QUEEN - THE WORKS @40

Celebrating its 40th anniversary today is the eleventh studio album from Queen, The Works, which was released on February 27th, 1984. After the mixed reaction to what many considered the band's most disappointing LP, Hot Space, The Works made a concerted effort to redress some of the concerns expressed by fans and critics, while continuing to retain some of the new creative ground that had been cultivated on what was, frankly, a misjudged and under appreciated prior album.

1982's Hot Space had taken Queen into a new, synth-heavy soundscape that many fans felt was a betrayal for a band who spent the previous decade proudly proclaiming "NO SYNTHS" on all their albums. The focus on dance oriented soul and R&B funkiness also seemed out of character and the band's tour across the US included incidents where Mercury flatly scolded audiences for their impatience with the band's new material. To add insult to injury, US broadcasters reacted harshly against the cheeky drag imagery of the video for I Want To Break Free, all of which contributed to the band's decision to cease touring the US for the remainder of their career while Mercury was still fronting the band. It's a decision that would cost them some sales in America during the decade, though the band's status elsewhere skyrocketed after the release of The Works.

After the end of the Hot Space tour, the band felt a need to take a break, a situation that was erroneously portrayed in the Bohemian Rhapsody movie from 2018 as a "break up". There was never any intention to pack it in as a band, though most of the group were looking forward to doing some solo work, or collaborations with other people. Brian worked with Eddie Van Halen on a project, while Roger and Freddie each got stuck in on solo albums. There was some talk about returning to South America to tour after the spectacular success of their last stop there, but those plans fell through. By August of 1983, they were all ready to reassemble and start putting together a new album, which would be released through a new label after their deal with Elektra in the US, Canada, Australian and Japan was nullified. The new album would be their first to be released on EMI and its US affiliate, Capital Records.

The bulk of the recording sessions would take place at LA's Record Plant, which would be the only time the group ever recorded in the US. The final mixing and overdubbing would occur in January of 1984 at Musicland studios in Munich, Germany. While Queen had been quite self sufficient on their albums throughout the 1970s, by the time they were recording The Works, they were also relying a lot on live session keyboardist, Fred Mandel, who contributed synth and other keyboard parts to several tracks on the album. Also, regular engineer, Reinhold Mack, was helping out with sampling on the then unfamiliar Fairlight CMI.

The title for the album came about because of an off-the-cuff comment by Roger that was a response to the backlash against the previous album. He suggested the group "give 'em the works" for the next album, meaning that they should give fans a bit of everything the band were able to muster. And that's pretty much exactly what they did. While they'd return to some of the hard rock sounds of their earlier career, they didn't give up on the electronics heavy music they'd explored on the controversial Hot Space album, and ended up creating one of their most iconic songs in the process.

Radio Ga Ga had been inspired by a bit of toddler prattle from Roger's son, which inspired Taylor to write the song, ironically utilizing keyboards and drum machines. Roger had initially been against such devices, but was now embracing them. John Deacon helped out with a bass line, while Freddie came in and radically reassembled it with his own take on the arrangements. The result was a song that not only provided a hit single & video, but one of the band's most engaging moments when played live. The distinctive "clap clap" chorus, with hands held straight in the air, became a unifying moment of audience participation, even rivalling the "stomp-stomp-clap" of We Will Rock You. The sight of throngs of fans all performing the motion in unison became one of the most breathtaking moments of their massive stadium live shows during the 1980s, at least while the band were still able to tour with Freddie.

The other song on the album that created quite a stir was I Want To Break Free, another ear catching classic written by John Deacon. The ruckus over this all came down to the video and the US market's aversion to anything that smacked of "gender-bending". The fuss was ridiculous, however, because the "drag" that was incorporated was so utterly ludicrous. The concept was another flash of inspiration from Roger, who suggested the group do something of a parody of the UK soap, Coronation Street. The concept went down a treat for fans who were familiar with the series, but the US market were clueless and simply didn't get the joke or the reference. For those that did, seeing them in such outrageous attire was a laugh-riot, with Brian and John looking dowdy and stern, while Taylor chewed bubblegum as a saucy teen temptress and Mercury tough-dragged out with moustache firmly in place while he vacuumed in his red leather miniskirt. It remains one of the band's most memorable videos, next to Bohemian Rhapsody.

Upon its release, it took off on the charts, though its success was muted in the US by the band's refusal to tour there. Though it just missed the number 1 slot in the UK, it set the record for any Queen studio album by lingering in the charts for an astonishing 94 weeks! My relationship with the album is somewhat distant, however, as it came out at a time when Queen were simply off my radar, so while I appreciated the humour of something like I Want To Break Free, the music on the album has not quite developed much of a relationship with me, beyond a few tracks. Maybe one day I'll be able to embrace it more, but I do appreciate that it became a key piece of the band's history, critical in establishing their legacy, which continues to sustain fan interest over three decades after Freddie Mercury left this world.