Innuendo album opinion [UPDATED POLL]

Personally, I love Innuendo; it's probably in my top 5 Queen albums. I definitely understand how, for many people, it is too difficult and depressing to listen to for obvious reasons. I find it very bittersweet, but in such a beautiful way. I get the feeling from the album that the band was very sad that Freddie's time was coming to an end, but that they were also happy and grateful for the special time that they got to spend together and what they were able to accomplish. I also find it incredible how, even though Freddie was very sick, he sill gave it his all and sang his heart out. Finally, I like how the album brought back some of those "classic" Queen musical elements, such as the big beautiful overdubbed "choirs" that were more common in their 70's music (which I personally prefer).

Great vocals, some lovely guitars, a lot of synths and machines unfortunately.

Changed, I've redone it.

I voted it a classic album, as it’s one of my favorites, but for me it’s not in the same classic ranking of their early 70s work. But it’s definitely a step up from the 80’s output. If the album was minus Delilah and All God’s People, I would love it even more. Although I do understand the reasoning for their inclusions.

I would have loved to have seen the direction the band would have taken in the 90’s, but alas, it was not to be.

I reckon not one song from appears in my Top 30 Queen songs list. The Show Must Go On and Don't Try So Hard are my favourites from this album. There are three songs that I really don't like: All God's People (I've never liked this because I don't understand the point of it, to me just improvisation as the lyrics make no sense), Delilah (some of it is funny but there is already one superior Freddie comedy song with I'm Going Slightly Mad) and The Hitman (the first half is OK but it gets boring as it goes on for too long even the 1991 LP edit for me is that little too long too).

The sound is weird for me on this album (is it because it's too programmed?), lack of acoustic on this album and I don't know how significant this is but hearing more about Queen behind the scenes, this album feels like it's the work of a trio as I don't think John contributed anything significantly to this album apart from help the arrangement of The Hitman and jam with Roger to come up with the chords for The Show Must Go On. By this point it looks like he was unpredictable in the studio and often took holidays, but prove me wrong if you can...

I'd be hard pressed to put all of Queen's albums in a best-to-worst order, but Innuendo is definitely in my top-5 somewhere, so I voted "a great classic Queen lp". I certainly rank it above all '80s albums (including The Miracle), so in terms of exceeding expectations on the basis of the previous record, it might just be number 1 (or maybe 2, after Queen II).

Personally, speaking, I can't consider this a "classic" LP of theirs because it has quite a lot of middling/so-so material but coupled with some superb songs. It's astounding how impressive of an opening the title track and "Mad" is, then "Headlong" immediately brings things down a notch. It just feels like sometimes following Hot Space, the band often tried too hard to include out-and-out 'rock songs' to satisfy fans, whereas the real meat and actual interesting material often lie with the more esoteric and leftfield material. I find the overbearing presence of programmed drums and a lack of piano to be a real issue with the songs, which leaves the production sounding quite barren, which I suppose fits the themes of the album, but I think could've added a lot more depth and texture to the music. Usually when I listen to the album, I find myself skipping a solid third of the songs because, quite honestly, a lot of them are not up to snuff - but this has been the case with their albums ever since The Game, for me.

My tracklist is as follows:

1. Innuendo
2. I'm Going Slightly Mad
3. Don't Try So Hard
4. These Are The Days of Our Lives (the programmed drums here really bog the mix down, but the song is good enough to overlook that aspect)
5. The Hitman (could use some trimming, but this has one of Mercury's finest vocal performances in my opinion)
6. Bijou (a very, very poignant moment coupled with "TSMGO.")
7. The Show Must Go On

That's 30 and a half minutes out of a 54 minute long record. Not exactly a good thing when a big chunk of the record isn't well worth listening to. For a matter of fact, this only makes me more intrigued at what was left off the album, because I'm fairly confident there's at least one good song there that could've been put in over the likes of "Delilah" or "Ride the Wild Wind."

But in general, I chose ultimately to consider it middle of the pack solely because of the strength of the seven songs selected above.

I feel it is a classic because it gets the band back to its early success, really...meaning it contains a lot of stylistic variety and all of it is appealing. I realize some people won’t like some of the songs, but it was that way early in their careers too, and it doesn’t mean those less popular songs were of a lesser quality (unlike some of the songs on Hot Space or AKOM, in my opinion).

Another credit to it, is returning to their earlier stylistic variety when they are much older. Youth brings that flair of creativity where they can branch out and use different styles to express themselves, yet that is typically much harder to do as you age. So the fact that they could churn out such quality and creativity at that point in their lives makes the album even more amazing.

Few years ago, i read it in some fb discussion from Mr Scully, who is well known and realiable source. He was told that by Richards himself, but he have no evidence and certainly Scully is not claiming that IS 100% true - he just told us local fans what he heard from Queen's musical engineer during that period. Who knows the truth won't probably never confirm that. But myself, I can only hope that my favourite bass line from TSMGO came from John...

I know a lot of people aren't too keen on the keyboard-heavy production, but I personally love it and it's what gave me such an interest in keyboards, specifically the Korg M1.

Here's my song by song review.

Innuendo - I still struggle to describe simply how "epic" this song is. Everything comes together as one fantastic package - a deep meaning, a bunch of different musical styles, a powerful marching sound, and I absolutely adore the guitar riffs for "tread that fine line" and the way the synth repeats it after "whatever will be, will be". Also a fantastic vocal performance, but that goes without saying. One of the greatest songs of all time.

I'm Going Slightly Mad - Not a favourite of mine, but I still enjoy it from time to time. It's a good return to form for the campy, zany Queen.

Headlong - A good driving song with a great drum beat and catchy solo. There's nothing hugely outstanding about it, but it's just a good song through and through.

I Can't Live With You - I much prefer the heavier Rocks Retake, but at its core it's still a great song. Great tone to the vocals, nice harmonies, and "through the madness" always gives me chills.

Don't Try So Hard - Absolutely stratospheric vocals here, one of Freddie's top performances. It gets very similar to Who Wants To Live Forever in the bridge, and the "what a beautiful world" section is, no pun intended, beautiful.

Ride the Wild Wind - One of my favourites on the album, and one of the best driving songs I've ever heard. The drumbeat is great, the distorted keyboards are great, and this is one of Brian's greatest solos in my opinion as his tone is just perfect. Extra points from this car guy for having one of the best sounding cars in it too - a Quattro S1 rally car.

All God's People - This one I sort of ebb and flow with, not always particularly feeling it but always a good vocal delivery.

These Are the Days of Our Lives - Another beautiful touching piece, even the guitar solo manages to sound just as sorrowful as the lyrics. Very bittersweet, and so powerful that it's sometimes hard to listen to.

Delilah - One I'm not a fan of, but I can appreciate it in the context of it giving Freddie some joy at the time.

The Hitman - I always saw this one as a preview of Queen if they continued into the 90s. Their take on a mix of grunge and metal is really catchy. The ending is too drawn out but I love the delivery and power behind the "love me baby" section.

Bijou - Again, sad and beautiful. This is probably one of the songs that keyboards add the most to. Great playing from Brian on the guitar, and the soft strings in the vocal section give it extra power.

The Show Must Go On - This really needs no introduction. This is a contender to Innuendo for being one of the most mindblowing, masterfully crafted songs I know of. Not every band gets to make a song like this, and for Queen to have two on the same album really tells you all you need to know about them. The "my soul is painted" section is my highlight, so soft and beautiful.

is that "nerve" to get a tattoo? or "nerve" for the pain of the process?

i got one as a tribute to my dad and my brother - 11 years ago. seriously, anything that helps get you through it, is always worth it.

I read this yesterday, it's interesting how he doesn't mention John. Perhaps John wasn't there as by this point he wasn't contributing significantly to the lyrics and music, often taking holidays instead.

I chose "a great classic queen LP".
In ordinary case (if Freddie wasn't dying from AIDS) it may would not become as their best. Like every Queen album Innuendo got its fillers (e.g. "Hitman", "Bijou", "Delilah" (though even them got beautiful moments and findings).
But you can almost hear how Fred has been giving every single breath, every drop of strength to vocal performances on every song there. He literary cut the music out of his vocal cords, from his body.
Real swan song...