Tater Thoughts

In a rare one-off, with the help of John on groovin' bass and Roger on shuffling drums, Brian jives on his guitar and all vocals to give us "Sleeping on the Sidewalk", a bluesy, breezy song with an instrumental track entirely recorded in one take. Freddie is noticeably absent; but he does appear on the rare live performances, on lead vocals.

Leave it to Freddie Mercury to bring the heat with Queen's first overtly sexual song, "Get Down, Make Love"; complete with a psychedelic interlude. It's polarized fans from the very beginning, and critics were hard on it. But even if the lyrics surprise, the instrumental of this song is something amazing to behold. The musical conversation in the verses, contrasted with that loud and aggressive bridge. All capped by Freddie's assertive and fantastic vocal performance. The demo version has an awesome instrumental interlude, and as a live number, this song really lit it up.

Do you ever feel irrelevant, too? Yeah. I get you. In this episode, I dig into the digital world, social media, digital privacy, skepticism, trust (or lack of it, rather), and how all of that informs our feelings of relevancy and connection. And finally, I touch on how we can feel relevant in real life when the online world feels so foreign.

When Roger Taylor brings it on an angry song, you better believe it's going to be feisty. And hot. "Fight from the Inside" is both, and is surprisingly, kind of sort of disco. In a way. It's that guitar riff! You might be shocked to find out that we're missing not one, but two Queen members here. But knowing Roger played so much of this himself, and sang all the vocals? That's kind of amazing. Bonus: A demo version was unveiled a few years ago.

John Deacon gives us his first of two tracks on News of the World, "Spread Your Wings". Many fans adore this, crowds always loved it, and I personally think it's one of John's best, if not his best. A bluesy rock ballad, the song features John on bass and acoustic guitar, with Freddie providing the sole lead vocal. Brian soars on guitar and Roger perfectly punctuates impactful moments on percussion. But the BBC version? Oh my goodness. It's superior. And oh, the alternate version from recording sessions!

Partially inspired by the loss of his cat, Brian gives us one of Queen's darkest lyrical moments with "All Dead, All Dead". It's surprisingly jazzy and almost glittery with its piano arrangement; and somehow, strangely calming. Though it was never performed live, a hybrid version with both Freddie and Brian on lead exists, and was unveiled to celebrate the 40th anniversary of News of the World.

I went on a little vacation last week, and disconnected from the world (literally) on hikes in the high desert. But the best part? My two best girlfriends, and their much-needed incredibly-appreciated company. I love these ladies and I've known them forever. And it got me thinking about what they mean to me personally, and the value of good friendships in all our lives.

One of Roger's fantastic contributions to News of the World, "Sheer Heart Attack" is Queen's one and only real punk number. And Roger wrote it years prior, during sessions for the album of the same name, when punk wasn't even a thing! In fact, this is almost a Roger solo track. He played several instruments, including bass (yeah, John sits this one out), and sings lead in the chorus. Freddie gives us major attitude in the verses, and Brian provides necessary guitar grit with impressive riffs. But, live? That's really where this song shines.

This is officially the catchiest song in the history of popular music. Freddie Mercury's "We Are the Champions" effectively put Queen on the map in even more parts to the world, and secured their place as an iconic piece of music history. But this is so much more than just a crowd anthem. The complexities of this song's key changes, the subtlety of Roger's strategic drumming, Brian's supportive guitar, John's melodic bass, and of course Freddie's sparkling piano and his amazing vocal performance...they all make this something so much more. And live...what an emotional experience.

Stomp stomp clap. That's it. That's all I could write about this all-important number from Queen, Brian's innovative a cappella-like album opener "We Will Rock You". It sets the stage for one of their most iconic albums. It actually has two versions. The fast version was a beast that kicked off many a Queen concert. To celebrate News of the World's 40th anniversary, the boys released an original demo version with a very interesting guitar solo take from Brian.

EDIT: At the end of this, I mention a later album track and was thinking of an entirely different one when I started talking about Brian's passionate writing. My bad!