Queen - News of the World Review

British Classic Rock band Queen had conquered the world in 1975 with their album A Night at the Opera and the single off this album Bohemian Rhapsody.  Now the year is 1977, and they are ready to reconquer the earth with a bolder and even heavier statement - News of the World. 

The two big singles released were We Will Rock You written by guitarist Brian May and We Are The Champions written by lead vocalist Freddie Mercury.  The two songs, although completely different from one another, go hand in hand at sporting events around the world.  Because of the sparseness of We Will Rock You's STOMP STOMP CLAP is something that Queen or sports fans can sing without the use of a music background, which is what Brian May strove for originally when he wrote the song.  We Are The Champions is made up of the over-the-top hard rock Queen sound that we had gotten used to from their A Night at the Opera album two years before. This makes total sense when you factor in that We are the Champions was written around that same time as Bohemian Rhapsodywas being written.  The songs have since been elevated to standards in Pop Culture around the world.

News of the World was the first album where each member had virtually equal time with their own contributions.  Drummer Roger Taylor had written the Punk Rock/Heavy Metal tune Sheer Heart Attack and the rock/funk groovy Fight From the Inside, which he also sings lead and plays bass and guitar on.  Bass player John Deacon who would later write some of Queen's biggest hits, such as Another One Bites the Dustand I Want to Break Free had contributed the beautiful power ballad Spread Your Wings and the Spanish-flavored Who Needs You.   Spread Your Wings was the perfect vehicle for Freddie Mercury to make a connection with the audience when playing the song live, and the proof of this can be heard on their Live Killers album.

Brian May, along with his We Will Rock You, contributed the raw bluesy Sleeping on the Sidewalk which is admittedly more than a nod to his hero Eric Clapton.  Also the gentle ballad All Dead, All Dead with Brian sitting at the piano and lending a lead vocal for.  He also gave News of the World an epic rocker called It's Late.  This was issued as a single in America, but it failed to make any major waves in the Pop Singles chart. 

Freddie gives us his most sleazy song ever Get Down Make Love.  The guitar solo is a bunch of effect pedals Brian May uses to make some spacey noises, kind of similar to Led Zeppelin's Whole Lotta Love middle section.  Freddie seems to pen songs sometimes that are a throwback to the Music Hall genre.  With his delicate My Melancholy Blues, the album's closer, he gives us a lovely blues-jazz number about depression.    

WIth the amazing album cover artwork of Frank Kelly Freas of the giant robot killing Queen and thirsty for more blood seems to make a complete statement with the music of the album, and it is a bold one.  Queen have released many stellar albums during the career, but News of the World is their crowning achievement.  Look it up, you won't be sorry.