741. Freddie Mercury / Mr. Bad Guy. 1985. 3.5/5

Following on from Queen's The Works album and tour, Freddie Mercury decided to collate some songs he had written, along with writing some more to throw into the mix, and release a solo album while the band was on a hiatus. At the time of its release, the most interesting thing for me to hear was what the difference would be between his songs without the influence of his other three band mates. While Queen's true balance was rock, here Freddie has a much more dance or pop style and vibe in his songs, while retaining his amazing vocal performance to make them instantly recognisable.

So, although these are certainly different from Queen songs, that doesn't make them any less likeable. The fact that a number of these songs received some 'Queenifying' later on for releases that came after Freddie's untimely death in 1991 is testament to the fact that the song writing standard of these songs was still at his high calibre. "Made in Heaven" and "I Was Born to Love You" both appeared on Made in Heaven, while the duet recorded between Freddie and Michael Jackson on "There Must Be More to Life Than This" was recently released on the new compilation Queen Forever.
Mr Bad Guy uses a lot of synths and programming, all of which was the popular culture of the mid-1980's and of which Freddie wanted to experiment. And as with many solo adventures, about half of this works brilliantly, and the other half perhaps falls a little flat. You know, the other half of the songs where input from other members of a band would either improve them or replace them with better songs.
The opening four songs are all terrific, with "Let's Turn it On" being the jaunty opener, followed by "Made in Heaven" and the faster paced pop anthem of "I Was Born to Love You". "Your Kind of Lover" uses a similar kind of vocal to that in "Let's Turn it On", which seems like a bit of a cheat, and somewhat derides that song. Side Two starts with the title track "Mr Bad Guy" which is a highlight. "There Must Be More to Life Than This" showcases Freddie's vocals perfectly. As to the remainder, while it is not a complete loss, it is just average fare, not quite as light and refreshing as those other songs are.
 
In a career than spanned over twenty years, it is perhaps unusual that this was the only solo album Freddie put out. One can only assume that, had he lived longer, there would have been further opportunities for this to occur. And while this album is great to listen to and still very enjoyable, it is forever tied to this era of music with the domination of the keyboards, synths and programming involved. And that will be a turn off to some who may try to access it.

Rating:  Can't you see, it is my destiny.  3.5/5