In the posts regarding my top ten Queen songs a few days ago, you may have noticed that I didn't include "Bohemian Rhapsody". There were a couple of reasons for this, most of which have to do with its fame, but I do think the song is a remarkable achievement. However, I don't think it's unique - in fact, I think the song was inspired by, and perhaps even based on, a Mott the Hoople song called "Marionette" (from their 1974 album, The Hoople). Queen had toured with them in 1973, and alluded to the experience in "Now I'm Here" ("Down in the city just Hoople and me...") on Sheer Heart Attack, which was released the following year. On the Mott the Hoople website, in honour of their too-brief reunion of 2009, Brian May was quoted thus: "On tour as support to Mott The Hoople (the only time Queen ever supported anyone), I was always conscious that we were in the presence of something great, something highly evolved, close to the centre of the Spirit of Rock 'n' Roll, something to breathe in and learn from."

My contention today is that "Bohemian Rhapsody" was another result of that influence. Here are links to the track in question (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_aWhdmFr61Q) and its lyrics (http://www.elyrics.net/read/m/mott-the-hoople-lyrics/marionette-lyrics.html).

Top ten favourite Queen songs, continued:

5. "Play the Game" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lr2iDWQSwsI): Yesterday I mentioned that I consider John Deacon a pop music genius, well, I think the same of Freddie Mercury. The bridge in this one ("My game of love has just begun...") is one of the most exciting I've heard.

4. "Long Away" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6e06qoOTrkE): My favourite of the several wonderful Brian May space-folk songs, with a beautiful lead vocal and all-galaxy guitar playing (of course).

3. "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke/Nevermore/The March of the Black Queen" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N73NdiH0cBk/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckRX0k9owAY) I'm not really cheating here, I don't think, because these ones pretty much function as a suite. (By the way, one of the many highlights of A Night at the Opera is the instrumental segue from May's "The Prophet's Song" to Mercury's "Love of My Life".) These songs sound best on the recently (2011) remastered versions, or on LP (if you're lucky enough to have one).

2. "Brighton Rock" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdUKi3_QntE): May is just awesome on this one, as is well known, but so's Mercury. Listen to the way he comes out of the falsetto halfway through the word "magic". How did he do that? And you've gotta love the fairground sound effects at the opening. Drama, fun, virtuosity: pure Queen.

1. "Killer Queen" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Ti2P_z5IPw): Upon hearing this one for the first time, I listened to it another twenty or so times in a row. I simply couldn't believe that a song could be so perfectly crafted, and my opinion hasn't changed. The signature tune of one of the all-time rock and roll acts.

Since I like to think of myself as a serious Queen fan (which is something that I've never apologized for, I'm happy to say) I thought that one way of whittling down the many contenders for entry into my top ten list of favourite songs would be to avoid the obvious choices. Also, one of the goals of this blog is to introduce people to things they might not hear otherwise, so there's a bit of that in there, too. Thus, with a couple of exceptions, most of the following are not from a list of their most known:

8. "My Fairy King" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EYUqsfl7gE): Talk about an ambitious song for a debut album, this one features a double lead vocal from Mercury and Roger Taylor, astonishing changes of pace and a great many beautiful melodies. 7. "Drowse" (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=queen+drowse&aq=f): Speaking of Roger Taylor, this is one of his great songs. Actually, I like all of his songs; I wish the albums contained more of them, in fact. But it seems like he and John Deacon usually only contributed one per album, sort of dual George Harrison roles or something - and like Harrison, they wrote some of the band's best numbers. This one allows him to display his astonishing vocal range (he's the really high voice on nearly all of their recordings) as well as his highly original, melodic approach to the drums. Lyrically, he was the only one in the group to deal with teenage topics, and he did so really well. 6. "Need Your Lovin' Tonight" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRa8mqWIX-0): I think that John Deacon is an unacknowledged pop genius, and this one proves it (if "You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bites the Dust" and "You and I" hadn't already done so). It's amazing how often Mercury's best singing is found on tunes he didn't write, a fact that underlines both his musicianship and his generosity. Taylor, also, is awesome on this one. Tune in tomorrow for the top five.

I'm always amazed at what a great song was produced by the one-time-only collaboration of Queen and David Bowie. "Under Pressure" (1981) must be considered as one of the most dazzling pop music singles ever. Its lyrical content, reminiscent thematically of Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding", sneaks up on the listener through the use of short phrases, tenuously connected, with little or no narrative, but with a mood of high drama and urgency. And the personalities of the singers, Bowie, Mercury and later in the song, the drummer Roger Taylor (who as a vocalist is almost as technically gifted as Mercury was, and who wrote the tune, called "Feel Like", that was the seed for the one in question) come through very distinctively on their own and at other points combine to powerful effect. The song's through-composed nature reminds me, a long-time Queen fan, of some of their greatest early songs, "My Fairy King" from their self-named first album (1973) for example. And most importantly, the song's charged atmosphere seems like the result of genuine sentiment: an honest wish for some good in the world. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtrEN-YKLBM)

I'll be returning to post-Beatle solo music tomorrow - I'm still catching up on my listening. But today, since I mentioned the rhyming of "rock show" and "Concertgebouw" in yesterday's post, I wanted to give a couple of examples of the use of what some poets and songwriters call "forced" or "contrived" rhyme. In poetry it's used mainly in light verse, for the purpose of humour - think of Ogden Nash, In fact, here's a link to "The Eel": http://www.ogdennash.org/poems/the_eel.htm.

And a song that is known for it is Queen's "I'm in Love with My Car", which features lines such as, "Told my girl I'd have to forget her/ Rather buy me a new carburretor". As in the poem above, liberties are taken with spelling and pronunciation - that's the point, actually. Give it a listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sQTu9vx-laY, and when you do, notice Brian May's rendering of automotive sounds with the use of guitar overdubs. The song is a lot of fun in every way. I'm sure the Beach Boys, who no doubt inspired it, would approve.

Why is it that on one day I'll write about a work like Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin and the next about a rock and roll song ("Wild Thing" on one occasion)? Well, first of all, I started as a rock fan and I've remained one. For a while there, I thought that maybe rock had run its course. But great artists like Radiohead, Wilco and others restored my faith. Also, it's important to remember that what distinguishes one type of music from another is primarily the process used in making it. For example, no other style of music sounds like jazz - because jazz is put together in a very specific way. Not even great composers can emulate its sound, and I mean people like Gershwin, because the steps involved are different. (I like Rhapsody in Blue - a lot, actually - it's wonderful, but it's not the same sound as jazz. I'll be writing more on the processes involved in jazz on another occasion.)
One of the things that makes rock great is that it accepts every possible type of input and/or method. As Lou Reed once put it (I'm quoting this from memory): "In rock and roll, anyone can hit one out of the park." The upshot of all this: rock (perhaps more of a concept than a type of music) has got unbelievable diversity, and can produce songs that are unique. Which brings us to today's subject, "You're my Best Friend", from Queen's A Night at the Opera (1975). On an album filled with great and distinctive songs, this one stands out for me. Written by the bassist John Deacon (he and the drummer, Roger Taylor usually contributed one song per album - most of the writing was done by Freddie Mercury and Brian May), it's a beautiful rock and/or pop song that doesn't sound like any other I've heard. It's harmonically and rhythmically sophisticated, and yet natural at the same time, and it came to be because a particular situation allowed it to. Moral of the story: if a listener does not try to appreciate the best from all styles of music, then a lot is being missed. (Also to be enjoyed - a great performance from the band and Freddie's refulgent singing. I should also mention that although Deacon didn't write as many songs as some of the others, he did write some of their biggest hits, including "Another One Bites the Dust" and "I Want to Break Free", and others that should have been, such as "Need Your Loving Tonight".)