Queen: The Complete Works (36 page)

The results were impressive, showing a revitalization and maturity both in lyrics and arrangements. For the first time on a solo record, Roger took a back seat to contributing instrumentally, allowing his team of backing musicians to do most of the work. Atypically, and to the chagrin of most of his fans, he provided drums on only seven of the twelve tracks, ‘duetting’ with his drummer of choice, Keith Prior, on ‘Tonight’. Though his instrumental contributions are peppered throughout (most notably in ‘People On Streets’, which is almost entirely self-performed), he realized that he had a superior band and wanted to use their talents to the fullest.

The album moves through a variety of stylistic changes, though it features what Roger knows best: hard rock. ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’, ‘Surrender’, ‘People On Streets’, ‘No More Fun’ and the deconstruction of John Lennon’s ‘Working Class Hero’ are all good, healthy rockers, something that had been seriously lacking on
Happiness?
, while Roger morphed into a balladeer on ‘Believe In Yourself’, ‘The Whisperers’, ‘Is It Me?’ and ‘Where Are You Now?’ Only the opening ‘Pressure On’ is a mid-tempo rocker, the perfect poprock single with a slight hint of Bowie influence, and the closing ‘London Town, C’mon Down’ is an uncompromising slice of funk, something that Roger had always loved to do.

The messages on the album are oblique and ambiguous, though they all deal with real-life issues and are mostly autobiographical: “Well, I like to think there is some meaning in some of [the songs], yeah!” Roger exclaimed to Colchester radio in 1999. “And I
think if you do have an opinion, why not state it as long as you are not preaching at people or boring them? You are not a full, a whole person unless you have some points of view on life and what’s around you.”

Politicians were given a typical lambasting, though not quite as severely as one might have expected; Roger was particularly outspoken against domestic violence, chronicled in the song ‘Surrender’, which features a gorgeous lead vocal by newcomer Treana Morris. “Most people experience some kind of domestic violence,” Roger said in 1998. “Without going any further, I do think it’s something which is very prevalent in society. It’s a very difficult issue to deal with as often incidents are kept within the family. It’s really pretty foul.”

Housed in a deep green cover (with an indistinct, original silkscreen and oil-on-canvas of ‘Two-bar electric fire no. 1’ by Tim Mara), the album was released in September 1998, almost four years to the day after
Happiness?
. The album’s chart success wasn’t as great as its predecessor’s, peaking at only No. 53 in the UK, while the singles were only marginally more successful. ‘Pressure On’, released the same day as the album, reached No. 45, while ‘Surrender’ came in March 1999 and just missed the Top Thirty, peaking at No. 38.

The reviews this time were decidedly split, though most gave Roger a fair assessment. “Taylor sounds full of vim on this latest batch of clumpy ballads and gurning funk-rock,”
Q
said, “but ‘London Town, C’mon Down’s spoken word narrative and ‘Believe In Yourself”s rant against ‘lawyers with fees ... and deciduous trees’ are just two of the tracks hamstrung by our host’s baffling lyrical conceits.”
Metal Hammer
was a little more complimentary, calling the album “a varied selection of material” and saying that “Queen fans will lap it up.”
Guitarist
said, “The material has a real David Bowie feel to it, most notably ‘Pressure On’, and there is a mixture of styles akin to a full-blown Queen album ... the dabbling in loops and electronics is enjoyable too.”
Kerrang!
was exceptionally complimentary, calling it “an eclectic affair which should please both Queen fans and those with a taste for slightly more left-field sounds ... Taylor has managed to brew up some intoxicating songs on
Electric Fire
. ‘Pressure On’, for instance, is a tense experiment in atmospherics which contrasts nicely with the heavy guitars in ‘A Nation Of Haircuts’.” The review concluded, rather caustically, that it’s “interesting stuff, for those with patience.”

It seemed that Roger came out on top this time, yet he wasn’t entirely certain he wanted to take the album out on the road; given its relative failure in the charts, it was surprising when he announced a short, UK-only tour that would commence in March 1999 and run for less than three weeks. Sadly, Roger confirmed that after
Electric Fire
, fans shouldn’t expect any more solo work from him. That was disappointing news; while Brian’s two solo albums had been released with an eye on what was popular in the charts, Roger had always pushed the envelope and played whatever he felt like playing. While he wasn’t always entirely progressive, he did reinvent his sound with each album, and it’s for this reason many fans believe that
Electric Fire
is the strongest and finest solo album of his vast catalogue.

BRIAN MAY

FURIA

Parlophone 7243 5 28321 2 5 PM 520 (France only), 1999

‘Furia Theme (Opening Titles)’ (4’40), ‘First Glance (Solo Flute)’ (1’35), ‘Landscape’ (1’14), ‘Tango: “Cuesta Abajo”’ (2’59), ‘The Meeting (Solo Guitar)’ (1’35), ‘First Kiss’ (2’03), ‘Storm’ (2’19), ‘Phone’ (1’07), ‘Pursuit’ (3’45), ‘Diner’ (1’18), ‘Apparition’ (1’36), ‘Arrest’ (1’28), ‘Father And Son’ (1’34), ‘Aaron’ (0’49), ‘Fire’ (0’55), ‘Gun (Solo Violin)’ (1’55), ‘Reggae: “Bird In Hand”’ (3’30), ‘Killing’ (1’13), ‘Escape’ (1’50), ‘Go On’ (2’20), ‘Dream Of Thee’ (4’36)

Bonus track on CD
: ‘Gun (
alternate version
)’ (1’33)

Musicians
: Brian May (
vocals, guitars, keyboard programming
), Phillipa Davies (
flute
), Rolf Wilson (
first violin
), Dave Lee (
solo horn
), Emily May (
vocal on ‘Apparition’
), The London Musicians Orchestra (
strings
), Michael Reed (
conductor, orchestrations
)

Recorded
: Allerton Hill, Surrey, January–March 1999 (
orchestra recorded at CTS Studios, Watford
)

Producers
: Brian May and Justin Shirley-Smith

Shortly after the
Another World
tour concluded in November 1998, Brian was approached by French film director Alexandre Aja, renowned for the 1997 indie film
Over The Rainbow
and at that time working on his second film. “Gilbert Marouani, a friend, asks if he can propose the film to Brian May,” Aja wrote in the liner notes to the
Furia
soundtrack. “A joke? No, I think he’s serious. Two months later, I meet Brian in a Paris hotel room, we speak of music, of George
Orwell, and of the cinema. I am very tense; he has come to see a first edit. One and a half hours later, silence. I think he was moved. The next day, he calls me, worked all night through; he had written the main theme of the film.”

Brian had never worked on a film soundtrack entirely by himself; there had been some confusion between the Queen guitarist and an Australian musician with the same name who wrote the soundtracks to nearly fifty films including
Mad Max
and
Dr Giggles
, but
Furia
became the first soundtrack credited to ‘our’ Brian. Adapted from Julio Cortazar’s story ‘Graffiti’ (the same author who had written ‘Blow-Up’, later turned into a film by Michelangelo Antonioni), the film tells a story of individual liberties being suppressed and young French rebels sneaking out into the night to challenge the patrols.

In a 2001 interview for the Fan Club Convention, Jacky Smith asked Brian about
Furia
. “Very happy to say that you will be able to see
Furia
, the film which I did the music for last year,” he replied. “Be warned. It’s a very serious film – a very heavy film, and not for those who have a weak stomach. I really mean that, you know, it is not a kind of happy movie, and there’s some stuff in there which I still find very hard to watch. So don’t bring your kids, folks, and don’t come unless you’ve got a strong supply of optimism inside you, ’cause it takes some watching. It is a film about hope and freedom and a few other things besides but it’s tough going in the middle. And I hope you enjoy the music! I certainly enjoyed doing it. It was a kind of formative period for me, but not an easy period, but I kind of poured my feelings into it. Quite proud of it as a soundtrack.”

“Basically, I keep busy,” Brian said in March 2001 in an interview with
Launch.com
. “I did a film soundtrack that went out in Europe and [is] just out in England called
Furia
, and it’s kind of an artsy film. I doubt if it will see much general release in the States, because it’s in the French language, but it’s something that I’m very proud of. It’s the first full soundtrack that I’ve done. I’ve done loads of bits and pieces for films, including
Highlander
and
Flash
and all those things, but this was a complete soundtrack.”

As with the
Flash Gordon
soundtrack, the music for
Furia
serves as a backdrop to the film, except for the final track, a gorgeous, acoustic-based ballad titled ‘Dream Of Thee’. Otherwise, the music features only minimal instrumentation, and is based almost entirely on the main theme (much as most of Brian’s contributions to
Flash Gordon
featured repeated motifs from ‘Flash’s Theme’). It’s not an album to listen to without some prior knowledge of the movie, but it does remain Brian’s last true solo release, and therefore deserves a listen.

FREDDIE MERCURY

THE SOLO COLLECTION

Parlophone 5279640, October 2000

Disc One, Mr Bad Guy
: ‘Let’s Turn It On’ (3’42), ‘Made In Heaven’ (4’06), ‘I Was Born To Love You’ (3’39), ‘Foolin’ Around’ (3’29), ‘Your Kind Of Lover’ (3’33), ‘Mr Bad Guy’ (4’10), ‘Man Made Paradize’ (4’09), ‘There Must Be More To Life Than This’ (3’01), ‘Living On My Own’ (3’23), ‘My Love Is Dangerous’ (3’43), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow’ (3’47)

Disc Two, Barcelona
: ‘Barcelona’ (5’39), ‘La Japonaise’ (4’49), ‘The Fallen Priest’ (5’46), ‘Ensueño’ (4’21), ‘The Golden Boy’ (6’04), ‘Guide Me Home’ (2’50), ‘How Can I Go On’ (3’51), ‘Overture Picante’ (6’39)

Disc Three, The Great Pretender
: ‘The Great Pretender (Brian Malouf mix)’ (3’39), ‘Foolin’ Around (Steve Brown mix)’ (3’36), ‘Time (Nile Rodgers mix)’ (3’50), ‘Your Kind Of Lover (Steve Brown mix)’ (3’59), ‘Exercises In Free Love’ (3’57), ‘In My Defence (Ron Nevison mix)’ (3’52), ‘Mr Bad Guy (Brian Malouf mix)’ (4’01), ‘Let’s Turn It On (Jeff Lord-Alge mix)’ (3’46), ‘Living On My Own (remix)’ (3’39), ‘My Love Is Dangerous (Jeff Lord-Alge mix)’ (3’40), ‘Love Kills (Richard Wolf mix)’ (3’28)

Disc Four, The Singles 1973–1985
: ‘I Can Hear Music’ (3’30), ‘Goin’ Back’ (3’34), ‘Love Kills’ (4’31), ‘Love Kills (extended version)’ (5’22), ‘I Was Born To Love You (extended version)’ (7’06), ‘Stop All The Fighting’ (3’19), ‘Stop All The Fighting (extended version)’ (6’37), ‘Made In Heaven (extended version)’ (4’50), ‘She Blows Hot And Cold’ (3’27), ‘She Blows Hot And Cold (extended version)’ (5’51), ‘Living On My Own (extended version)’ (6’39), ‘My Love Is Dangerous (extended version)’ (6’29), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow (extended version)’ (5’32), ‘Let’s Turn It On (extended version)’ (5’09)

Disc Five, The Singles 1986–1993
: ‘Time’ (3’59), ‘Time (extended version)’ (4’37), ‘Time (instrumental version)’ (3’23), ‘In My Defence’ (3’58), ‘The Great Pretender’ (3’29), ‘The Great Pretender (extended
version)’ (5’55), ‘Exercises In Free Love’ (4’00), ‘Barcelona (edit)’ (4’28), ‘Barcelona (extended version)’ (7’08), ‘How Can I Go On’ (4’02), ‘Living On My Own (No More Brothers extended remix)’ (5’16), ‘Living On My Own (radio mix)’ (3’39), ‘Living On My Own (club mix)’ (4’27), ‘Living On My Own (Underground Solutions mix)’ (5’46)

Disc Six, Instrumentals
: Barcelona’ (4’27), ‘La Japonaise’ (4’47), ‘The Fallen Priest’ (5’50), ‘Ensueño’ (4’00), ‘The Golden Boy’ (6’05), ‘Guide Me Home’ (2’38), ‘How Can I Go On’ (3’59), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow’ (4’04), ‘Made In Heaven’ (4’17), ‘Mr Bad Guy’ (4’14), ‘There Must Be More To Life Than This’ (3’09), ‘In My Defence’ (3’56), ‘The Great Pretender’ (3’27)

Disc Seven, Rarities (Mr Bad Guy sessions)
: Let’s Turn It On (a cappella)’ (3’05), ‘Made In Heaven (alternate)’ (4’28), ‘I Was Born To Love You (vocal & piano)’ (2’58), ‘Foolin’ Around (early)’ (4’14), ‘Foolin’ Around (unreleased extended version)’ (5’38), ‘Foolin’ Around (instrumental)’ (3’40), ‘Your Kind Of Lover (early)’ (4’47), ‘Your Kind Of Lover (vocal & piano)’ (3’38), ‘Mr Bad Guy (orchestra outtakes)’ (0’36), ‘Mr Bad Guy (early)’ (3’29), ‘There Must Be More To Life Than This (piano outtakes)’ (2’49), ‘Living On My Own (early/ later)’ (4’30), ‘Love Is Dangerous (early)’ (2’12), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow (early)’ (2’18), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow (2nd early)’ (1’04), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow (3rd early)’ (3’26), ‘Love Me Like There’s No Tomorrow (live take)’ (4’22), ‘She Blows Hot And Cold (alternate take featuring Brian May)’ (4’36), ‘Gazelle (demo)’ (1’21), ‘Money Can’t Buy Happiness (demo)’ (2’37), ‘Love Makin’ Love (demo)’ (3’36), ‘God Is Heavy (demo)’ (1’23), ‘New York (demo)’ (2’13)

Disc Eight, Rarities (Barcelona sessions)
: ‘The Duet (“The Fallen Priest”) (extract from Garden Lodge)’ (3’04), ‘Idea (“Barcelona”) (extract from Garden Lodge)’ (1’13), ‘Idea (“Barcelona”) (2nd extract from Garden Lodge)’ (1’05), ‘Barcelona (early version)’ (4’22), ‘Barcelona (Freddie’s vocal slave)’ (4’31), ‘Barcelona (later version)’ (4’26), ‘La Japonaise (demo vocal)’ (4’41), ‘La Japonaise (a capella)’ (4’18), ‘Rachmaninov’s Revenge (“The Fallen Priest”) (early version)’ (4’47), ‘Rachmaninov’s Revenge (“The Fallen Priest”) (demo vocal)’ (5’52), ‘Ensueño (live takes)’ (5’36), ‘The Golden Boy (early version)’ (3’55), ‘The Golden Boy (2nd early version)’ (2’57), ‘The Golden Boy (a capella)’ (5’12), ‘Guide Me Home / How Can I Go On (alternate version)’ (6’54), ‘How Can I Go On (outtake)’ (1’31), ‘How Can I Go On (alternate piano version)’ (3’46), ““When this old tired body wants to sing” (late night jam)’ (2’42)

Disc Nine, Rarities (other sessions)
: ‘Rain (Wreckage)’ (3’52), ‘Green (Wreckage)’ (3’15), ‘The Man From Manhattan (Eddie Howell)’ (3’22), ‘Love Is The Hero (Billy Squier)’ (5’22), ‘Lady With A Tenor Sax (Billy Squier)’ (4’02), ‘Hold On (with Jo Dare)’ (3’39), ‘Heaven For Everyone (The Cross)’ (4’48), ‘Love Kills (rock mix)’ (4’28), ‘Love Kills (instrumental)’ (4’27), ‘The Great Pretender (demo)’ (3’05), ‘Holding On (demo)’ (4’12), ‘It’s So You (demo)’ (2’40), ‘I Can’t Dance / Keep Smilin’ (demo)’ (3’43), ‘Horns Of Doom (demo)’ (4’17), ‘Yellow Breezes (demo)’ (5’26), ‘Have A Nice Day (demo)’ (0’46)