Queen has always been my favourite band. But despite the obvious mega-hits of Bohemian Rhapsody etc, one song has always stood out to me as being special: John Deacon’s In Only Seven Days, from their 1978 album, Jazz. So what’s so special about it?
The Jazz Album’s unique atmosphere
There’s also something special about Queen’s Jazz Album. Sure it has the well-known hits of Fat Bottomed Girls and Bicycle race. But, deeper than that, with the likes of Dreamer’s Ball, Leaving Home Ain’t Easy, Let me Entertain you, and of course, the massive Don’t Stop Me Now, Jazz possesses a melancholic, dance-hall vibe of the golden age of yesteryear. I first heard the album on my Walkman on a bus home from Blackpool as a teenager (A Postcard To Blackpool: Sowing the seeds). It seemed to be the perfect soundtrack for the place, with its traditional seaside history, ballroom waltzes, and all the razzmatazz of its showgirls and end-of-peer shows. It’s always been my favourite Queen Album, or for that matter favourite album full stop.
Freddie Mercury’s Legendary Vocals
Freddie Mercury, of course, needs no introduction. And it’s my favourite singer’s unbridled, honest delivery that initially grabs you. Freddie always sang from the heart, you can feel the words as well as appreciate his vocal talent and delivery. This is Freddie at his very best, telling the story as if he were beside you in the room, welcoming you into it. Freddie had a gift of expression seldom seen before or since, and also all the tools of his 4-octave vocal range at his disposal to execute, from a close whisper to a silvery, soaring, fully opened-up roar and expertly controlled falsetto on call when required. Freddie, as the frontman, was a master at selling the song, of helping the listener get the song’s message and meaning, even if they weren’t his own.
In Only Seven Days is just another example of the great man’s legacy. Starting off on his trademark bright, optimistic note to signify the start of the Holiday, to whimsical on seeing her for the first time, hopeful on seeing her again, to the excitable celebration of the meeting. Then there’s the genius of actually melding his mood and delivery to the waltz of the guitar solo which makes for a truly magical moment before finally exasperation at the parting. A masterclass in vocal delivery.
In Only Seven Days: A simple love Story
Simple but so very effective. In Only Seven Days takes you through the days of the week on a well needed holiday, from finding love, to leaving it behind on the last day. It’s so well contained, leaving a bitter-sweet ending, and almost unbearable yearning for more. John Deacon’s words are just ambiguous enough to paint the scene but also allow your own experiences to mesh with it, to make it your very own, special to you alone. Your own holiday, your own love, your own loss. I remember going on many subsequent holidays and wishing it would turn out just like in the song. It became a soundtrack to my life.
The Unique Song Structure
You can’t just bash some open chords along to In Only Seven Days. This is piano based indulgence with a complex interweaving picked acoustic guitar as a counterpoint. It’s a song you could never do justice to in a cover band. It stops and starts at whim, guided always by the story, by the voice. It seems to do away with music theory and goes off on its own journey. In fact, with its tightly defined start, middle and end, In Only Seven Days follows the structure of book/story more than the Verse/Chorus structure of a song (It doesn’t really have a chorus as such). Queen could often be accused of over-egging a song and extending the life out of it, but here they crammed all of their formidable combined talents into an expertly judged 2 minutes 29 seconds.
Brian May’s Inspirational Guitar Work
My guitar hero, Brian May excels on this track above all others. First off, the subtle but effective acoustic picking underpinning and perfectly complimenting and accentuating the story, as well as contributing to the laid-back, holiday mood of the song.
As a guitarist myself I always try to pick things up, learn and imitate. With this though, I just accept and enjoy. Just the acoustic track alone is a masterpiece, resolving ‘answers’ to the vocals ‘questions’ and providing subtle but effective hooks to lift the song to new heights.
Then you get to the meeting of lovers, the bonding, the waltz and the heart-breaking parting, to the welcome backdrop of the most beautiful layered orchestral electric guitar work you’ll ever hear. It moves like elegant dancing swans to the rhythm of the dance, augmenting and adding lushness, grandness, before finally cutting free with the most restrained, tasteful of crescendos. It’s classic Brian May and deserves to be remembered as one of his best solos.
The multi-tracked guitar tones are of course stunning. The signature hollow, vowely, out-of-phase lines of the Red Special stacking like a string/brass orchestra but also occupying their own space, slicing through the mix. Sound design at its absolute finest. This unique tone of the treble-boosted Red Special through the Deacy amp tugs on the heartstrings every bit as much as the words or the vocals.
To me, this song defines what Brian May is all about. Phrasing, respect and understanding of the song, restraint, incredible guitar tones, signature guitar orchestration. But more than that, it demonstrates Brian as a fantastic acoustic player, something he doesn’t get a lot of credit for.
The Total Package
Of course, when you put all of the above elements together, you give up trying to imitate it for your own needs, and instead, appreciate it for what is. A special musical moment where inspirational songwriting and performances came together perfectly, captured forever, and will never again to be repeated.
In Only Seven Days represents the perfectionism of Queen in their heyday, and I absolutely love it!
Please give this beautiful song a mere 2 minutes 29 seconds of your time.
What do you think?
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