The 1974 hit single that proves Queen’s songwriting genius: “It was designed to knock people dead”
Ambition is the one word that comes to mind when thinking about Queen‘s music.
The pioneers of rock opera left very little on the cutting room floor, indulging in every idea that presented itself. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was a six-minute odyssey of musical drama that twisted and turned with every verse, yet still showcased the band’s ability to make something accessible and commercial in the process, and then there was ‘We Will Rock You’, which took the most rudimentary sonic idea and turned it into a stadium-sized singalong.
Despite its novelty backbone, there’s no denying that the foot-stomping, knee-slapping anthem was one of their most infectious songs and oddly showcased their ability to turn something fundamentally crap into a success.
The point is, Queen couldn’t write a bad song if they tried, and the aforementioned track proves that they certainly did try. But beneath all of that was a keen desire for artistry. The unexpected success of ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ proved that, for the band, they completely ripped up the rule book and instead opted for something operatic and patient, completely contradicting the established rules of radio play. It was the same story for their debut single ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, which took 30 seconds to warm up and descend into anything traditionally discernible.
So whenever Queen hit the studio, industry executives were in their ear, pressing them for a more distilled sound in hopes of hacking the radio system. Enter ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ from their sophomore record, and a flagrant attempt to make a hit.
“We didn’t get into the verse until 30 seconds or whatever, and for a hit single, everything needs to grab you quickly,” May recalled of ‘Keep Yourself Alive’, “So we said, ‘Right, our next single will deliver what you people are asking for!’ In other words, everything will happen in the first five seconds, and with ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ it does.”
He explained further, “It’s like the kitchen sink is in there, a little piano and wham, bang, harmonies, guitar harmonies, massive drum fills, everything! So it was designed to knock people dead in the first few seconds on the radio, and it worked. People went, ‘OK, yeah, we’ll play that’.”
Even when Queen had a tongue in their cheek and decided to play the industry game, they were still a roaring success. Quite literally, everything they touched would turn to gold, and the expectations for what they could and couldn’t do were thrown out the window.
It’s no coincidence that the records that directly followed Queen II and ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’ combined some of their most ambitious and downright stupid music. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ was given time to develop under the headwind of their limitless success, as was ‘We Will Rock You’, which made ‘Seven Seas Of Rhye’ sound like Mozart.
Whether you liked it or not, Queen had a secret recipe that always bagged them radio play, no matter the song length or style and subsequently, they became one of the biggest bands in the world.
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