'The Works' (1984)

The early 80s saw the individual members of Queen working on different projects, either on their own or with others - but not with each other. It seemed that the division between the soul/disco oriented Deacon and Mercury and the solid rock of May and Taylor was threatening to pull the band apart. It is evident that May and Taylor disliked the new directions on Hot Space and maybe even welcomed its relative failure for giving them the excuse to get back to the traditional Queen sound. Ever the professionals, the internal tensions didn't show on the Hot Space Tour, on which the band were in scorching form. But there were strains enough to rip any band apart; the members of the band had different interests and the relentless cycle of album and tour - which they had pursued to the nth degree - was understandably starting to wear them down. 

The Works is a good, solid album, potentially even a great album when we take into consideration the tracks that were cut or unfinished. The album shows a lot of craft and thought, as if the band were consciously aiming at a re-statement of the band's identity. But it is more than that. Whilst the band are clearly attempting to re-group around the classic Queen sound, at the same time they are still pressing on with their explorations in the world of contemporary pop. The idea that The Works is a return to the classic Queen sound is a false reading in reaction against the dance/disco turn of Hot Space. That 'classic' Queen sound now included a strong pop element that had been evident since at least 1978's 'Jazz.' There is, it is true, much more guitar on the album, hard and loud guitar at that, and there are indeed a number of tracks which recall older Queen classics. But there are new developments, too. The band are still going forwards rather than retreating backwards. The much maligned Hot Space contained eleven numbers, The Works just nine, one of which is a slight acoustic piece at the albums close. To get some comparison, just remove the three tracks you least like on Hot Space and then play the album back to back with The Works. The differences between the albums are not as great as critics imply. There are, arguably, more standout heavyweight tracks on The Works, and much more guitar and much less funk and disco. But there is a lot of pop, too. I've never quite seen 'I Want to Break Free' as quite the classic most others see it as. It was a big hit, but is the kind of synthpop that could easily have found a place on Hot Space. John Deacon was adamant that he didn't want Brian May's guitar on the track, and got his way. It was that lack of guitar that somewhat undermined Hot Space for me, ensuring that the new sounds fell short of the funk/rock fusion of which the band were capable. At least on Hot Space's 'Back Chat' May got to play his guitar - to the massive benefit of the Deacon track. I prefer guitar to synths, and I think most Queen fans would agree. But there it is, experiments in synthpop was one of the things that the band was prepared to engage in.

In interview, Brian May described The Works as the 'definitive' Queen sound and album. It isn't quite that, for all of the greater prominence of May's hard rock guitar. The view seems to reflect a wish-fulfilment and desire on May's part, no doubt relieved at the possibility of breaking free from the sounds of Hot Space. By this stage, it would have been difficult to identify the 'definitive' Queen sound in any case, let alone return to it. We have to remember that not only was 1980's 'The Game' quite a radical departure for the band, that itself had come on the back of the qualitatively different sounds presented on 1978's 'Jazz.' 'News of the World' from 1977 was an attempt to strip back the arty and ornate sounds of 1975-1976, which themselves were a departure from the hard rock of the early Queen ... So where and what is the 'definitive' Queen? 

It is never good, artistically, to try to create to a template and then spend the rest of your career trying to repeat it. That's utterly sterile whereas Queen were always creative. 'Hammer to Fall' is a classic piece of rock, one of Queen's best, but 'Tear it Up,' for all of its loudness, is dull for Queen. Queen were not averse to loud, but 'Tear it Up' is nowhere near as exciting as 'Tie Your Mother Down' and nowhere near as anthemic as 'We Will Rock You,' savouring more than a little of an attempt to conjure up the spirit of both - and failing. 'It's a Hard Life' is certainly a superb slice of Queen's rock operatic style, returning 1980s 'Play the Game' to an identifiably Queen sound. But a lot of the album isn't a return to classic Queen at all but marks the band's further explorations in contemporary pop - 'Radio GaGa,' 'I Want to Break Free,' and 'Keep Passing Open Windows' in particular. 

The result is an attempt to recover something of the old Queen whilst continuing to move in an overtly pop direction. The album succeeded massively in realising those aims, as reflected in the fact that although there were only nine tracks on the album, four were deemed worthy of single release. That these were all decent sized hits, two of them hitting top ten, gives some sense of the quality as well as the character of the album. This wasn't the return to the old Queen as it was billed in some interviews but an attempt to carve out a place in the contemporary pop world whilst retaining some of the Queen hallmarks. It did seem like Queen had been away for an eternity after the flop of Hot Space. With 1984's The Works, you get the distinct impression of a band, knowing that it has lost its way, regathering its forces to make a statement of its old-new identity.

The Works (1984)

"Radio Ga Ga"

This single felt like the Queen comeback in 1984, going straight to #4 and then staying at #2 for what seemed like an eternity (for the reason I thought it a sure fire #1). I remember the song receiving much positive comment at the time, along the lines of Queen returning with another of their trademark classic anthems. Much of this was wishful thinking after the trauma of Hot Space. 'Radio Ga-Ga' is such a well-crafted song - and video - that it seemed destined to bring the band back to centre stage. By entering the charts at #4 I felt certain it would own the #1 slot for weeks. It was an immediate classic. It has immediate visual impact, of course, delivered direct to the crowd. But there is a substantial song to hold the attention beyond the striking imagery of the video and direct appeal. The band seemed to have come back from the brink. As to what kind of song it is, it was much harder to place in the Queen catalogue. Whilst being grand and anthemic, and very visual and imaginal, in the classic Queen style, it was also synth heavy and futuristic. It was a balladeering synthpop that could be considered at least as much as a development from Hot Space as a return to classic Queen. 

"Tear it Up"

Hard and loud, and all the harder and louder to blow away the memory of the synths and horns on Hot Space. Hearing this song first time round sounded like Brian May's blasting away of years of frustration of having his guitar-ready animus confined within synthpop beats and rhythms. This song was Brian May's blunt restatement of Queen's hard rock credentials. That raging reaction might explain why the song is rather basic and generic for a Queen song, curiously unimaginative and unintelligent. It's a blast, but pretty one-dimensional, too slow and plodding to be thrilling. Brian won't want to hear this, but his 'Dancer' off 'Hot Space' is a funkier version of the same thing, and far better for that, 'Tear it Up' was performed live in concert, getting the shows off to a stirring start, as well as being blended into the medleys. It's a bit of a blunderbuss, to be honest, but has immediate impact. OK if you like it hard and loud. Queen were always more than that. And, to repeat, 'Dancer' is infinitely superior.

"It's a Hard Life"

'One Of Freddie Mercury's most beautiful songs,' said Brian May in an interview, declaring the song to be one of his absolute favourites of Freddie's. I remember when it came out as a single in July 1984, discussing it over a Guinness with fellow Queen fans in the Glassblowers pub in St Helens. We all agreed that 'It's a Hard Life' was a great song before moving on to other essential topics, girls and rugby (the usual and desired), with mentions of leaving home for university on the horizon for a few of us (the unusual and undesired). I'd just hit grade 'A' distinction in my A levels and was off to study history in Sheffield. Queen had a #2 album with The Works and all was well in the world. Life seemed good. And what seemed like a beginning at the time now looks like an end. This was the last great gathering of the old gang. I never saw any of its members ever again after 1985. As life got much harder, this song came to sound better and better. As it happened, I quit the course in Sheffield in short order and returned, only to find friends all gone and potential future partners, thinking me long gone, gone with them. There was still the rugby, though (not that I was too interested, being a football fan). 

In no time at all, I had gone from flying high to lying low. The odd thing is, I went from adoring this song when I was happy - I bought the single even though I already had it on the album - to shying away from it when life really did get hard. I was no longer adoring in abstraction from pain.

This song is right up there with the very best of Queen. The dramatic opening lyric and melody is taken from "Vesti la giubba," an aria in Ruggero Leoncavallo's 1892 opera Pagliacci, the line "Ridi, Pagliaccio, sul tuo amore infranto!" (Laugh, clown, at your broken love!). It also sounds like the way 'In the Lap of the Gods' opens on Sheer Heart Attack. 

As a single, the song hit UK #6. In his commentary on the Greatest Hits 2 DVD, Brian May wrote: "To my mind this is one of the most beautiful songs that Freddie [Mercury] ever wrote. It's straight from the heart, and he really opened up during the creation of it, I sat with him for hours and hours and hours just trying pull it away and get the most out of it. It's one of his loveliest songs." 

It's a superb song, re-imagining 'Play the Game' in the classic rock opera style of the band. Musically, the song is something of a sequel to 'Play the Game,' taking the story on into tragedy, with Freddie's piano replacing synthesizers, and adding the band's trademark layered harmonies. The song, in fact, returns to Queen's early ethos of 'no synthesizers,' giving us more of the traditional Queen sound. 

"Man on the Prowl"

I loved this one from the moment I heard it and played it over and again. Of the many styles Queen compassed, they had a real talent for Rockabilly. They didn't do much of it, mind, perhaps thinking the style too limited and too restrictive, offering too little scope for their expansive talents. The song is obviously an attempt to recall the spirit of 'Crazy Little Thing Called Love.' I think it's harder and more musically complex than that, but maybe lacks something of its spontaneity in being more crafted musically. Had 'Crazy Little Thing' not existed, this could easily have been a single release and number one smash hit. But only those desperately short on hit potential try to pull the same stroke twice. As it is, it brings side one of the album to a riotous conclusion.

"Machines"

I am sure that I can't be the only one who raves about this song. Not quite, anyway. I know there are other odd and quirky and geeky people out there. This is a song which references RAM, hardware, software, and the computer technology, without all of which I wouldn't be able to sit here writing all these words on computer and you wouldn't be able to read them in this electronic form. It's clever and cute. (At least the clever will find it cute, the people we call 'geeks'). Any song that makes reference to "Random Access Memory" is unusual to say the least. The 'bites and megachips for tea' line always makes me laugh, too. Such clever blokes these chaps from Queen. Put the music to one side for a minute and just sit down and read the lyrics to this song. They are incredible.

'It's software, it's hardware; It's heartbeat, it's time-share. It's midwife's a disk drive; Its sex-life is quantized' It's self-perpetuating, a parahumanoidarianised.'

Incredible! And well worth repeating, if you have the talent for it: "It's self-perpetuating, a parahumanoidarianised." !!! Some clever soul in Queen (May or Taylor, I don't know) coined a word of nine syllables and fitted it into a rock song! I think we should start a campaign to get that word into common parlance. I should try and figure out what it means first, though.

Driving the mouth-filling lyrics is the incredible music. The song is just masterful in musical composition and execution. The song takes 'mindblowing' onto another level, mind-blown and more. I know that 'Radio Ga Ga' takes all the futuristic plaudits on this album, and has become recognized as a Queen classic that people love. I just have a sneaking feeling that 'Machines' might be the heavyweight contender here, less pop, less catchy, but more substantial. Brain May really lets rip on this track, as if exorcising all the pent up frustration that had built in him during the making of Hot Space. On 'Machines,' he doesn't so much go off the scale as off the planet with a series of thunderous power riffs. Freddie's voice is in overdrive, belting out "humans!" at its peak. The end of the song calms down as it transitions into melodic prophecy, "Living in a new world / Thinking in the past (humans) / Living in a new world / How you gonna last? (humans)." It could serve as a statement of where the band were now at in their career. The ending is haunting and daunting but beautiful all the same. 

This is an incredibly original song on any number of levels. It wasn't common to hear synth loops like this back in 1984, so Queen, now one of the old guard, were still running ahead of their time. This is perhaps the heaviest use of synthesizers in a Queen song, and it worked superbly well with the heavy rock guitars.

I rate the song most highly.

"I Want to Break Free"

It would be heresy to exclude this from any Queen Top 100, even Top 50. I just remember that when I learned that it was to be released as the next Queen single, my reaction was incredulous - I thought it the weakest song on the album. People love it, though, and it caught on like wildfire when released as a single, so what do I know. I have heard the old rockers in the Queen fraternity dismiss it as 'pop pap.' I wouldn't go that far, but I know what they mean. I like it; I just don't seem to like it as much as most others do. It was a massive worldwide hit, #1 in six countries, UK #3. It's catchy, it's cute, it's clever. I still see it as a more synthesized and colder, and curiously soulless, version of the looser and guitar heavy 'Need Your Loving Tonight.' But it comes with a remarkable video, combining Nijinsky and Coronation Street. The video contained a forty-five second ballet sequence in which Freddie danced with the Royal Ballet to Claude Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Freddie even got to writhe all over the members of the corps. I think that counts as realising Freddie's ambition of bringing ballet to the masses. It sunk the reputation of the band in the US. Human beings make an awful lot of fuss over the little bit of fun it is possible to have as one negotiates one's way from cradle to grave. I think, on balance, we would be wise to make the attempt to break free.

"Keep Passing the Open Windows"

This track oozes class and style. I thought it a great track from the moment I heard it, and have always been intrigued by the lack of attention it has received over the years. The song is introduced by another of those superbly dramatic openings by Freddie on piano, before taking off on Deacon's relentlessly driving bass and May's thunderous guitar. Lyrically, too, the song is interesting. It is an anti-suicide song, the title coming from a phrase in the John Irving novel The Hotel New Hampshire, published in 1981. The catchphrase refers to a street performer called "The King of Mice" who committed suicide by jumping from an open window. The phrase "keep passing the open windows" is the Berry family's way of telling one another "to carry on when the going gets tough. I think it's a top track. 

As to why the song is not better known and appreciated, I can only speculate that it has always been in the shadows of Joe Jackson's slicker 'Steppin' Out,' which it resembles greatly. It was impossible not to hear the similarity of the two tracks back in 1984, given that Jackson's great, great song was all over the radio. I suspect people heard 'Windows' and saw the influence of 'Steppin Out' and moved on. But 'Windows' can be appreciated for its own qualities. Once you realize that the baseline is a faster version of the irresistible "A Kind of Magic" baseline, then you know you are in the presence of a classic.

"Hammer to Fall"

'Hammer to Fall' is one of the best songs on The Works, and maybe one of the greatest songs Queen ever did. I have heard some people quibble as to why they performed it at Live Aid, demanding 'Somebody to Love' or another Queen classic in its place. I think the song more than earned its place in the greatest live show ever. It punches with real power. On this track, Brian May's guitar returns to Queen with a vengeance. This is May unleashed, and every rock fan's dream of heaven is realized as a result. I wonder how many people have played air guitar to this one? I shall carry on wondering. The human brain can't handle large numbers. That the sound of May the heavy metal axeman entered the charts and then took centre stage at Wembley for Live Aid is the stuff of every rock fan's fantasy. It was a reminder that, as Queen cemented their place among pop royalty, the origin and root of this band was rock (if rock delivered with flair and panache and no little camp).

"Is this the World We Created ...?"

Acoustic ballad, a duet between Freddie Mercury and Brian May in the manner of the live performances of 'Love of My Life.' This song is a rather earnest plea to humanity to take a look at the world it has made - self-made man and his threatened undoing. I've never considered the members of Queen to have possessed much by way of a religious sensibility, tending to a combination of humanism and hedonism (rationalism and revelry, then, to the extent that the hedonism rather contradicts the humility of the humanist appeal). This is the world we made 'on our own,' and the 'the world we devastated, right to the bone.' It is interesting that this band of science-based humanists invoke a possible God so as to give us some transcendent standard by which to judge our actions:

If there's a God in the sky, looking down

What can he think of what we've done

To the world that He created?

That's quite an 'if.' If God existed, He would surely be weeping. If God doesn't exist, what is the point of us weeping? To whom do we weep? Fellow flawed and failing humans, powerless to remedy our destructive tendencies? It is an attempt to get human beings to think and reflect on their behaviours.

"I Go Crazy" (B-side to "Radio Ga Ga")

Although 'The Works' contained only nine tracks, the album sessions were highly productive, yielding plenty of high quality material, plenty of which could easily have been used (and which has since been issued in other forms). A lot of the material is good but just didn't fit the musical profile of 'The Works.' 

'I Go Crazy' had been written by Brian May some time in 1981, but was recorded during the 'Works' sessions. It's a raucous rock song that is out of step with the new pop sounds of the band. I remember well the wars that raged between fans of the old Queen and fans of the new Queen. 'I Go Crazy' was released as the B-side to 'Radio Ga Ga.' Those Queen fans who preferred rock to pop, albums to singles, old to new, the same to the different, anything to something, made a point of declaring 'I Go Crazy' to be much better than 'Radio Ga Ga.' It was a view which received royal assent when Phil Easton of the Great Easton Express, Radio City - Liverpool's hugely popular rock show - went on air to praise the B-side as better than the A-side, Queen at their rocking best. I am sure it must have encouraged a few old rockers out to go and buy the single. The song wasn't on the album, so the praise made the single an even more essential purchase. I bought it. I remember playing it to anyone who would listen, telling them - in light of Phil Easton's assent - that this is much better than 'Radio Ga Ga.' The general consensus was that it was OK, a bit rough and raucous, but maybe not the classic that the disgruntled rockers of the world were trying to persuade us it was. It's loose, underproduced, has rough edges, and is all the more exciting for that. It has the feel of a jam or a demo and has an unfinished quality. I much prefer it to 'Tear it Up.' Given that The Works only has the nine tracks, I don't see why it couldn't have been polished up to find a place on the album. It's a decent rock number, just not solid enough to make an album as polished as The Works.

"Coming On Far Too Strong"

This is believed to originate from The Works sessions, and is a rhythmic dancer dominated by the piano and drums. It savours a little of 'Ain't There Something That Money Can't Buy' by The Young Holt Trio and it is a real shame that it wasn't finished. As it is, the demo is just one and a half minutes long and lacking developed vocals. Musically, it doesn't fit The Works, but is rather good all the same. As the demo peters out, Mercury can be heard to say: "very good, ha, ha. It's gotta go somewhere, but it just, er, wasn't." (incomprehensible dialogue). Which sums it up perfectly. A shame, because this is a really excellent groover. Wherever this belongs, it's not 'The Works.' 'Hot Space II' was needed!

"Back To Storm / Little Boogie"

These two tracks are demos, rumoured to originate from just after 'The Works' sessions in 1984 or from the early 'A Kind Of Magic' sessions in Munich in 1985 or 1986. They emerged from somewhere in the bootleg/trading community, the titles likely being given by a collector. The track features Freddie on vocals on a high-tempo piano and drum dominated track. 'Little Boogie' is an alternative piano version of "Coming on Far Too Strong," performed by Freddie Mercury.  

"Let Me Live"

We know "Let Me Live" from its reworking on the 1995 'Made in Heaven' album, released after the death of Freddie Mercury. The song was originally recorded by the band in 1983 as a duet between Mercury and Rod Stewart, with Jeff Beck on guitar. No reason has ever been given as to why the Rod Stewart version was never released.

"Let Me in Your Heart Again"

Written by May, the band found it impossible to finish this song, despite several rewrites and re-recordings. It was subsequently recorded by Anita Dobson, aided by May, for her 1988 album 'Talking of Love.' It was something of a missed opportunity, the song's qualities becoming apparent when the band released a completed version of the song in 2014, combining elements drawn from the different demos as well as new backing vocals from May and Taylor, and new guitars from May. Given the quality of the unfinished and unreleased material from these sessions it is clear that The Works really could have been 'the works!' 

"Love Kills"

Written by Freddie Mercury, "Love Kills" was originally considered for inclusion on 'The Works,' but was ultimately rejected. The track was then refashioned in synthpop/disco style by Mercury with Giorgio Moroder and included on Moroder's 1984 restoration and edit of the 1927 silent film 'Metropolis.' Released as a single in September 1984, the track hit UK #10. Nearly three decades later, the track was reworked as a Queen rock ballad and released on the 2014 album 'Queen Forever.'

"There Must Be More to Life Than This"

Written by Freddie Mercury, this song was originally recorded by Mercury as a duet with Michael Jackson, but was never released. It was then re-recorded by Queen in 1981 for inclusion on their 'Hot Space' album, only to be rejected. The band then intended to re-record the track to close 'The Works,' only for Mercury and May to write "Is This the World We Created...?" and close the album with the new song. The song was finally recorded and released by Freddie Mercury on his 1985 solo album 'Mr. Bad Guy.' The duet between Freddie Mercury and Michael Jackson was reworked as a Queen number by the remaining members of Queen and released on the album 'Queen Forever.'

"Man Made Paradise"

A light pop song that wouldn't have been out of place on the 'Hot Space' album (or as one of the lighter numbers on 'The Miracle'), this song was written and recorded for 'The Works' sessions, but not included. The song re-recorded by Freddie Mercury and released on his 1985 solo album Mr. Bad Guy. Coming across material like this, and following the vicissitudes of its history, we can see a band projecting different identities, one part still hankering after the unrealised possibilities of 'Hot Space.' A lot depends on track selection. The band cut the available material down around a coherent and consistent sound. But for all of the talk of 'The Works' being a return to the definitive Queen, the fact remains that with much of the material recorded at these sessions, we are not too far distant from 'Hot Space.'

"Man on Fire"

This is another track, believed to have been recorded for 'The Works,' only to be issued on a band member's solo album, this time Roger Taylor for 'Strange Frontier' solo album from 1984. It is not known whether the Queen recording exists in complete form. What we have here is a highly prolific band whose members were pulling in different directions at once. 

"Thank God It's Christmas" (Non-album single, November 1984)

Written by May and Taylor, this is the Queen Christmas hit that got away. As a lover of Queen and a lover of Christmas, I had high hopes for this track. It peaked at a meagre UK #21 and spent just the six weeks on the charts. It's an earnest ballad, a little solemn, and failed to catch the ear of the public. Brian May attributed the relatively poor chart performance of the single to the lack of a music video. "The funny thing is, it doesn't get that much attention in Britain as a Christmas single, because it doesn't have a video. Everything's about video these days and we never made a video for that song. It's all in your mind. But I'm very fond of it. I think it's a very different kind of Christmas song." Written by May and Roger Taylor, the song just sounds a little too contrived in reciting the usual Christmas clichés. It's a serious song with a solemn message. And Freddie Mercury's vocal is superb. As Brian May told Ultimate Classic Rock: "(Freddie) loved it and did a beautiful vocal. I think it's just the most understated vocal, and I love it, you know." It didn't help that the single was released at exactly the same time as Band-Aid's publicity hogging charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?" As the years go by, "Thank God it's Christmas" has started to sound better and better. A Queen classic waiting to be discovered. In 2019, Queen released a rather poignant music video for the song depicting a snowy night-time winter scene in a city. With a concept that came from Brian May and Roger Taylor, the video was directed and animated by Justin Moon. "Ironically, Christmas tends to be such a stressful time for so many of us," says Taylor. "So many emotions, joyful memories of past Christmas' as delighted children and responsible adults / parents. It's just a great relief when it finally happens." "The video goes a little further," May adds, "by including a subtle reminder that we as humans now need to feel a responsibility for the welfare of ALL creatures on Earth - not just for our own benefit, and that of our grandchildren, but out of respect for the rights of the animals themselves." It's a Christmas message for our times. Let's hope it comes to be discovered and takes its place among the well-known and well-loved Queen tracks.

"I Dream of Christmas"

When the idea of a Queen Christmas single was suggested in 1984, Roger Taylor and Brian May went off and to see what they could come up with. Whilst Taylor came up with the rudiments of "Thank God It's Christmas," May wrote "I Dream of Christmas," with Taylor's song being selected for release. It is believed that the band also recorded "I Dream of Christmas," although confirmation is lacking. Which is a shame. You can't have too many Christmas songs. And frankly, I don't see why both songs couldn't have been issued on the one single. It would make more sense than issuing two more songs from 'The Works' on the B-side, 'Man On The Prowl' and 'Keep Passing The Open Windows.' That decision meant that every single track on 'The Works' album had been issued on a single. The truth is that there was a wealth of material available as a result of 'The Works' sessions, enough not merely for single releases but to either significantly alter the character of 'The Works' or even to produce a new, and substantially different, album. Remarkable.