50. Queen--Made In Heaven

 #50: Queen--Made In Heaven (1995)

Top-Notch Tracks: "It's a Beautiful Day," "I Was Born to Love You," "Made In Heaven," 

Album Depth: "Let Me Live," "You Don't Fool Me," "Heaven For Everyone," "My Life Has Been Saved," "Too Much Love Will Kill You"

Weak Link: "Mother Love"

Stand-Out Lyrics: "It's a beautiful day! The sun is shining; I feel good. And no one's gonna stop me now."--"It's a Beautiful Day"

"Yes, I was born to take care of you every single day of my life."--"I Was Born To Love You"

"Why don't you take a little piece of my heart? Why don't you take it, and break it, and tear it all apart?"--"Let Me Live"

"Mama said be careful of that girl. Mama said you know that she's no good. Mama said be cool, don't you be no fool."--"You Don't Fool Me"

"Too much love will kill you just as sure as none at all."--"Too Much Love Will Kill You"

Queen--Made In Heaven

Queen--Made In Heaven (back cover)

Album Cover: 8 out of 10. I would have given this cover an even higher score, but then I found out the front cover isn't a photo of Freddie Mercury, but a picture of a statue of Freddie Mercury. Still, it's pretty awesome, and the back cover really brings the whole thing together. (Both the cover and what the album represents.)

Comments: When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, it appeared that the album "Innuendo" would be his final album with Queen. It would have been a fine album to go out on, with top-notch tracks like "Headlong," "I'm Going Slightly Mad," and the title track, "Innuendo," plus some good album depth with "The Show Must Go On," "These Are the Days of Our Lives," and "I Can't Live With You." The album just missed making my Top 60. 

But, the other three members of the band had other ideas, and I'm glad they did. Freddie himself worked on more music in the few months he had left between the release of "Innuendo" and his death, so they knew he wanted them to keep going. They worked with what Freddie left them, including taking a couple of songs from his solo album and Queen-izing them, and created the album "Made In Heaven."

At the time of its release in 1995, some accused the other members of the band of trying to cash in on Freddie's memory, but I don't think the album feels that way at all. I think it's more like a gift of extra Freddie. In fact, Personally, the opening refrain of hearing Freddie belt out "It's a Beautiful Day" is worth the entire endeavor. When I'm having a good morning, I'll often belt out those four words in an attempt to sound like Freddie. (I don't.) (But it's still nice to give it a try every once in a while.) 

"I Was Born To Love You" is my second favorite song from the album. It's got that driving, fast-paced, full-on Freddie sound, reminiscent of "Don't Stop Me Now," which is a Queen song I didn't appreciate at the time it came out, but grew to become one of my favorites.

All in all, I find the feel of the whole album to be better than all of the songs individually. It's a great chance to hear Freddie Mercury one last time.

Up next: Tick, tick, tick.



Comments

  1. darenolsonMarch 28, 2021 at 4:33 PM

    This was one of those albums that I never fully listened to when it came out in 95. I think that may have been in part because I was spending so much of my time that year trying to make the Northstar Toy Company thing get off the ground. That's also where most of my spare money went, so I didn't buy a lot of records during that period of time. Since the songs from the album didn't get much airplay on the radio when it came out, I was really only barely aware of its existence. But hearing it now I think I actually have a much deeper appreciation for it than I would have back then. I think that Queen knew the album was not going to be a big seller what with Freddie being gone for four years by then. But they produced it anyway as a way for them to deal with Freddie's death and to also make his post-Innuendo musical work to have meaning beyond just something they did with Freddie to humor him and give him something to do as he prepared to die. The Queen bio-pic helped me to see how important that work was to Freddie and the band, so I think I see the album differently because of that film too. Anyway, this album has been a real treat to listen to, and I am in agreement that it deserves a high ranking among the other Queen albums for its content and musical quality, as well as because it is a worthy tribute to Freddie.

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