Queen: The Complete Works (72 page)

Inexplicably planned as the fifth and final single from
The Works
, ‘Man On The Prowl’ was withdrawn
and issued instead as the B-side of ‘Thank God It’s Christmas’. An extended mix for the B-side was created for the 12” release of the single, prolonging the running time to over six minutes and well past the point of tolerability.

MANIPULATOR
(Taylor/Edney/Strange)

• A-side (The Cross): 6/88

Stemming from a writing collaboration with Steven Strange, former frontman and vocalist for the band Visage, ‘Manipulator’ was technically a recording by The Cross, marking the first time the band recorded together. In the timeline of The Cross’ history, the song was recorded shortly after sessions for
Shove It
, though it would have been an ideal addition to
Mad: Bad: And Dangerous To Know
since it possesses none of the ‘qualities’ of the first Cross album. With an uplifting melody, thanks to an airy production (courtesy of Roger, with engineering by Steve Chase and Peter Jones) that allows the music to breathe, and adopting the less-is-more attitude that was noticeably absent from
Shove It
, the song is an underrated composition that deserved more attention.

Released as a non-album single in June 1988, well after the release of The Cross’ debut, ‘Manipulator’ failed to set the charts alight, despite considerable promotion in the set list at the time and a coveted performance (along with ‘Heaven For Everyone’) at the Montreux Golden Rose Festival on 12 May 1988. Considering the expense the band had incurred in shooting music videos for their first three singles, it comes as no surprise that, given the lack of success they had achieved previously, no video was shot for ‘Manipulator’.

MANNISH BOY
(Morganfield/London/McDaniel)

Queen performed Bo Diddley’s ‘I’m A Man’ on a few dates of their 1977
A Day At The Races
European tour, though bootleggers erroneously mislabeled it as Muddy Waters’ ‘Mannish Boy’. This confusion was understandable: Waters reworked ‘I’m A Man’ as ‘Mannish Boy’ a month after the release of the former, which itself was an “answer song” (a common practice among blues musicians, and seen as an honour instead of cause for a lawsuit) to Waters’ ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’. It’s known that Queen performed ‘I’m A Man’ on this tour, but whether they performed ‘Mannish Boy’ is unconfirmed.

THE MARCH OF THE BLACK QUEEN
(Mercury)

• Album:
Queen2
• Compilation:
Deep Cuts 1

Opening regally with an atmospheric piano sequence, ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ is the centrepiece of Side Black of
Queen II
, running well over six minutes and capturing Freddie’s love of oblique lyricism and storytelling. All of his songs on the band’s sophomore album were convoluted fairytales, devoid of superficial meaning but holding a deeper meaning that is known only to its songwriter. It’s a true production number, with several sections interwoven and stopping and starting with perceived ease, though John later revealed “we spent ages and ages rehearsing this one – not very easy at all, I can assure you!” Indeed, session outtakes reveal that the band needed a great deal of concentration to record the backing track, and despite Brian’s later assertion that Mack introduced them to the method of pasting together various takes to achieve a cohesive result, this was an early example of the band recording the sections separately before collating them into a finished product. The result is a stunning insight into the complexity of Freddie’s songwriting, though it does tend to meander aimlessly here and there, a complaint that befell most of the second album.

In a 1977 group interview, Freddie and Roger revealed that they almost lost the song due to overproduction. “Those were the days of the sixteen-track studios,” the vocalist said. “Before, when we did so many overdubs on 16 track, it was like we just kept piling it on and on. The tape went transparent because it just couldn’t take any more. I think it snapped in two places, as well.” Roger confirmed this: “We lasted recording that one until the tape went transparent. Genuinely!” Robin Geoffrey Cable, who had helped produce ‘Nevermore’ and ‘Funny How Love Is’ with Queen, joined the band and Roy Thomas Baker on production duties, giving it the necessary air that it required. Unfortunately, much like the desultory arrangement, the production is murky at times, with a lot of the subtle nuances buried under the weight of guitar orchestrations and chorus vocals. The 2011 remaster is a revelation, with the right mien finally given to separate the elements and offer some much-needed clarity.

Because of its complexity, ‘The March Of The Black Queen’ was never performed live in full (starting with the “I reign with left hand / I rule with my right” section and concluding with an extended guitar solo), and served as a return to the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ coda of the medley between October 1974 and September
1976. Freddie obviously held some affection for the song, for he would reference its melody periodically on the 1984/1985
Queen Works!
tour, often as a medley with ‘My Fairy King’.

(MARIE’S THE NAME) HIS LATEST FLAME

(Pomus/Shuman)

Originally recorded by Elvis Presley and reaching No. 1 upon its release in August 1961, ‘(Marie’s The Name) His Latest Flame’ was a song that took collectors by surprise when it leaked onto the internet in the summer of 2006. Recorded by Brian and Cozy Powell, the song was reportedly intended for a Cozy Powell solo album in the late 1980s, but Brian later explained that it was recorded for his unreleased
Heroes
solo project. The song is enjoyable, with a thunderous drum performance from Cozy, but is unusual in that the Red Special is not used at all; only an ominous bed of acoustic guitars and subtle keyboards form the instrumentation. Otherwise, Brian’s vocals – arguably some of his strongest, which helps to date the recording to sessions for
Heroes
and not the late 1980s, a time when his voice was questionable at best – are the centrepiece of the song. As with any new, previously unheard treasure, it would be easy to rank this song higher than any of the covers on
Another World
, but, once cooler heads prevail, its omission is understandable, though had it been finished, it would have been a worthy inclusion.

MARRIAGE OF DALE AND MING (AND FLASH

APPROACHING)
(May/Taylor)

• Album:
Flash

A two-minute instrumental featuring occasional blasts of the main theme but mostly dominated by a repetitive piano motif beneath film dialogue from
Flash Gordon
, it’s astounding that it took both Brian and Roger to write this minor contribution to the soundtrack.

MASTERS OF WAR
(Dylan)

• Album (Roger):
Frontier

The often politically-outspoken Roger rarely instilled his beliefs into Queen songs out of fear of alienating their fan base, but he would take potshots at impotent politicians and their dehumanizing morals throughout his solo career, usually with mixed results. For
Strange Frontier
, recorded at a time when the Cold War was still a valid threat and world leaders were threatening each other with nuclear arms, Roger finally dipped his toe into the sociopolitical pool and found its waters welcoming; yet he was unable to better Bob Dylan’s ‘Masters Of War’, a pacifistic song against war written after watching President Dwight Eisenhower’s 1961 farewell address from the Oval Office.

“The other cover tune is a very old Dylan protest song which I did sort of electronically,” Roger told Jim Ladd in 1984. “Strangely enough, a lot of the lyrics hold up quite well today. This one is done slower than ‘Racing In The Street’, but it’s very electronic. I use a Linn [drum-machine] on it. It works quite nicely.” Twenty-plus years later, its words still rang true, and Roger suitably deconstructed the original from its terse acoustic backing, rearranging it into a synthesized, mechanical onslaught, depicting a cold, lifeless society that the current world leaders were creating. Interestingly, Roger dropped three verses from his recording, more out of time constraints than because of the message conveyed.

MAYBE BABY
(Petty/Hardin)

• B-side (Brian): 5/98 [61]

Originally recorded by Buddy Holly and The Crickets in 1958 – and released in March of that year, going on to reach No. 4 in the charts – Brian’s version of ‘Maybe Baby’ is a joyful and faithful recording of the classic rock song, with the Brian May Band (Cozy Powell, drums; Jamie Moses, guitar; Spike Edney, keyboards; Neil Murray, bass) backing several nicely harmonizing Brians. Because of Brian’s commitment to the original, the cover isn’t unique, yet it’s still a fun and short rendition.

The song was released on the North American send-away CD
Retro Rock
and was also released as the B-side of ‘The Business’ in May 1998, as well as on the Dutch release of ‘On My Way Up’ the same month. Intended first for the ultimately abandoned
Heroes
project, ‘Maybe Baby’ eluded live performance until November 2004, when Brian sang lead vocals on the song, backed by the original Crickets and Albert Lee at the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Fender Stratocaster concert.

THE MEETING (SOLO GUITAR)
(May)

• Soundtrack (Brian):
Furia

Performed almost entirely on The Red Special, ‘The
Meeting (Solo Guitar)’, as with ‘First Glance (Solo Flute)’, also features a keyboard droning away in the background to help pad out the musical structure.

MILLIONAIRE
(Moss/Edney/Macrae/Noone)

• Album (The Cross):
Blue
• Live (The Cross):
Germany

While Roger was away recording tracks for a post-
Innuendo
album with Queen, the other members of The Cross were feverishly writing songs for
Blue Rock
, resulting in the band’s finest, albeit unappreciated, hour. ‘Millionaire’ was a four-way collaboration among Clayton, Spike, Joshua and Peter, and the results are mixed. While there’s a self-deprecating tone to the lyrics, the music is generic rock, and could be the low point of
Blue Rock
(although what may have been the low point in 1991 is still miles above the best from
Shove It
in 1987). Roger delivers the lyrics with an uncharacteristic sneer, cutting the song short with the humorous send-off, “We have to stop now, guys, we can’t afford any more.”

The song was performed live on the tour supporting Magnum in the autumn of 1991, with a live version appearing on the 1992 Fan Club-only bootleg,
Live In Germany
.

THE MILLIONAIRE WALTZ
(Mercury)

• Album:
Races

A delightful excursion into the camp music that graced the early Queen albums, Freddie’s ‘The Millionaire Waltz’ portrays the vocalist revelling in his riches and luxuries, but makes sure to stress that having everything in the world means nothing without love. “It’s all about John Reid, actually,” Freddie told Kenny Everett in 1976. “It’s very out of the Queen format, really and we thought we’d like to do that on every album. I think I went a bit mad on this one. But it’s turned out alright I think, it makes people laugh sometimes.” Performed as a waltz, its unusual structure is dominated mostly by Freddie – on vocals and piano – and John turning in a superb bass performance, which has been praised both by fans and band members alike. The song finally accelerates into a Queen tour de force, but this outburst is brief, lasting barely thirty seconds, before Brian delivers a campy, orchestrated solo. “Brian has orchestrated it fully with guitars like he’s never done before,” Freddie told
Circus
magazine in 1977. “He goes from tubas to piccolos to cellos. It’s taken weeks. Brian’s very finicky.” Brian later told
Guitar Player
, “I think that holds the record. There’s one bit in there which is sort of a fairground effect in the background. I think there are three octaves for each part, and six parts. I’m not sure but there must be about eighteen or twenty guitar tracks. It’s a funny sound. It makes a peculiarly sort of rigid sound. I was really surprised. It sounded like a fairground organ.”

In terms of arrangement and overall pomp and circumstance, ‘The Millionaire Waltz’ was the logical successor to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, which Roger stated in
Circus
: “[It’s] an arranged, intricate number. There are several time-signature changes, though not quite so many vocal overdubs.” Freddie was proud of the song, telling Kenny Everett, “I think it’s good and we’re patting ourselves on the back again. I really think it’s worked out well especially from the orchestration point of view. Because [Brian] really used his guitar in a different sort of way; I know he’s done lots of orchestrations before.”

‘The Millionaire Waltz’ was played live in the medley between 1977 and 1978, always segueing into ‘You’re My Best Friend’ following the “my fine friend” line.

MING’S THEME (IN THE COURT OF

MING THE MERCILESS)
(Mercury)

• Album:
Flash

Written around a droning synthesizer motif with timpani explosions from Roger, Freddie’s ‘Ming’s Theme (In The Court Of Ming The Merciless)’ consists mostly of dialogue between Ming and a representative from the people of Ardentia. Though the actual composition last less than forty seconds, it’s padded out for two further minutes with incidental dialogue and synthesizer drones.

THE MIRACLE
(Queen)

• Album:
Miracle
• A-side: 11/89 [21] • Compilation:
Hits2, Classic

The title track of Queen’s thirteenth studio album is another world-weary anthem, which had been tackled far more successfully earlier, and comes off sounding ham-fisted and overly saccharine. However, there’s a certain optimistic sentimentality in the performance that transcends earlier Queen anthems; whereas something like ‘We Are The Champions’ dances that fine line between serious and tongue-in-cheek, ‘The Miracle’, like ‘Friends Will Be Friends’, was designed to be taken seriously, and, if Freddie had been well
enough at this point to tour behind the album, would have marked that dreadful moment in the show when the audience would wave their arms and lighters.