561. Queen / Innuendo. 1991. 4.5/5

In a different time and age, it was sometimes difficult to find out what date albums would be released, and then it depended on what record store you were going to, and whether they kept your genre of music, as to whether they would even have it on said date. Innuendo for me was one of those albums that I got on the day of release, forgoing my lunch break to rush off to the record store to secure my copy.
Given that touring was no longer an option for the band with Freddie’s illness, the band had plenty of time to spend in a studio, allowing them to experiment and throw in whatever instrumental pieces they wanted to, almost like The Beatles had in their latter years. Most of that is showcased here, with an eclectic mix of faster, slower, intricate, big-band, orchestral and quieter songs.

There are absolute gems. “Innuendo” is almost an album in itself, the work that goes into that song is amazing. “Headlong” is probably the best pure hard rock song on the album. “I Can’t Live With You” is another great song, Freddie’s vocal’s here are just awesome, reaching all the depths and heights without a care in the world.
“Ride the Wild Wind” is one of my favourite all-time Queen songs, as much for John Deacon’s fantastic bass line running through the song. It is the perfect combination of all of their talents - Brian’s eclectic guitaring, Roger’s perfect drum beat and Freddie’s vocals. It is the equal, if not the better, of every other song in their catalogue. Many people feel that “The Show Must Go On” is the song that has become the final legacy of Queen. For me it is “Ride the Wild Wind” – for me everything that is great about Queen is in this song.

There are also the average, the songs that just don’t quite seem to fit, the songs that are just that little too much varied in their style for my liking on the album. “All God’s People” and “Delilah” are two songs that for me bring down the quality of the album, not from a musicianship sense, but just in the sense that they are probably not my style of song. You can add to this “These Are the Days of Our Lives” – not because of the quality of the song, but again just not to my individual taste. Ditto for “Bijou”.

Having torn the album apart to try and give a rating song by song, when you listen to it from pillar to post, it all comes together in a wonderful meshing of all styles, and just becomes Queen. Whilst in my personal opinion there are albums that are marginally better than this one, this is still at the top of the pile.