Freddie Mercury is my favourite vocalist, songwriter and performer of all time, but even the legend himself got it wrong, sometimes.
Nowadays. Freddie and Queen bask in the almost universal glory of music royalty (no pun intended), and with Adam Lambert, the Bohemian Rhapsody film, and the various musicals, this adoration has endured for over 50 years and counting. Today, artists like Sam Ryder are bringing Freddie’s spirit and unique talent to a whole new generation.
Just to prove that I’m not biased, Check out my Top 5 Freddie Mercury Live Vocals.
But it wasn’t always like this. Queen and Freddie, in their heyday, definitely had their critics and weren’t exactly the darlings of the music press at the time. Queen were perhaps never the most focused band or the best in a particular genre, but uniquely, they genre-hopped, and, as history has proven, they succeeded.
I thought it might be fun to try and pick 5 songs from Queen’s back catalogue where in my opinion Freddie missed the mark.
Stone Cold Crazy (Sheer Heart Attack – 1974)
One of the areas where Freddie regularly got a roasting from the press was in his delivery of the harder rock, verging into metal styles. But first of all, let’s not underestimate the greatness and importance of this song, which, to a large extent, was an early influence on the metal scene in general. Fast forward to James Hetfield of Metallica belting this out at Wembley Stadium for Freddie’s tribute concert in 1992.
And here’s the thing Hetfield sang it better. Perhaps how it should’ve been sung in the first place, with all the power, growl and attitude he could muster (which is LOT). On the other hand, Freddie, with only the beginnings of his later trademark live roar, gives a spiky, almost female shriek, which doesn’t sit well with the heaviness of the guitars. Maybe it was a stylistic choice to fit with the gangster theme at the time (Queen wouldn’t have been aware of the later influence the song would have), but nevertheless, not one of Freddie’s best.
Under Pressure (Hot Space – 1981)
In contrast to Stone Cold Crazy, Under Pressure isn’t one of my favourite Queen songs either. It’s famously a collaboration with David Bowie, and to me has always sounded like a rush job, which it is (they spontaneously put this together when the two parties were working at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland).
Similar to One Vision (see below), Freddie’s recorded vocal falls way short of the way he belted this out live, particularly at Wembley ’86. It just never get’s going, and (like the song) feels rushed, uncontrolled, and all over the place. In fact, Bowie, never one of my favourite vocalists, steals the show here, with a focused, authentic delivery and Freddie taking a rare back seat. As sing-offs go, he lost this one. Not that Freddie would have minded.
One year of Love
A beautiful love song by John Deacon, one of the very finest in Queen’s formidable history. Sadly, Queen never played it live, which is one of life’s great shames, as if Freddie could have done a live Under Pressure job on this, it really would have been something special. Alas, we’ll never know.
So what’s so bad about the vocal? A bit like Stone Cold Crazy, I don’t think the vocal delivery fits the song at all. It’s a lush, orchestrated waltz, and Freddie begins by ripping up his 4 octaves in a frenzied, manic fashion that really does clash with the sentiment and feel of the song. It’s such a shock, that when he does eventually calm it down on the last chorus, it really is something worth waiting for, so maybe that was the idea all along, who knows?
Maybe the vocal on this was too easy, and he got bored so tried something flashier, something different, in typical Freddie fashion. I’m not sure it worked though and considering Freddie’s performance on other classic Deacon songs, like my all-time fave, In Only Seven Days, this is a real letdown.
My lips search for your lips! Ouch.
One Vision
Like Under Pressure, the live version is great, with Freddie belting out his rich, seasoned, melodic power for all the world to hear, but the shrill histrionics on the recording performance (as well as the awful production) seems very rushed, which is a surprise considering Queen’s much-documented perfectionism.
Hitman
Simple one to end. A weak filler-track song I don’t think Freddie could sing. All the way back to the days of Stone Cold Crazy and earlier, the heavier stuff was never Freddie’s forte or thing. No, neither the song or the vocals have aged very well at all!
What’s your top (or should I say bottom) Freddie Mercury recorded vocals? Let’s discuss in the comments below.
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