Tater Thoughts

I wasn't planning this little episode, but as I got home from a great day and began unwinding, I simply had to talk about that wonderful feeling of coming home and sinking in.

Roger's sole contribution to Queen's A Night at the Opera is one of their most enduring numbers, and easily Roger's greatest lead vocal moment. "I'm in Love with My Car" is an ode to ones automobile and celebrates hard rock with lots of cymbals, cheeky lyrics and a gritty and loud performance. Live, Roger impressively performs drums and vocals, taking full advantage of the rare opportunity to be center stage. Catchy in its simplicity, I can't help but enjoy it.

As an additional facet of my Queen obsession, I thought it would be fun to pick a member of Queen who steals my attention the most on every album. Yes, there are breathtaking moments of skill and expression from all the guys, on every song, on every album. But as I listen to each album in its entirety, there are inevitably moments I notice John more, or Freddie, etc. I started this when I recently kicked off A Night at the Opera, giving the honor to Brian as the one who steals my attention most. Controversial? Probably. But I have my reasons! In this episode, I recap Queen's first three albums and give each of them to one of the boys.

Bouncy, bubbly, totally vaudevillian happy..."Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" feels nothing like the vicious number before it, which was also Freddie's composition. But this wasn't just a silly joke of a song. In its brevity, we find impressive piano from Freddie, a glorious guitar solo from Brian, and John and Roger prove they're capable of playing just about anything with ease. Queen only played this live in '76, and whether the performance was kind of rough or more dialed in, the guys had fun with it. 

What do you do when you're finally (sort of) free from a constricting contract? You write a song about it. Freddie didn't hold back on this one. "Death on Two Legs (Dedicated to...)" is vicious and terrifying, and it perfectly kicks off Queen's A Night at the Opera. It's a classically inspired number with harmonic minor tension that is overwhelmingly infused with rock energy. If a terrifyingly brilliant Dali painting were turned into to a song, this would be it. Live? It's an absolute monster.

This is one of the best albums ever. That's all I really need to write about this episode. But there's so much more. A Night at the Opera has been recognized, praised, and celebrated as a massive inspiration for decades, and it was a game changer for Queen. Its success came at a critical moment for the band and the album not only kept them in the game, it catapulted them to superstardom.

Yep, it's all coffee talk (literally) today. I'm procrastinating kicking off my next set of Queen Deep Dives (A Night at the Opera, I'm freaking out!) so I decided to talk about a light and happy thing that seems unimportant and silly but is such a joyous (if brief) part of my day. Coffee lovers unite.

Cheez Whiz. Sitar. A shuffling beat. Termites. Doesn't make sense, does it? That's the brilliance of "Loser". When this song came out, there was nothing else like it. And who would have thought a song thrown together (in a kitchen?) within a matter of hours would hit the big time? Multi-instrumentalist Beck certainly didn't. But this is the song that kicked off his long and impressive career. He's performed "Loser" so many times live, it's probably been done in every genre imaginable. 

A more simple and square structure builds the framework for "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited". Thanks to subtle nuances of chromatic notes, juxtaposed and evocative high and low vocals from Freddie, and addictively rousing melodies, this culminates into a wonderful closing track. It was a mainstay closer on Queen's tours for several years and shined brightest as a live number; being Freddie's first crowd participation composition.

Odd, a little weird, kind of dark, but lovely and luscious, "She Makes Me (Stormtroopers In Stilettos)" is a Brian May number that wins me over every time. He takes the lead vocally (and in all harmonies) with sleepy acoustic guitars and persistent drums creating a dreamy, psychedelic and dissonant atmosphere we'll never again hear from Queen.