Queen for a Day - Life is Real (Song For Lennon)

When Lennon was killed...

Talk about the day the music died.

Freddie wrote Life is Real as an ode to John and I'm not really gonna pick it apart. I've heard people talk about how it works as a tribute: the opening notes echoing "Just like Starting Over", the title calling to mind "Strawberry Fields Forever"...

I am not enough of a Beatle fan to comment.

I can say that "Lennon is a gen-i-us" was such an on the nose lyric that I still cringe when I hear it. On the other hand, "Blood on my terraces", "Torsos in my closet", all of that sounds like something I could imagine Lennon being attributed.

Of course, Life IS real. And Life is a bitch.

Kudos for taking on the subject. I just wish the song was better.

It is the closest Queen has come to sounding like Queen in a LONG time. For that I am grateful.

Grade: B