Queen’s most overlooked anthem, according to Brian May
Their widespread popularity makes it hard to believe, but the blueprint of Queen‘s identity was rooted in something far removed from traditional forms of success. Besides their enigmatic and technically brilliant frontman, the band’s pursuit of sprawling rock operas would generally go against the grain of most industry advice.
Of course, the band has more than its fair share of radio hits to boast, but its calling card track, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, is akin to a Martin Scorsese movie in a world of TikToks. It defied the conventions of commercial breakouts and set out a stall for the band to explore its brand of theatrical, narrative-led rock with abandon.
But like all products of success, it became somewhat of an albatross around their necks. Part-time fans who entered through the gates of Wayne’s World wanted the ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ follow-up, which any music lover will clearly understand is an unattainable task. But it’s particularly frustrating when you’re a band with a healthy back-catalogue of more than enough radio-friendly rock hits that would appeal to a more conventional audience.
Speaking of songs lost in the shadows of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, guitarist Brian May said, “There’s a million things I wish, in a sense, had gotten a lot of attention. I suppose ‘The Prophet’s Song’ prevails the most. It was the antithesis of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and on the same album. We always thought they were both major works, but ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ got picked up by radio, and it became the flagship song.”
He added: “Only a few people who are very into the depths of Queen through the years are really aware of what ‘The Prophet’s Song’ means. I’m not going to say I’m unhappy because it’s okay. It really is. The people who are into that stuff are very into it. They understand it, and they get it. They would regard ‘The Prophet’s Song’ as much of an encyclopedia of Queen as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was on the other side. That isn’t anywhere near a billion streams. It just sits on an album there, and people who really want to get into Queen are aware of what that was and what it is.”
While May regards the track as the other side of the coin to ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’, it’s still a track that stands at eight minutes long and traverses through all the similar modes of experimentalism and jam rock. Perhaps where it differs slightly from its more successful brother, and where May’s contempt is arguably rooted, is the song’s fuller representation of the band.
Don’t get me wrong, ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ makes way for one of May’s most iconic solos, and the fluttering harmonies that run throughout the song showcase their collective greatness. But for Freddie Mercury, it was his moment in the spotlight. The song celebrated his range, theatrics and naturally transcendental performing abilities, cementing his place as one of the, if not the, all-time greatest frontman.
‘The Prophet’s Song’ is still led by Mercury, but the segues and reprises that bring together the eight-minute epic feel more thorough compositionally, pushing the band more into the realms of prog-rock than rock-opera.
But when all is said and done, and May reaches into his infinite sack of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ royalties, the legacy of a track living on beyond the years of a band is no hard pill to swallow.
“You can’t argue with the fact that a hit gets to people,” he admitted. “And it becomes embedded in their lives forever. Whenever they hear the strains of that song, a whole flood of emotions will come back into their body. That’s a precious thing. We’re so privileged to have so many hits, which are bound up with peoples’ lives and always will be. We can play a concert and play the first couple of notes of any song and feel that emotional response right away. It’s amazing. What a wonderful thing to have in your quiver of arrows.”
