Queen Song of the Week: I Want to Break Free

It occurred to me that all of my Songs of the Week so far have been from the 1970s. I would suggest there is a very good reason for that (*ahem* that's when they recorded their best stuff); however, I do recognize that many do enjoy the more "pop" songs that Queen recorded in the 1980s and very early 1990s.

I Want to Break Free was written by bassist John Deacon and appeared on the 1984 album The Works. The song was released as a single, remained on the U.K. charts for fifteen weeks, and peaked at #3.

This is a catchy song and probably one of the few John Deacon songs I really like. It is pure 100% pop, which I'll admit is sometimes nice. This song isn't really a great example of a Queen song though - the drums are rather muted (John Deacon was apparantly not a fan of big drums), the "guitar" solo is actually a synthesizer, and there is a distinct lack of harmonies. But at the end of the day, it is reflective of Queen being willing to take chances, go outside their comfort zone, and try different things which is a heck of a lot better than some bands nowadays whose songs all sound the same.

For anyone with Rock Band, this song is available as a download and it is tremendously fun to play (especially drumming and singing at the same time, RT style). Probably the best thing about the song, however, is the music video. At first blush, people think it must have been Freddie Mercury's idea for the band to dress in drag; however, it was RT's idea and the rest of the band was apparantely very excited to get all dolled up for the occasion (in the photograph above left to right they are: RT, Dr. May, Freddie Mercury, and John Deacon)! And it was Freddie who thought to bring in the Royal Ballet Company for the instrumental interlude. How classy!

Happy Listening!