Queen for a Day - Melancholy Blues

Freddie Mercury on piano. A dash of Roger gently swishing his drums. Deacon on a jazzy sounding bass. Imagine a late night bar or strip joint.
In another era, this could have been a standard. If Freddie wasn't so flamboyant chances are Sinatra might have recorded it. Or Tom Waits!
Why it isn't an oft recorded classic is beyond me.
A masterwork of maturity.
A high note, for sure,

Grade: A+


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Queen for a Day - It's Late

And then this comes on and all is right with the world.
It's Late is Brian's attempt to write a three act play. It works on so many levels. It's a killer 70s rock track, complete with heavy, grinding riffage and guttural vocalizing by Freddie.
Brian employs the finger tapping technique that Eddie Van Halen would get the credit for. I'm not saying Brian was the first, just recognizing his forward thinking-ness and mastery.
If Roy Thomas Baker had been retained as producer I'm sure this would be a classic radio staple. As it stands it's a pleasant surprise late in an album that everyone owned for the hits but mint not have stuck around all the way to hear.
Too bad.

Grade: A+


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Queen for a Day - Who Needs You

Man, I'm behind. Sorry about that.

John Deacon is back, this time with a Spanish flair. The lyrics are trite, the song matter is banal. Brian's playing is perfect, however. It's about here that Queen fans might have to wonder: do these guys even care anymore?

Grade: C


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Queen for a Day - Sleeping on the Sidewalk

Brian's blues entry for News is a cautionary tale about a trumpet player who becomes a star in the music world told in first person, with his guitar sitting in for the trumpet.
The character goes from obscurity to fame and...well, you get the story. He eventually falls on hard times trying forma hit and is told he has money to pay back...yawn.
It's cute. Deacon's bass playing is actually the star here. The story is trite, the playing mediocre, the singing weak. It's not a great tune.

Grade: C+


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Queen for a Day - Get Down, Make Love

And now it's Freddie's turn. Listening to parts of NotW I cannot begin to understand the "surprise" of Hot Space. The faux soul of this song predates Another One Bites the Dust even.
Its right here. A salacious bit of hedonism-rock, the song is basically an unholy amalgam of Body Language and The Prophet's Song.
If that makes you wanna listen...okay. But there's no reason to pursue this. The spacey breakdown in the middle is enough to make one scream. I, for one, have not listened to this song in almost 30 years, until this project, and listening again, I get why.
The Oscar Wilde of Mr. Mercury has been abandoned for the Plato's retreat of New York's gay subculture. I'm glad Fred found it, for him (although it could be argued that that experience is what eventually took him from us) but the Queen fan is left wishing he hadn't.

Grade: D+


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Queen for a Day - Fight from the Inside

For some reason Roger fancied himself the keeper of the soul or groove of the band. I guess it's because he was the drummer. Trouble is, he's not that great at it. Until his solo record, that is.
And that's what this is. Save a little help from Brian, Roger is solo on this track. He plays everything and sings.
Consequently he seems to have invented the sound for Hot Space.
Forgettable, with a catchy riff.

Grade: B-


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Queen for a Day - Spread Your Wings

Trivia alert! This is the first Queen song without the use of backing harmonies!
It's also the first Jon Deacon song that I actually like. It's a story song with a narrative about an underdog who wants to do something more with his life than just sweeping up the Emerald Bar.
Catchy hook, great vocals by Freddie. It's a weak tune, but most of this album is, it would have to be downhill after Races' masterwork status.
I never understood why Freddie would sing "Wery" for "Very" at some point of the song. More proof that the band is bored.

Grade: C+


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Queen for a Day - All Dead, All Dead

Rumor has it Brian wrote this song about his dead cat. Talk about excess. Reaching the point where your so insulated from the world that you take influence from your cat.
A pretty song sung by Brian, it's harmless and quickly forgettable.

Grade: C-


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Queen for a Day - Sheer Heart Attack

Yes, Roger wrote a song named for their third album and yes, it's also either an attempt to emulate punk or to prove that they could do it do and yes, it's awful. Hard to listen to, poorly produced. Junk.

Grade: D


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Queen for a Day - We Are the Champions

Timeless. Anthemic. Remarkable. The song that cemented Queen's indelible mark on the world for all time. It will be played at stadiums and sports events forever. And it should be. It is absolutely nothing more than it aspires to be. And what it aspires to be is what it is.
Nothing more really needs be said.

Grade: A+


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