This week I've picked another song that is very distintive of Queen's "sound" but yet also completely different from anything else going on in music at the time (or even now): Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy from A Day at the Races, written by Freddie Mercury and Dr. May.This song is pure camp (hence the photo). It is a catchy melody with fun lyrics, great harmonies (especially at the end - the "there he goes again. It's my good old fashioned lover boy" part might be my favorite portion of any Queen song ever recorded!), and proof that this was not a band that took itself at all seriously (I would again reference the photo but sadly I think that all four members probably thought they looked seriously hot in this photo - oh the 70s!)
This song is the only Queen song to feature a non-member on lead vocals (remember Under Pressure is billed as Queen and David Bowie and everything with Paul Rodgers was released under Queen + Paul Rodgers). Mike Stone, the band's producer, takes over the lead vocals for two lines of the song ("Hey, boy, where'd ya get it from? Hey, boy, where did you go?"). In concert, RT sang these two lines. The song was played in concert through the 1970s, often as a medley with Killer Queen.
Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy was the band's fourth single off A Day at the Races. It peaked at #17 on the charts and was recently covered by Jason Mraz on the CD Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (His cover is considered one of the few passable ones on the CD).
Happy Listening!
ooh. Cool. I will have to hear the Queen version AND the Jason Mraz one. (And I see Roger once again proves he's a music genius by his ability to mimic another singer in concert!)
ReplyDeleteHere's Queen's studio version. It occurred to me that the live version that I linked originally may not have all the awesome harmonies! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkr9V41_e40
ReplyDeleteUm, and flattery of RT will get you EVERYWHERE, Suzanne! LOL