Released on 4 February 1991 "Innuendo" was the 14th., studio album by the British rock band Queen. Produced by David Richards and Queen, it was their last album to be released in lead singer Freddie Mercury's
lifetime. The album reached the No. 1 spot on the UK Albums Chart for
two weeks, and also peaked at No. 1 in Italy, the Netherlands, Germany,
and Switzerland, staying at No. 1 for three weeks, four weeks, six
weeks, and eight weeks, respectively. It was the first Queen album to go
Gold in the US upon its release since The Works in 1984.
The album was recorded between March 1989 and November 1990. In the spring of 1987, Mercury had been diagnosed with AIDS,
although he kept his illness a secret from the public and denied
numerous media reports that he was seriously ill. The band and producers
were aiming for a November or December release date in order to catch
the crucial Christmas market, but Mercury's declining health meant that
the release of the album did not take place until February 1991.
Stylistically, Innuendo has been regarded as a return to Queen's mid-1970s bombastic period of exaggerated music and lavish production. Nine months after the album was released, on 24 November, Mercury died of AIDS-derived bronchopneumonia, a day after he publicly revealed his condition.
Queen released their thirteenth album, The Miracle,
in May 1989, but unlike their previous albums, they did not conduct a
live tour. In an interview Freddie Mercury conducted with BBC Radio 1,
he said that he wanted to break from the "album – tour – album – tour"
routine. He had privately been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1987, and at
the time of the interview had been diagnosed with AIDS, which was not
yet publicised; however, rumours had been spreading since 1988 about his health and of
the possibility that he had the disease, with speculation fuelled by a
clear physical decline in his appearance, particularly weight loss. While he kept quiet due to his preference not to talk to the media, the
other band members denied the rumours; at one point, band member Roger Taylor told reporters that "he is healthy and working". In February 1990, Queen won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music. While Mercury accepted the award for the band at the Dominion Theatre, Brian May
spoke for the band. Mercury's increasingly gaunt appearance at the
ceremony sparked further speculation from the public about his health,
which persisted throughout 1990. The 1990 BRIT Awards would be Mercury's final public appearance.
Mercury did not speak publicly about his health, saying that he
did not want to sell his music out of people's sympathy for him. He was
determined to continue working on music with Queen for as long as he
could, saying that he would "keep working until I fucking drop". Mercury was persistently bothered by reporters at his London home,
making it difficult for the band to record. As a result, the band
relocated to Mountain Studios in Montreux, where the safer and more peaceful atmosphere allowed the band to concentrate. Early in Innuendo's
recording, the band decided that all work would be again credited to
Queen as a whole instead of to individual contributing members; May said
that the decision made a significant impact in the recording process,
while Taylor said that it helped eliminate much of the egotistical
struggles that would normally cause bands to break up.
The album opened with "Innuendo" began as a jam session
in Switzerland amongst Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon in
spring 1989. Freddie Mercury was upstairs and heard them playing the
beat, and turned it into a song, creating the melody and starting off
the lyrics. "Innuendo" was released as a single in January 1991, debuting at No. 1 in the UK. "I'm Going Slightly Mad", was begun in Mercury's London house, after
he had the idea of writing a song about madness, inspired by Noël Coward's camp one-liners. Most of the lyrics like "banana tree" or "one needle", came from both him and his friend Peter Straker,
who stayed up all night in Mercury's kitchen, devising ever more
outlandish lines. The music is Mercury's and is one of the earliest
songs the band were working on in Montreux when Steve Howe came in.
The video that accompanied the song saw Mercury dressed in a costume
suit with wild hair, white gloves, long pointing shoes and extremely
heavy make up, filmed in black and white. "Headlong" was written by May at the studio they had in Switzerland. He recorded it for his debut solo album, Back to the Light, which he was making at the same time, but after hearing Mercury sing it, decided it worked better as a Queen song."I Can't Live With You" was also written for May's solo album. He
gave it to the band as well since Taylor, Deacon and Mercury were fond
of the track. Drums were programmed on synth by May, and the
keyboard-pads were added by the producer. "Don't Try So Hard" came from Mercury.
The second half began with "Ride the Wild Wind" which was composed by Taylor, who recorded a demo with
his own vocals. The album version is sung by Mercury with Taylor on
backing vocals. The song is a sort of sequel of Taylor's A Night at the Opera composition, "I'm in Love with My Car",
which focused on a man's passion for cars and racing. This time, the
song involved all of the other members, that gave life to a fast song
with beating drums and rhythmic bass line, which create the sensation of
speed and engine's roar. In the mid-part, a May solo, which accentuates
the sense of high velocity, and also gives the song a heavier sound. In
some parts, a racing car can be heard."All God's People" was co-written by Mercury and Mike Moran, initially as part of Mercury's Barcelona
project under the title "Africa by Night". He had asked May to play
guitar, then one thing led to another and the entire band played. "All God's People" has a strong gospel influence. It contains Mercury's highest full-voice note, an F5 heard after the lyrics "around the world." Next "These Are The Days Of Our Lives" was written by Taylor. Keyboards were programmed by all band members in the studio, and conga percussion was recorded by David Richards. The music video
for this song was Mercury's last appearance in a video medium, and with
his knowing farewell look straight at the camera, Mercury whispers "I
still love you" at the end of the song. By the time the video was made, it had become impossible to disguise
that Mercury was seriously ill. The video was filmed in colour, but
converted to black and white to minimise Mercury's frail appearance. "Delilah" was a song Mercury penned for his favourite female calico cat named Delilah. Although Mercury had about 11 cats, Delilah was special. "The Hitman" was started by Mercury. The original
version was apparently on keyboards and in a different key. May took
Mercury's riff
(not uncommon), changed the key and recorded a demo of the heavy
version. Deacon then re-arranged the structure and they all filled the
gaps in lyrics and recorded it. All of the backing vocals were done by
May. The demo version is sung by May, with Mercury making spoken
comments (like "Bite the bullet baby!")."Bijou" was an idea Mercury and May had of making a song
"inside-out", having guitar doing the verses and the vocal doing the
break. Mercury put the chords, title and lyrics, and the two of them
worked on the guitar parts. Mercury sang the first line and then May
transferred the melody to his Red Special.
The song was finished without any input from Taylor or Deacon. The beautiful and magnificent "The Show Must Go On" was written by May, based on a chord sequence
he had been working on. May decided to use the sequence, and both he and
Mercury decided the theme of the lyrics and wrote the first verse
together. From then on May finished the lyrics, completed the vocal
melody and wrote the bridge, inspired by Pachelbel's Canon.
Some keys and ideas were also suggested by the producer. The song
chronicles the effort of Mercury continuing to perform despite
approaching the end of his life. The song was initially not released as a single as part of promotion for the Innuendo album, but was released in October 1991 as the band launched their Greatest Hits II album.
The album received favorable critics considered on the band's finest record ever recorded and named as the Queen's last masterpiece cause boldly confronted mortality, the album was a fitting way to end one of rock's most succesful careers also it had a lot of intelligent humour and pathos about it.
Innuendo Track List:
1. Innuendo
2. I'm Going Slightly Mad
3. Headlong
4. I Can't Live With You
5. Don't Try So Hard
6. Ride The Wild Wind
7. All God's People
8. These Are The Days Of Our Lives
9. Delilah
10. The Hitman
11. Bijou
12. The Show Must Go On
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario