For any passive music fan, it would look like Queen lived and died off the strength of Freddie Mercury’s stage performance. While the man may have been shy and reserved during his private life, the energy he delivered to an audience night after night is unparalleled in the music world, leaving a stamp on any rock frontman that has come in his wake. Although Mercury may have loved bringing his stage presence to anyone within earshot, Brian May was also a cornerstone for the group’s sound.
When discussing the band’s sound in the studio, May was responsible for the most outlandish effects ever to be heard on a rock record at the time. Rather than use the sound of synthesisers that were on the rise then, May saw fit to create whatever sounds he could from his guitar.
Built from the remnants of a fireplace, May built his signature Red Special guitar from scratch, turning it into one of the sturdiest rock instruments. While playing lead would have been more than enough for a rock band, May turned his guitar into his private symphony, layering different sounds on top of one another across every album the band made.
May’s creativity and ingenuity steered the band through their most extraordinary years playing together, turning in one phenomenal track after the next, from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ to ‘Brighton Rock’. Although May has spoken highly of almost every Queen album he ever worked on, he considered the band’s finest hour the last album with Mercury on vocals.
While Mercury worked on the album Innuendo, it became clear that he wasn’t long for this world. Slowly losing his battle with AIDs, Mercury was determined to make as much music as he could, telling his bandmates to work on the tracks after he had passed on and turn it into an album.
Arriving in the early 1990s, Made in Heaven resulted from years of hard work, with May, drummer Roger Taylor, and bassist John Deacon coming together to do justice to their fallen singer. Though the sessions would be bittersweet, May has had the most emotional connection to Mercury’s final album.
When discussing the album with Louder, May thought that all the hard work was worth it when it was officially released, saying, “It actually took us a couple of years to get to the point where we could do it because we were grieving. Roger and I went out and did our own tours and pretended Queen hadn’t existed. Then suddenly, we looked at all of this embryonic material and thought, this album is crying out to be made. It was a labour of love, but I find that I can listen to it with a great feeling of peace now”.
Although Mercury may not have been there to enjoy the reception of the album, May’s work on songs like ‘Mother Love’ and ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’ are the classiest performances he has ever made, knowing that he wanted to make the song right for the sake of Mercury. While that version of Queen may have died along with Mercury, the band’s soul lives on every time their songs are played.
