PR #3 God Bless Freddie Mercury

In this episode, I thank you for putting up with my podcasting
learning curve. I'm used to singing into a microphone, but not
talking into one. I observe the 22nd anniversary of the death of
Freddie Mercury, one of my favorite musicians of all time. He was
born Farrokh Bulsara, but chose the best stage name ever. Just like
when JFK was assassinated, people remember where they were when
they found out Freddie died. I was in Weatherford, Oklahoma,
finishing up my degree with classes like bowling and tennis. I was
dating a grunge girl. Freddie was one of the first celebrities to
die of AIDS. I went over to my best friend, Phil's, apartment, and
we listened to Queen and tried to come to terms with the bad news.
Queen's Greatest Hits from about 1981 was the first Queen record I
bought. It had "Bicycle Race" and "Fat Bottomed Girls" on it, and I
was only ten or eleven years old, but I liked that. "Flash" was a
huge hit, and I love it. I even try to sing it for you. "The Game"
was the first rock record I ever bought, and it changed my life. I
also bought "The Long Run" at the same time. My grandma bought them
for me at KMart. I bet she thought I was going into a phase. The
Eagles were good, but not as good as Queen. "The Game" was the
first Queen album to use synthesizers. They always created their
futuristic sound just with Brian May's guitar. "Play the Game" is
an emotional hammer, followed by the funky "Dragon Attack". "Need
You Loving Tonight", "Crazy Little Thing" etc. They all sang except
Deacon. "Prime Jive" is sung by the drummer and it rocks! The album
ends with some ballads that will knock you in the dirt. I implore
you to seek out that album. The next album of theirs I got into was
"The Works" with "Radio Gaga" on it. It had some other minor hits
like "I Want To Break Free". "It's a Hard Life" sounds just like
"Play the Game". There were lots of synths on that album, but not
as many as on "Hot Space", which sounds like a sequenced album. I
talk about "Life Is Real", which Freddie wrote for John Lennon. I
got into "Innuendo" a lot, which was in 1991, the year Freddie
died. It had a different sound. Freddie was very sick and almost
couldn't sing sometimes. He had a strong will to perform, and it
wasn't for money. He could play piano better than Elton John. There
are some full length shows on YouTube you should watch. "The Show
Must Go On" closed the album, and Freddie was really hurting when
he recorded it. In 1988 I got Queen II. It's a very different
album, talking about fairies and stuff, like Tolkien. "Ogre Battle"
is as complex as Metallica. I bought an import CD that had a pound
notes price sticker on it, which made me proud. "Sheer Heart
Attack" is a rocker and has a great cover. You should check it out.
It's got "Killer Queen" on it and "Now I'm Here", as well as the
gay anthem of all time, "Misfire". John Deacon wrote it and played
guitar. Freddie sings like an angel and there is much double
entendre. Then they did a trio of albums named after Marx Brothers
movies. The first two, "A Day at the Races" and "A Night at the
Opera" are the finest example of layered rock music ever. I bought
a gold plated CD of "Opera". Both of these albums have period
pieces like vaudeville on them. British families after the war
learned instruments and had family time together playing songs.
They didn't watch TV. "Made In Heaven" is the final Queen album.
The cover is beautiful and looking at it made me tear up. It
features Freddie in front of Lake Geneva. Freddie was dying during
the recording, but the song's messages are hopeful. That was
Freddie, and I miss him. I speculate whether Freddie's buck teeth
contributed to who he became as a performer. Samson had his hair,
and Barbara has her nose, and Freddie had his teeth. I saw a
picture of him as a child and his teeth were huge. That humbled
him. Now kids have too much unearned self-esteem. I used to feel
like I was showing off just by wearing sunglasses. Freddie faced
down what stared him in the mirror and overcame it as the biggest
star on Earth. Next, I observe the 45th anniversary of the Kinks
"We Are the Village Green Preservation Society" album, which is a
masterpiece. They are the quintessential British band. The album
has lots of character studies and role playing inspired by the
Beatles. The Village Green is a working class place in the post war
era mentioned on multiple albums. The post war era was very
influential to British bands like the Stones, the Who, and others.
They were very worldly at a young age. All the Kinks albums of the
period were loose concept albums. Ray Davies was lamenting the
passing of old British traditions on these albums. He was part of
the cultural change, but at the same time he was melancholy about
it. The album came out in 1968 and was recorded at Pye Studios. Ray
produced it. You wouldn't know the songs unless you like the Kinks,
but all the songs are good. My website is www.PaperbackRocker.com.
You can find the podcast archives there. Find my books on Amazon by
searching my name, Matt Syverson. Follow me on Twitter
@PaperbackRocker. Email me at bowiefan1970@live.com. Thanks for
listening!