediately becomes a fan of the band. For Farookh (who after seeking fortune with Ibex - later Wreckage - and Sour Milk Sea) who is about to replace Tim himself in the early months of 1970, a decisive factor will be changing his name for a more captivating identity (thus becoming Freddie Mercury), as well as for a more pompous band name, coining one of the most lavish monikers the history of music might have recorded: Queen, indeed.
Undoubtedly, it is the live performances of the four that allow them to express their full artistic potential, with particular mention of those two dates that would represent the launch pad for the career of Brian, Freddie, Roger, and John: we are in London and it is July 2, 1971 when at the Surrey College the definitive lineup performs on stage for the first time, while on March 24, 1972 at Forest Hill Hospital the manager Jack Nelson of Mercury Records was so impressed by the group's personal offer, that he offered that contract that would lead the band to record its first album the following summer.
It is "Keep Yourself Alive" that leads the way for the anticipated debut album: a track that immediately reveals aggressive sounds and a clear but also athletic voice, showing right away an uncommon range. "Great King Rat" serves as an introduction to Mercury as a composer: a Spanish-tinged rhythmic constant dominates in a tumultuous maelstrom of sounds in which the bass/drums Deacon/Taylor propulsion clarifies the benefits of a well-executed artistic break-in. Testimony of a beneficial learning curve is "Doing All Right" (taken from Smile's repertoire), which lets the group's choral inclination emerge in all its beauty, where the languid melody lays the groundwork for an unexpectedly overwhelming May. "Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll" sung and written by Taylor, removes every doubt from those who think that songwriting is only a matter of the tried and tested May/Mercury duo: almost two minutes for an earthy track capable of foreshadowing the sounds of the no future generation to come by at least a few years.
An album that does not restrain the group's free expression, capable of translating music into notes from its point of view, creating a solemn yet sharp musical stamp that still justifiably rough. Confirmations come from the illusory journey of "My Fairy King", as the sonic explosion of "Son and Daughter", and equally the tenacity of "Jesus" which leaves room for a spontaneous and educated vein of irony that will never leave the multifaceted singer. To further remind the importance of the first steps in the musical world, there are (for Mercury) the bold "Liar" (conceived on the riff of "Lover" by Mercury together with faithful Mike Bersin in the days of Ibex) proposing one of the first examples of an elegant combination between rock and opera, while (for May) the bizarre "The Night Comes Down" whose demo version recorded at De Lane Lea Studios in September 1971, was preferred for the album over the more recent version made at Trident Studios. The closure is entrusted to "Seven Seas Of Rhye", a luxurious and cinematic instrumental tail that seems almost to want to deliver to the listener, an exclusive invitation not to miss an already eagerly anticipated second chapter.
The business card of Queen in the recording market turns out to be a competent test of genuine and vigorous music, easily traceable to the plurality of influences that hovered in the air for a decade and that the band had made its own. A varied richness of musical content is immediately perceptible, offered according to personal taste tempered by that uncontainable and forgivable desire to show everyone, immediately, one's talent, which only needs to flow naturally to be best expressed.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Bicycle Race (03:05)
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
You say black I say white
You say bark I say bite
You say shark I say hey man
Jaws was never my scene
And I don't like Star Wars
You say Rolls I say Royce
You say God give me a choice
You say Lord I say Christ
I don't believe in Peter Pan
Frankenstein or Superman
All I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my
Bicycle races are coming your way
So forget all your duties oh yeah!
Fat bottomed girls
They'll be riding today
So look out for those beauties oh yeah
On your marks get set go
Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
Bicycle bicycle bicycle bicycle
Bicycle race
You say coke I say caine
You say John I say Wayne
Hot dog I say cool it man
I don't wanna be the President of America
You say smile I say cheese
Cartier I say please
Income tax I say Jesus
I don't wanna be a candidate for
Vietnam or Watergate
Cos all I wanna do is
Bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bicycle
I want to ride it where I like
03 Bohemian Rhapsody (05:39)
Is this the real life?
Is this just fantasy?
Caught in a landslide,
No escape from reality.
Open your eyes,
Look up to the skies and see.
I'm just a poor boy, I need no sympathy
Because I'm easy come, easy go, little high, little low,
Any way the wind blows, doesn't really matter to me,
To me
Mama, just killed a man,
Put a gun against his head,
Pulled my trigger, now he's dead
Mama, life had just begun,
But now I’ve gone and thrown it all away
Mama, ooh,
Didn’t mean to make you cry.
If I’m not back again this time tomorrow,
Carry on, carry on, as if nothing really matters.
Too late, my time has come,
Sends shivers down my spine
Body’s aching all the time,
Goodbye everybody, I’ve got to go
Gotta leave you all behind and face the truth
Mama, ooh, (any way the wind blows)
I don’t want to die,
I sometimes wish I’d never been born at all
I see a little silhouetto of a man,
Scaramouche, Scaramouche, will you do the Fandango?
Thunderbolt and lightning, very very frightening me
Galileo - Galileo
Galileo - Galileo
Galileo - Figaro
Magnifico - ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!
I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me
He’s just a poor boy from a poor family
Spare him his life from this monstrosity
Easy come, easy go,
Will you let me go?
Bismillah! No! We will not let you go! - Let him go!
Bismillah! We will not let you go! - Let him go!
Bismillah! We will not let you go! - Let me go!
Will not let you go! - Let me go!
Will not let you go! - Let me go, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh!
No, no, no, no, no, no, no!
Mama Mia, Mama Mia, Mama Mia, let me go
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!
So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?
So you think you can love me and leave me to die?
Ooh baby, can’t do this to me baby
Just gotta get out, just gotta get right out of here
Ooh yeah
Ooh yeah
Nothing really matters,
Anyone can see,
Nothing really matters,
Nothing really matters to me
Any way the wind blows
07 We Will Rock You (02:00)
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
08 We Are The Champions (04:59)
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
09 Spread Your Wings (04:34)
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!
11 Killer Queen (03:00)
So sad her eyes
Smiling dark eyes
So sad her eyes
As it began
On such a breathless night as this
Upon my brow the lightest kiss
I walked alone
And all around the air did say
My lady soon will stir this way
In sorrow known
The White Queen walks and the night grows pale
Stars of lovingness in her hair
Needing - unheard
Pleading - one word
So sad my eyes
She cannot see
How did thee fare, what have thee seen
The mother of the willow green
I call her name
And 'neath her window have I stayed
I loved the footsteps that she made
And when…
My Goddess, hear my darkest fear
I speak too late
It's for evermore that I wait
Dear friend goodbye
No tears in my eyes
So sad it ends
As it began
12 Don't Stop Me Now (03:44)
Tonight I'm gonna have myself a real good time
I feel alive
And the world turning inside out, yeah
And floating around in ecstasy, so
Don't stop me now
Don't stop me
'Cuz I'm having a good time, having a good time
I'm a shooting star leaping through the sky
Like a tiger defying the laws of gravity
I'm a racing car passing by like Lady Godiva
I'm gonna go, go, go
There's no stopping me
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm a traveling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you
(Don't stop me now) I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now) if you wanna have a good time just give me a call
(Don't stop me now) 'Cuz I'm havin' a good time
(Don't stop me now) Yes, I'm havin' a good time
I don't want to stop at all
I'm a rocket ship on my way to Mars
On a collision course
I am a satellite, I'm out of control
I am a sex machine ready to reload
Like an atom bomb about to
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, explode
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm traveling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic woman of you
Don't stop me, don't stop me
Don't stop me, hey hey hey!
Don't stop me, don't stop me
Oh, ooh, ooh, (I like it)
Don't stop me, don't stop me
Have a good time, good time
Don't stop me, don't stop me
I'm burning through the sky, yeah
Two hundred degrees
That's why they call me Mister Fahrenheit
I'm traveling at the speed of light
I wanna make a supersonic man out of you
(Don't stop me now) I'm having such a good time, I'm having a ball
(Don't stop me now) if you wanna have a good time just give me a call
(Don't stop me now) 'Cuz I'm havin' a good time
(Don't stop me now) Yes, I'm havin' a good time
I don't want to stop at all
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