I was born right at the end of the group’s career, and when Freddy Mercury passed away in 1991, I was too young to understand. In the years after, I never really got into the band, as my folks always seemed to play the same songs over & over. I didn’t think they were bad, but if that was all Queen had to offer, I wasn’t interested. It really hasn’t been until 2014/2015 that I’ve truly appreciated the work they’ve done, and for that I’m sorry. Anyways, with this month devoted to a 3-part overview on Motorhead, you’re probably wondering why I’m talking about one of the world’s most iconic rock bands. Well.....
This month marks the 25th anniversary of Freddy Mercury’s death. 25 long years without one of music’s most powerful voices. So to celebrate the life of such an amazing person, not to mention an amazing band, I’m going to take a look at Queen’s final two albums. These are the ones that closed this chapter of the group, and concluded a remarkable story. Today’s review is of their last album recorded with Freddy, Innuendo. Let’s take a look!
Background
By the dawn of the 90s, touring was out of the question for Queen. Freddy Mercury’s health at this point was in the pits, as he was supposed to die in 1988, but somehow managed to make it to the early 90s. However, this allowed the band to completely focus on the production, which was made all the better with their signing to Hollywood Records (A division of Disney). After working their asses off, Queen released one of their final albums, Innuendo, on February the 9th, 1991. Reviews for this album were mixed at first, with Rolling Stone magazine stated "Innuendo is so lightweight you'll forget it as soon as it's over", & People magazine wrote "If this is cartoon rock and roll, at least it's good and brazenly cartoonish". However, Allmusic wrote years later that “Innuendo was a fitting way to end one of rock's most successful careers”.
Basic Description
Beautiful yet cryptic.
It’s very obvious that Freddy was on death’s door in 1991. If you’ve seen video footage from that time, or a couple pictures, you can tell he could pass away at any moment. So many of the songs on here have a finality to them, and some just come across as “This is it. It’s over.”. It’s truly heartbreaking, as he was quite beautiful. Beautiful in his humanity & personality, and beautiful in voice as well. Innuendo closes the ranks between all members of the band: in this rare instance, all four members feel like their jamming & singing as one. Despite the finality of the album, there is a aspect of hope & vitality. Freddy Mercury, along with the rest of Queen, stare down the grim reaper, and offer some of the most triumphant music of their entire career.
Best Track
I’m Going Slightly Mad! Even in the face of death, Freddy Mercury still had a sense of humor, and the rest of Queen pretty much had the same mindset. While the instrumentation has this melancholic vibe for the most part, and Freddy’s voice is much lower than it was in prior albums, it’s hard not to go along with the beat. Not only that, but the lyrics are just outright goofy. Almost upon Weird Al levels of silly! Coupled with one of their finest & equally funny music videos, and this becomes a memorable piece of music.
I’m Going Slightly Mad
A good second place track would be the concluding song, The Show Must Go On. Often misinterpreted as Freddy’s goodbye to his bandmates & the fans (That accolade would be credited to Was It All Worth It on their prior album, The Miracle), The Show Must Go On was instead Freddy’s acknowledgment of his imminent death, and the band’s goodbye to Freddy. Equal parts sorrowful, melancholic, and metallic, this track is a fitting concluding song, and represents everything that Queen has ever done.
The Show Must Go On
Worst Track
There nothing’s bad on here. Given that they weren’t going to tour for this record, they devoted their entire time and energy to Innuendo’s recording & production, creating perhaps their best record ever. The only thing that could be considered bad about Innuendo, is that this would be the last time that all 4 members of Queen would be together. The last time that Freddy, Brian, Roger, and John would ever create music. It’s a rather haunting thing to think about, and it’s made all the more tragic when you consider what was to come.
Other
If you’re interested in purchasing Innuendo, check out the link below & give it a listen to.
Innuendo
Overall Impression & Rating
Innuendo is the kind of album that a band (Metal or Otherwise), should aspire to end on. Queen has never been more connected & more focused in their career than they were on this record, and it shows: the instrumentation is tight, the vocal work superb, and the emotions in the songs are powerful. There is a grim aura around this record, but the band has never been better. Listen to this albu
Innuendo gets a 9 out of 10.
And that was a look at Innuendo. A damn fine but reluctant way for Queen to bow off stage. However they still had a little bit of gas left in the tank, and around the mid 90s they were gonna use it. That review will have to wait however, as Motörhead is knocking on this blog’s door, and I’m definitely gonna answer. So see you all next week, as part 2 of my overview on Motörhead continues, when we’ll look at their time in the 90s. See you then!
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