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.
