Queen: The Complete Works (31 page)

They called themselves The Cross; they thought the name would be easy to remember yet slightly controversial, but they implied no religious connotation. Although the album had been virtually completed by the time the band was formed, they added some finishing touches to a few tracks, as did Brian, John and Freddie. When Roger played them his new songs and asked for their opinions, he also extended the offer for guest spots (the specifics of John’s bass contributions aren’t known): Brian contributed guitar to the raucous ‘Love Lies Bleeding’ and Freddie performed an impassioned lead vocal on ‘Heaven For Everyone’ (a track originally intended for
A Kind Of Magic
the year before) while also providing backing vocals on Roger’s own version, which was released only in the US.

The resulting album, titled
Shove It
and an appropriate gesture to the British press, who had become increasingly interested in salacious details and less in the music, is an interesting amalgamation of modern and classic rock. Comprised of only eight tracks (nine in the US), the album is acceptable though not extraordinary. The songs are typical of Roger’s songwriting abilities, though there aren’t really any standout tracks, except for ‘Heaven For Everyone’ and ‘Feel The Force’, which could have – and should have – been Queen tracks. The lyrics don’t equal anything Roger wrote within Queen, and with the increased popularity of rap, Roger took his turn on ‘Cowboys And Indians’, comprised of some of the most toe-curlingly awkward verses written.

The biggest problem is the album’s production, resulting in a sound typical of mid-1980s fare. The drums are snappy and echoed, the bass sounds artificial throughout, and synthesizers and programmed instruments run rampant. Another mistake was the decision to include samples of Queen songs, notably in the title track. Almost like Robert Plant’s 1988 piece ‘Tall Cool One’, which included samples of early Led Zeppelin tracks, Roger unnecessarily threw in bursts of Brian’s guitar, backing vocals from a handful of Queen songs, and Freddie shouting “Yeah!” throughout.

The Cross’ vinyl debut came in September 1987, when ‘Cowboys And Indians’ was released as the first single from the upcoming album. The band were disheartened when the single reached only No. 74 in the UK; the title track appeared as the follow-up in January 1988 and limped to a disappointing No. 82, while ‘Heaven For Everyone’, which should have been a surefire hit, peaked one position worse than its predecessor. Clearly, The Cross weren’t aiming for the hit parade; they were geared more towards live shows, which they duly undertook in February 1988. The set list drew heavily from the debut, although several of Roger’s earlier solo songs – ‘Man On Fire’, ‘It’s An Illusion’, ‘Strange Frontier’, ‘Laugh Or Cry’ and ‘Let’s Get Crazy’ – made appearances, and ‘I’m In Love With My Car’ was resurrected for the first time since 1981. The band focused on performing at small clubs throughout Europe, avoiding the Queen banner that undoubtedly flew over Roger’s head (he insisted on not calling the band ‘Roger Taylor and The Cross’, much to the chagrin of greedy promoters, though he reluctantly relented when ticket sales were less than inspiring) while offering a decent show that enabled Roger to fulfil his desire to perform live again.

Overall, the album deserves a listen; while it certainly gives no indication as to what the band would achieve on their next two releases, the listener must remember that
Shove It
is essentially a Roger Taylor solo album in all but name. “
Shove It
is more of me than the next album will be,” he clarified to
Sounds
. “Unfortunately, I had to go out and get a record deal first, so that we could fund this thing and get it all going. It was a case of the chicken before the egg, but it was the only way to do it.”

FREDDIE MERCURY AND

MONTSERRAT CABALLÉ

BARCELONA

Polydor POLH 44, October 1988 [25]

Polydor INT 837277 1Y, July 1992 [15]

Hollywood HR 61366 2, July 1992 [6; Classical Crossover]

‘Barcelona’ (5’39), ‘La Japonaise’ (4’49), ‘The Fallen Priest’ (5’46), ‘Ensueño’ (4’21), ‘The Golden Boy’ (6’04), ‘Guide Me Home’ (2’50), ‘How Can I Go On’ (3’51), ‘Overture Picante’ (6’39)

Musicians
: Freddie Mercury (
vocals
), Montserrat Caballé (
vocals
), Mike Moran (
keyboards, programming, arrangements
), John Deacon (
bass guitar on ‘How Can I Go On’
), Homi Kanga (
violin on ‘Barcelona’
), Laurie Lewis (
violin on ‘Barcelona’
), Deborah Ann Johnston (
cello on ‘Barcelona’
), Barry Castle (
horn on ‘Barcelona’
), Frank Ricotti (
percussion on ‘Barcelona’
), Madeline Bell, Debbie Bishop, Lance Ellington, Miriam Stockley, Peter Straker, Mark Williamson and Carol Woods (
backing vocals on ‘The Golden Boy’
)

Recorded
: January 1987–June 1988, Townhouse Studios, London and Mountain Studios, Montreux

Producers
: Freddie Mercury, Mike Moran, David Richards

In the self-imposed hiatus following the
Magic
tour in August 1986, Freddie ultimately turned out to be the most prolific band member; indeed, he went on to write and record some of his most acclaimed solo material. After the tour concluded, he flew to Japan for an extended vacation (shortly after he filmed the video for ‘Who Wants To Live Forever’, the last Queen activity for more than a year), then flew back to London in November where he recorded a demo version of ‘The Great Pretender’, the 1956 hit single by The Platters. The single proved to be unexpectedly popular, reaching No. 4 on its February 1987 release, and rumours circulated that Freddie was working on a covers album, which would include renditions of ‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’ and ‘New York, New York’. That was merely wishful thinking – Freddie was instead focused on achieving a lifelong dream.

Freddie had admitted on Spanish television in August 1986 that his one ambition was to record with opera diva Montserrat Caballé. Someone from her camp had fortuitously tuned into that show and approached Montserrat, who was flattered and overwhelmed at such a prospect: flattered that such a high-profile vocalist would want to record with her, but overwhelmed in that she wasn’t as aware of his back catalogue as he was of hers. Jim Beach contacted Spanish promoter Pino Sagliocco to set up a meeting between the two; when Freddie was informed, he became justifiably nervous, according to Mike Moran: “Freddie was in a lather of nerves. He wanted to take something to play to her that she would not have already heard via her children. So, finally, in she came, almost like the Queen of Sheba, Montserrat and entourage. It was a bit awkward at first, as no one knew each other, but Freddie plunged straight in – such a courageous man. He played her the track that he and I had written, which was his impression of her singing. She was amazed.”

That track – ‘Exercises In Free Love’ – became the catalyst for the
Barcelona
album, which Freddie had started writing in January 1987, two months before their 24 March meeting at the Ritz Hotel in Barcelona. Initially, Freddie had intended to record only one song with her, but she became so excited that she asked to record an entire album. “I thought, ‘My God, what am I going to do now?’” Freddie explained. “You just don’t turn the super-diva down. I thought I’d better put my money where my mouth is.”

Towards the end of January 1987, demo recording sessions began in earnest with ‘Rachmaninov’s Revenge’, which eventually led to ‘The Fallen Priest’ with a new set of lyrics penned by Tim Rice (who also contributed words to ‘The Golden Boy’); the sessions concluded with a fully developed musical statement in June 1988. Freddie focused on writing the lyrics while Mike Moran, who had previously collaborated with Freddie on his two contributions to the
Time
musical, arranged most of the music. The two worked side-by-side to create a sonic landscape that complemented the words and vocals well, meshing together many different styles instead of remaining exclusively operatic. ‘La Japonaise’ derived its influence from the Far East, while ‘The Golden Boy’ was Freddie’s first excursion into gospel since ‘Somebody To Love’ over a decade before. Only on ‘How Can I Go On’ does he approach the archetypal Queen sound; elsewhere, his fusion of opera and rock is balanced in a manner that is appealing to lovers of both genres.

Instead of featuring other musicians or an orchestra to play the parts that Freddie and Mike were fashioning, Mike was constantly working with updated technology and the latest samplers to ensure that the music sounded as real as an orchestra. “We would start to slowly and meticulously track on the orchestral parts one instrument at a time,” producer David Richards explained in the liner notes to
The Solo Collection
. “At this stage I remember working very hard to make the sampled and synthesized instruments sound as real as
possible. This was frustrating sometimes, as I thought a real orchestra would sound better. Freddie maintained that he couldn’t have the same control over the orchestration that way, and we could add real players after the parts had been finalized” – which they did on the title track. “And so, for weeks, the three of us sat in the studio doing this meticulous work until the day when finally it was perfect for Montserrat to come in and sing her parts. But this wasn’t enough perfection. The studio itself had to be polished, cleaned and made ready, and Freddie made Townhouse Studios redecorate the ladies’ toilets just in case she wanted to use them.”

Part of the reason the album took so long was, because of her busy work schedule, Montserrat wasn’t able to sing live in the studio with Freddie. Freddie, Mike and David therefore had to create completely finished backing tracks with Freddie providing falsetto vocalizations for Montserrat to follow (some of these tracks were released in 2000 on
The Solo Collection
). But because the process of constructing the backing tracks was so lengthy, most of the final vocal sessions didn’t take place until the spring of 1988, by which time Freddie was back in the studios with Queen to work on
The Miracle
. Nevertheless, Montserrat’s voice was captured on his songs, which left Freddie ecstatic. “That’s it!” he told Peter Freestone. “I’ve done it! I’ve got her voice on my music!”

Excluding the seven songs (plus the concluding sound collage, ‘Overture Piccante’), only one true outtake exists, a song called ‘Africa By Night’ which was later heavily reworked as the
Innuendo
track ‘All God’s People’. Other working titles for the songs were ‘Rachmaninov’s Revenge’ (‘The Fallen Priest’), ‘Vocal Exercises’ (‘Exercises In Free Love’), ‘Freddie’s Overture’ (‘Guide Me Home’) and ‘Japanese Song’ (‘La Japonaise’). Interestingly, Freddie also made use of the studio time to record a handful of other songs that were ultimately left unreleased: ‘Holding On’, ‘It’s So You’, ‘I Can’t Dance’ and ‘Yellow Breezes’, though their intent is unknown. They may have been demoed as potential Queen tracks, or maybe Freddie was thinking of recording an additional solo album at the same time.

The songs presented on
Barcelona
are exotic and unlike anything Freddie, or even Queen, had done before. What’s most surprising is Freddie’s gorgeous voice: he was obviously a great vocalist, but hardly anyone realized the level of control he had over that voice until they heard this album. Even longtime co-producer David Richards expressed surprise at just how effectively Freddie could manage his voice. Freddie’s vocals shine through on every song he sang on this album, but most impressively on ‘La Japonaise’ and ‘The Fallen Priest’, two of the more vocally demanding songs, yet sung almost as if they were throwaways. His pop voice returned on ‘Guide Me Home’ and ‘How Can I Go On’, which also featured a cameo appearance on bass guitar from John Deacon, and he allowed himself to exercise his cords a bit more freely on the opening title track and ‘The Golden Boy’.

‘Ensueño’ was sung by Montserrat with occasional vocalizations from Freddie, and was essentially ‘Exercises In Free Love’ with actual lyrics written by Caballé herself. Elsewhere, Freddie wrote most of the lyrics, with help from Tim Rice on ‘The Fallen Priest’ and ‘The Golden Boy’. (Freddie’s association with Tim led to his consideration as the lead singer for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
The Phantom Of The Opera
, with demo versions of the title track and ‘Music Of The Night’ recorded but unreleased.) There are two extremes to the four Freddie-penned tracks: ‘Barcelona’ and ‘La Japonaise’ were written in celebration of Barcelona and Japan: the title track was composed specifically for Montserrat’s hometown and ‘La Japonaise’ was Freddie’s dedication to the country of which he was fondest. ‘Guide Me Home’ and ‘How Can I Go On’ are more typical of Freddie, and it’s hard to listen to them without thinking that Freddie knew his time on earth was limited. His words are poignant and pleading and they have little to do with the pursuit of love; they are more about a man who is searching for assistance and acceptance, while coming to terms with his place in life.

Barcelona
was released in the UK in October 1988, where it reached No. 25 in the charts and received some conflicting reviews.
Kerrang!
called it “sensational. Quite extraordinary and the ultimate in high camp”, while
Sounds
conceded that “This will appeal to real music lovers.” Only
Record Mirror
was censorious, saying, “In the most curious matching of talents known to man, Freddie settles back in the armchair and whinges a bit while the weighty Montserrat woman leaps around the room, yodeling and warbling wildly. He’s never been the same since ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’.”

It’s easy to surmise that Freddie intended this album as the finale to his solo career. Thereafter, he would abandon the auxiliary songs recorded during these sessions and concentrate on Queen; Peter Freestone once said that the only regret Freddie had was that he had so much music left in him. However, it would be
difficult to top perfection, and
Barcelona
is as close to perfection as any Queen-related album would come.

THE CROSS

MAD: BAD: AND DANGEROUS TO KNOW