Bijou by Queen: How a filler track signaled the long-awaited return to form of my favourite Band.
So what’s so great about Bijou by Queen? Following the lump-in-the-throat disappointment of Queen’s comeback Album: The Miracle, I approached its follow up: Innuendo with lowered expectations. The title track: Innuendo sets out its stall early, harking back to their trademark multi-passage approach. It’s good, but it ain’t Bohemian Rhapsody. I Can’t Live With You and Don’t Try So Hard also tick all the boxes that the Miracle couldn’t, being more Queen than anything on the previous album but still not offering up any fireworks. These are the Days of our Lives feels like, is Freddie’s last goodbye and you would have thought the end of the album. I would’ve been happy with that, but it’s not, as it lingers onto a couple more, The Miracle standard, forgettable tracks.
…And then… Boom!
Bijou is the Queen-fan-who-plays-the-guitar’s wet dream, and Queen are finally back in business. Brian May isn’t known for his tapping, but not on this evidence, as we’re treated to an instantly gratifying intro that immediately outshines anything so far and also on the whole of the previous album. Then those beautiful swirling pads fade in.
I remember the first time I heard Bijou. It was about this point, a mere 10 seconds in, that I took off my critics hat, forgot about how the album was going so far and just took it in. From here Brian, obviously in his element, embarks on a masterclass of tone, control, feel, and phrasing. Bijou is played with the fingers for the most part, which makes it even more impressive given the levels of overdrive involved, which Brian manages to tame in the opening soft, vocal passages, with the delay adding an ethereal mood against those grand string pads.
This, of course, builds and builds, telling a story without words, ending at around 1m 15s with one of two stand-out guitar moments. That root note against the F chord. This is one of the elements to Brian May’s playing that makes him great, playing over the chords. There’s a complex chord progression going on here, but Brian has the uncanny ability to know exactly where he is and exactly what to play against a given chord to make the biggest impact, and then he embellishes it with bending and vibrato, just for good measure.
…. and then a pause. And I have no idea what to expect next.
You and me… We are destined….
Brian May has almost brought me to tears with his last guitar lick, but at around 1m 25s, out of the blue, Freddie Mercury appears and delivers what has to be one of my favourite 10 seconds of vocals I’ve ever heard, so now I am in tears. Why are those 10 seconds so good? The timing, the phrasing, the emotion? For me, it means more than any of the sentiments portrayed in These are the Days. That was written by Roger Taylor, but this feels like Freddie is actually in the room with you. For me, this is his real goodbye, like a ghost making a last appearance in the middle of a song and then fading away into the distance again. This is effortless, as though Freddie has nothing to prove anymore. A musical gift of everything you want to hear, delivered earnestly, personally, perfectly.
As Freddie disappears as a whisper in the wind, we pause again, and it’s back over the Brian, but how does he respond to that? You can almost picture him looking down on the fretboard, dejected, wondering how can I top that? But this is Brian’s friend, as close as a brother, so he responds with the second standout lick of course! This time the tapping pattern ascends upwards like a horn-section of the angels into a crescendo that rolls back 20 years of Queen’s absolute best in a split second. The crunch of the six-pence, the attack, the screaming high bend, the vibrato. I’m sure Freddie pushed him into that.
As your breath is taking away yet again, Brian switches into blues mode for a welcome respite, before revisiting the opening motifs and finally the big finish.
Gladly, this isn’t Freddie’s last goodbye, as Bijou’s strings fade out, here comes Freddie’s final, defiant act. The Show Must Go on, confirming, once and for all, that Queen were back to their best, right at the end.
We sadly all know what happened in subsequent years, but Bijou is still not only one of my favourite Queen songs, it’s also played a major part in my practice noodling since it was released, way back in 1991. I use it as an exercise in control and accuracy when playing under heavy overdrive, but most of all, as a gauge of how I’m doing with my playing in general.
As far as I’m concerned, If I can manage Bijou, I’m in a good place!
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