The Queen songs that Brian May thought should have been hits
(Source: Far Out / Carl Lender)
Most bands can only hope that they have that one song that defines them at the peak of their power. Lynyrd Skynyrd can offer their Southern rock twist on the boogie with “Free Bird,” “Stairway to Heaven” single-handedly put Led Zeppelin in rock history, and even decades later there aren’t many that can match what Nirvana did with “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Queen can easily be placed pretty high in that category with “Bohemian Rhapsody,” but Brian May felt that some of his songs never got the attention they deserved.
But it’s not that “Bohemian Rhapsody” hasn’t earned its reputation as one of the best rock and roll songs of all time. The only reason it works is because it doesn’t fit into any other genre so well. There are the ingredients of three great tunes squashed together here, but hearing Freddie Mercury transition from a piano ballad to a lush opera and then immediately to a hard rock song is the work of a mad genius.
Compared to the rest of the music on A night at the opera, nothing could compare to what they managed to do on this song, which probably makes sense that they only followed up with the instrumental version of “God Save the Queen” before the album ended. But there are still some decent songs on the rest of the record, and May probably brought out the best tracks.
While Mercury could get incredibly cheesy with songs like “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon,” May was the rock ‘n’ roll heart of the group. Many of his songs are about making great songs that you’ll remember forever. Although he loved playing on any song Mercury offered, he recalled being disappointed that some of his songs were never recorded.
In the documentation Classic Albums, May said there were some songs that many Queen fans missed out on. “You have certain babies when you’ve written the song and you want it to be heard widely. And if you miss that chance, it’s lost forever. In my case, it’s things like ‘Long Away’ and ’39’ that could have been singles and part of me wishes they had been.”
There’s no doubt that May’s journey through the stars on “39” is a catchy tune, but it’s hard to argue that a plaintive acoustic ballad about discovering new lands should be preferred to one of the greatest songs of all time. But it’s not like every member of the band necessarily had trouble writing hits.
By the time the band broke up, every musician had written a hit, be it multiple Mercury releases, Roger Taylor’s “Radio Gaga” or quiet member John Deacon, who came away with some of the most pop-friendly releases in their catalog, such as “I Want to Break Free” and “Another One Bites the Dust.”
In fact, it was probably this competition between the band members that drove them to make better records. For example, May almost tried to outdo Mercury with “Tie Your Mother Down,” which Mercury saw as a retort to what the frontman had done with “Death on Two Legs.” Mercury is the idol everyone will be talking about for years to come, but May doesn’t have to waste time moaning about his songs when he’s got “We Will Rock You” under his belt.
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