Queen - Innuendo (1991)

Tracklist:
1. Innuendo
2. I'm Going Slightly Mad
3. Headlong
4. I Can't Live With You
5. Don't Try So Hard
6. Ride the Wild Wind
7. All Gods People
8. These Are The Days Of Our Lives
9. Delilah
10. The Hitman
11. Bijou
12. The Show Must Go On

Disclosure – 8,5/10

After an uneasy time all the way from 1980 to 1989, Queen has finally created an album that can live up to the classic 70s material. Unfortunately, it’s also the last studio album featuring both vocalist Freddie Mercury and 100% genuine songmaterial. A lot of lyrics feature a hidden undertone about Mercury’s upcoming death, thus making it a quite sad album. That doesn’t take away that this is probably more energetic than any album since Jazz and features progressive influences for the first time since A Night At The Opera. At the time of its release it went platinum and reached #01 in the UK for the third time in a row (or fourth if you count Live Magic).

As said before, the main theme is Freddie Mercury’s upcoming death and therefore there’s a dark atmosphere throughout this album with a lot of ambiguous meanings to the lyrics. Especially in the beginning, the progressive title track, the arrangements don’t hide the atmosphere. A mysterious synth-tone combined with the rolling of the snare drum and an exotic scale creates a haunting atmosphere right away. The song contains a lot of theme and mood changes and refers in the operatic break to “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and this track is certainly of the same quality. Having said that, the album immediately sounds more like the classic material than any album released in the commercial 80s. The album continues with “I’m Going Slightly Mad”; a dramatic ballad teaser with quite innocent lyrics, given a negative load with the upcoming tragedy. There’s a special connection between this track and “These Are the Days of Our Lives”. The latter is an even gentler ballad with the potential to bring tears to your eyes. Another great ballad would be the almost instrumental “Bijou”. It mostly features as an interlude with a beautiful guitar solo before the epic end to the album with “The Show Must Go On”.

And that brings us from ballads to epic tracks. “The Show Must Go On” is perhaps one of Queen’s best tracks, again given a dark load in the lyrics. Definite highlight here, and on the entire album, is vocalist Freddie Mercury, who, despite his disease, still has a vocal range of at least four octaves, as he shows here. This is, besides quite admirable, also very surprising. At the time of the recordings of Innuendo he does not seem to have given up any power, feel or range yet. This is also clearly audible in the equally epic “Don’t Try So Hard”. I always have the feel this is the twinbrother of “The Show Must Go On”. Same dark synth-tone used and both are very haunting and impressive. It’s quite unique for this album. There’s also enough rock material on this album, beginning with the May-penned “Headlong”. Together with “The Hitman” these are the most obvious rockers. Tight riffs, good feel, definitely rock songs. The only problem I have with these is that they forgot how to make an end to them. Just repeating the chorus and the riff until we’ve reached the five-minute-mark is not pleasing me. Otherwise great songs though. Less obvious rockers, but rockers nevertheless, would be “I Can’t Live With You” and “Ride the Wild Wind”. Especially the last one is a peculiar track with some of Mercury’s lower notes and an odd atmosphere...

And of course, like on any other Queen album, we’ve got the necessary duds. “All Gods People” sounds like it could’ve been on a gospel, if only for the Africa-sounding rhythms. This song can either be a refreshing spotlight in the middle of the darkness or a returning pimple on an otherwise smooth skin. And there is of course the notorious “Delilah”, Mercury’s ode to his cat. It is, besides terribly boring, breaking the album and especially notable for Mercury imitating the “meow” of a cat on different pitches. Fairly obsolete and totally uncalled for.

Innuendo is an album of differences. While most songs carry the dark atmosphere, there are some songs that deliberately break away from the darkness, resulting in a very varying journey. If you can take the journey, then Innuendo is for you. I recommend this album to all Queen fans and to people who would like to become a Queen fan.

Strongest tracks: “Innuendo”, “Don’t Try So Hard” and “The Show Must Go On”.
Weakest track: “Delilah”.