Se con "A Night At The Opera" i Queen erano giunti all'apice della loro "pomposità barocca" intesa come tripudio di cori e complesse sovraincisioni di chitarre al servizio di una teatralità spesso sopra le righe, ora epica e tragica, ora scanzonata e irriverente, se con "A Day At The Races" avevano tentano di ripetersi seppure in toni più sobri, con "News Of The World" la musica cambia... nettamente.
Siamo nel 1977, il rock é pressoché morto e defunto, i gruppi storici sorti un decennio addietro sono ormai giunti al testamento, nuove tendenze sono alle porte o stanno già imperversando (punk, metal), nuove zone franche della musica si stanno creando e ognuno corre ad accaparrarsene un pezzo . "News" rappresenta l'ennesimo, camaleontico (e per molti, irritante) colpo della Regina, per dimostrare che, anche in periodo di grosso fermento, i quattro sanno stare bene in equilibrio sul treno in corsa. Niente a che vedere con i "gigantismi sonori" degli anni addietro, gli arrangiamenti si fanno essenziali, asciutti, ossei; voce e chitarra vanno ad aggiungere una musculatura vigorosa ormai priva dei fronzoli e degli orpelli di "Opera".
Il riferimento corre a "Sleeping On The Sidewalk", un blues scandito da chitarra, basso, batteria e stop (May che usa una chitarra sola?!?), o a "It's Late" (il mio preferito, questione di gusti...) dove le corde vocali si collegano al cuore, le sei corde graffiano, il basso pompa e la batteria si eccita in tutto il suo fragore nel più puro spirito rock'n roll. I brani nascono da un'unica cellula generatrice, ritmica o melodica, come l'incipit elementare ma spaventosamente efficace (e per questo geniale) di "We Will Rock You"; un salto di ottava di basso per "Get Down Make Love" (mi piace considerarlo un omaggio a "Whola Lotta..." degli Zeppelin, le analogie ci sono, compreso l'amplesso centrale che ricalca quello di Plant e compagni). Se Taylor gioca a strizzare l'occhio al punk con "Sheer Heart Attack" e si cala in un funky acido con "Fight From The Inside", Deacon ci fa alzare la glicemia con il suo onesto romanticismo (perdoniamoglielo...) di "Spread Your Wings" in cui Freddie non risparmia l'ugola (grazie, davvero...) e l'hawaiana "Who Needs You" che suona un po': "Tanto siamo i Queen e facciamo quello che ci pare".
I picchi a livello compositivo spettano a Mr. Mercury che sa giocare col suo mestiere, sa mettere gli accordi al punto giusto, sa cantare con irriverente spavalderia un "We Are The Champions" che nessun'altro si sarebbe potuto permettere senza cadere nel ridicolo. Deliziosa e raffinata la chiusa affidata a "My Melancholy Blues". Unico neo, a mio avviso, "All Dead, All Dead", nulla di più che un esercizio di stile condito dalle consuete armonizzazioni di May, pazienza...
Come al solito, affrancati dalla responsabilità di dovere dire qualcosa di nuovo, di piacere alla critica, di farsi appiccicare addosso un'etichetta, prendendosi scherzosamente sul serio, i Queen si divertono come matti, giocano con i generi assaggiando un po' di questo e un po' di quello come farebbe un bambino in una pasticceria... poi i seriosi e i "detentori del vero gusto musicale" si potranno anche scagliare contro... ma come diceva il "baffo": -PERCHÈ TANTO CLAMORE? ... SONO SOLO CANZONI!-
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 We Will Rock You (02:02)
Aah
Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place
Singin'
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're a young man hard man
Shouting in the street gonna take on the world some day
You got blood on yo' face
You big disgrace
Wavin' your banner all over the place
We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you
Buddy you're an old man poor man
Pleadin' with your eyes gonna make
You some peace some day
You got mud on your face
Big disgrace
Somebody betta put you back into your place
We will we will rock you
Sing it
We will we will rock you
Everybody
We will we will rock you
We will we will rock you
Alright
02 We Are the Champions (03:01)
I've paid my dues
Time after time
I've done my sentence
But committed no crime
And bad mistakes
I've made a few
I've had my share of sand kicked in my face
But I've come through
And we mean to go on and on and on
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world
I've taken my bows
And my curtain calls
You brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it
I thank you all
But it's been no bed of roses
No pleasure cruise
I consider it a challenge before the whole human race
And I ain't gonna lose
And I need to go on and on and on
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions - of the world
We are the champions - my friends
And we'll keep on fighting - till the end
We are the champions
We are the champions
No time for losers
'Cause we are the champions
03 Sheer Heart Attack (03:27)
Well you're just 17 and all you want to do is disappear
You know what I mean there's a lot of space between your ears
The way that you touch don't feel no nothin'
Hey hey hey hey it was the D.N.A.
Hey hey hey hey that made me this way
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
I feel so in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar-tic-u-late
Gotta feelin' gotta feelin' gotta feelin' like a paralyse
It ain't no it ain't no it ain't no it ain't no surprise
Turn on the TV let it drip right down in your eyes
Hey hey hey hey it was the D.N.A.
Hey hey hey hey that made me this way
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
I feel so in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar in-ar-tic-u-late
Just how I feel
Do you know do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Do you know do you know do you know do you know just how I feel?
Sheer heart attack
Sheer heart attack
Real cardiac
05 Spread Your Wings (04:35)
Sammy was low
Just watching the show
Over and over again
Knew it was time
He'd made up his mind
To leave his dead life behind
His boss said to him
'Boy you'd better begin
To get those crazy notions right out of your head
Sammy who do you think that you are?
You should've been sweeping up the Emerald bar'
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Pull yourself together
'Cos you know you should do better
That's because you're a free man
He spends his evenings alone in his hotel room
Keeping his thoughts to himself he'd be leaving soon
Wishing he was miles and miles away
Nothing in this world nothing would make him stay
Since he was small
Had no luck at all
Nothing came easy to him
Now it was time
He'd made up his mind
'This could be my last chance'
His boss said to him 'now listen boy
You're always dreaming
You've got no real ambition you won't get very far
Sammy boy don't you know who you are?
Why can't you be happy at the Emerald bar?'
So honey
Spread your wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Spread your little wings and fly away
Fly away far away
Pull yourself together
'Cos you know you should do better
That's because you're a free man
Come on honey
FLY WITH ME!
08 Sleeping on the Sidewalk (03:08)
Words and music by Brian May
I was nothin' but a city boy
My trumpet was my only toy
I've been blowin' my horn
Since I knew I was born
But there ain't nobody wants to know
I've been sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I may get hungry
But I sure don't want to go home
So round the corner comes a limousine
And the biggest grin I ever seen
Here sonny won't you sign
Right along the dotted line
What you sayin' are you playin'
Sure you don't mean me?
I've been sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I may get hungry
But I sure don't want to go home
(Now I tell you what happened...)
They took me to a room without a table
They said 'blow your trumpet into here'
I played around as well as I was able
And soon we had the record of the year
I was a legend all through the land
I was blowin' to a million fans
Nothin' was a missin'
All the people want to listen
You'd have thought I was a happy man
And I was sleepin' like a princess
Never touch the road
I don't get hungry
And I sure don't want to go home
(Have to have some fun...)
Now they tell me that I ain't so fashionable
An' I owe the man a million bucks a year
So I told 'em where to stick the fancy label
It's just me and the road from here
I'm back to playin' and layin'
I'm back on the game
I'm sleepin' on the sidewalk
Rollin' down the road
I sure get hungry and
I sure do wanna go home
(Yeah)
10 It's Late (06:26)
You say you love me
And I hardly know your name
And if I say I love you in the candlelight
There's no one but myself to blame
But there's something inside
That's turning my mind away
Oh how I could love you
If I could let you stay
It's late - but I'm bleeding deep inside
It's late - is it just my sickly pride?
Too late - even now the feeling seems to steal away
So late - though I'm crying I can't help but hear you say
It's late it's late it's late
But not too late
The way you love me
Is the sweetest love around
But after all this time
The more I'm trying
The more I seem to let you down
Now you tell me you're leaving
And I just can't believe it's true
Oh you know that I can love you
Though I know I can't be true
Oh you made me love you
Don't tell me that we're through
It's late - but it's driving me so mad
It's late - yes I know but don't try to tell me that it's
Too late - save our love you can't turn out the lights
So late - I've been wrong but I'll learn to be right
It's late it's late it's late
But not too late
I've been so long
You've been so long
We've been so long tryin' to work it out
I ain't got long
You ain't got long
We gotta know what this life is all about
Too late much too late
You're staring at me
With suspicion in your eye
You say what game are you playing?
What's this that you're saying?
I know that I can't reply
If I take you tonight
Is it making my life a lie?
Oh you make me wonder
Did I live my life alright?
It's late - but it's time to set me free
It's late - yes I know but there's no way it has to be
Too late - so let the fire take our bodies this night
So late - so let the waters take our guilt in the tide
It's late it's late it's late it's late
It's late it's late
It's all too late
11 My Melancholy Blues (03:30)
Words and music by Freddie Mercury
Another party's over
And I'm left cold sober
My baby left me for somebody new
I don't wanna talk about it
Want to forget about it
Wanna be intoxicated with that special brew
So come and get me
Let me
Get in that sinking feeling
That says my heart is on an all time low - So
Don't expect me
To behave perfectly
And wear that sunny smile
My guess is I'm in for a cloudy and overcast
Don't try and stop me
'Cos I'm heading for that stormy weather soon
I'm causing a mild sensation
With this new occupation
I'm permanently glued
To this extraordinary mood so now move over
Let me take over
With my melancholy blues
I'm causing a mild sensation
With this new occupation
I'm in the news
I'm just getting used to my new exposure
So come into my enclosure
And meet my
Melancholy blues
Carico i commenti... con calma
Altre recensioni
Di poeta73
"We Will Rock You", struttura tanto semplice quanto anticonvenzionale, puro trionfo in sede live.
"Spread Your Wings", testo di rivalsa sociale e musiche struggenti al punto giusto.
Di led&zep
"Il binomio 'We Will Rock You' - 'We Are The Champions' costituisce il climax del live-act del combo britannico."
"La Regina del rock britannico risponde con un lavoro pieno di energia e idee nuove, riscrivendo i cliché della sua musica."
Di Walterstarman1
Il binomio "We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions" chiuderà SEMPRE i concerti dei Queen.
"My Melancholy Blues" è un pezzo eccellente, dolce, malinconico e impeccabile strumentalmente.
