by Georg Purvis
The song features a roaring ensemble performance and some truly inspired guitar work from Brian, but is otherwise a minor, throwaway track due to its forgettable lyrics and a thin, tinny mix that marred other songs on Innuendo. A minute-long demo version with Brian on lead vocals was released on the Hints Of Innuendo promo tape, and perpetuated the rumor that he not only wrote the song, but that it was intended for Back To The Light. At this point in their career, the band were working on each others’ songs with the rule that all songwriting credits were to the collective whole, so Brian may have been simply offering up his own lyrical ideas for consideration – and with lines like “Don’t gimme no shit, man” watered down to “I’m just it, man”, it was a blessing that the others intervened.
‘The Hitman’ was issued as the B-side of ‘I’m Going Slightly Mad’ in March 1991.
HOLD ON (Mercury/Mack)
• Soundtrack (Freddie): Zabou • Compilation (Freddie): Solo Collection
With a laid-back reggae rhythm, ‘Hold On’ was recorded by Freddie and American actress Jo Dare for the 1986 German film Zabou, during sessions for A Kind Of Magic in early 1986 at Musicland Studios in Munich. The lyrics were written by Freddie and the music was provided by Mack, and though the song is enjoyable, expressing similar emotions explored in ‘Friends Will Be Friends’, it’s an inconsequential listen and little more than filler.
Released as a German-only single with Tina Turner’s contribution to the soundtrack, ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’, as the flip-side, ‘Hold On’ unsurprisingly failed to chart.
HOLDING ON (Mercury)
• Compilation (Freddie): Solo Collection
This powerful song was recorded on 9 March 1987 at Townhouse Studios during the Barcelona sessions (but not intended for that album), with Erdal Kizilkay on bass guitar, David Richards on drum programming and Mike Moran on keyboards. Kizilkay, a multi-talented musician who had just contributed a slew of instruments to David Bowie’s Never Let Me Down (also produced by David Richards at Mountain Studios), contributed the funky bassline, and Freddie was so inspired by Kizilkay that he delivered the spirited, improvised vocals. Unfortunately, the track was never completed, and forgotten in favour of stronger material when Queen reconvened the following year to record The Miracle. ‘Holding On’ was finally released in 2000 on The Solo Collection.
HONKY TONK WOMEN (Jagger/Richards)
This 1969 Rolling Stones classic was performed live by The Cross, with Bob Geldof on vocals, at the Gosport Festival on 30 July 1992.
HOOCHIE COOCHIE MAN (Dixon)
Due to a technical difficulty during The Brian May Band’s September 1998 show in Warsaw, Jamie Moses took over on guitar and vocals and played this version of Willie Dixon’s ‘Hoochie Coochie Man’ until Brian’s technicians were able to fix the problem.
HORNS OF DOOM (Richards)
• Compilation (Freddie): Solo Collection
Recorded entirely by David Richards, without any contribution whatsoever from Freddie, on 11 February 1987 (during sessions for Barcelona in London), ‘Horns Of Doom’ is a compelling and sinister song, with synthesized horns, drum-machine, keyboards and percussion, but why it was released on The Solo Collection is anyone’s guess. Even Greg Brooks’ liner notes fail to mention the logic of its inclusion.
HOT PATOOTIE: see WHATEVER
HAPPENED TO SATURDAY NIGHT?
HOW CAN I GO ON (Mercury/Moran)
• Album (Freddie): Barcelona • A-side (Freddie): 1/89 [95] • A-side (Freddie): 10/92 • Compilation (Freddie): Solo Collection
Undoubtedly one of Freddie’s most gorgeous songs, ‘How Can I Go On’ is a highlight, not only of Barcelona, but of his entire latter-day oeuvre. Segueing from ‘Guide Me Home’, the song expresses similar sentiments, of a man searching for inspiration and guidance in the midst of emotional uncertainty: “Is anybody there to believe in me / To hear my plea and take care of me?” At a time when Freddie was thrown into inner turmoil and having to face his mortality, ‘How Can I Go On’ is especially poignant.
Several versions of the song were recorded during the Barcelona sessions and ultimately released on The Solo Collection. With an alternate recorded on 2 March 1988, this was an attempt to create a passable take, with Freddie ad-libbing vocals, indicating the lyrics had yet to be finalized, and vocalizing (like most of the other Barcelona outtakes) where Montserrat was to fill in. Two early takes were also captured – the first, on 9 April 1987, is stunning, with piano accompaniment for the first half before diverting to an orchestrated tangent that would be omitted in the released version; the second, on 24 June 1987, finds the recording starting halfway through the song already in progress, much to the audible disappointment of Freddie when told by David Richards that not all his vocal performance was recorded. An instrumental version was also created for the box set, and shows just how complex and breathtaking the original backing track really was.
Released as the third and final single from Barcelona in January 1989, and attracting a bit of attention from Queen fans due to the presence of John Deacon on bass, ‘How Can I Go On’, backed with ‘Overture Piccante’, charted at a disappointing No. 95 in the UK. Because the song was recorded without a break from ‘Guide Me Home’, a special single mix was created, with the ultimate piano notes of the preceding track serving as the introduction. The song was remixed and re-released in October 1992, this time with ‘The Golden Boy’, to capitalize on the success of the summer 1992 Olympic Games, and the consequential re-release of ‘Barcelona’. Unfortunately, the single performed even worse the second time, not charting at all in the UK.
A video was filmed on 8 October 1988 at La Nit, Barcelona, during one of the few promotional ‘concerts’ performed for the album (Freddie never performed any of the Barcelona material live, only miming to the album versions), this time at a celebration of Spain, who had just earned a contract to host the 1992 Olympic Games. The versions of ‘The Golden Boy’ and ‘How Can I Go On’ from this performance became the official promotional videos for the songs, and would later be issued on both a video EP in 1989 and The Freddie Mercury Video Collection in 2000.
HOW CAN IT BE
It’s unknown whether ‘How Can It Be’ is a cover or an original tune (or even an alternate title for a completely different song altogether), but it was reportedly played live by 1984.
A HUMAN BODY (Taylor)
• B-side: 5/80 [14] • Compilation: Vision • Bonus: Game
According to co-producer Mack, Roger’s ‘A Human Body’ was originally intended to appear on The Game in place of ‘Coming Soon’: “I remember Roger wrote three tracks for The Game, and the three caused problems in the band: there was a song called ‘Coming Soon’ which Roger, at first, thought would be on the single, leaving a place on the album for another one of his, ‘A Human Body’. But Brian and Freddie objected that if ‘A Human Body’ was included, the album would be too melodic, since they had already written three songs for it. Finally, they convinced Roger, who was especially proud of ‘A Human Body’, and opted for ‘Coming Soon’.” Queen may have been guilty of some minor blunders in the past, but this was inexcusable: ‘A Human Body’ is a fine song and one of Roger’s most accomplished compositions, with a strong ensemble performance and lyrics inspired by Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s failed explorations in Antarctica. Roger takes the lead vocal on this mid-tempo, acoustic-driven rocker, performing most of the instruments (indicating it may have been originally intended for Fun In Space), with prominent backing vocals by Roger, Freddie and Brian.
Unfortunately, the song was neglected, due to its non-album status, appearing as the B-side of ‘Play The Game’ in May 1980, and included on the rarities album The Complete Vision, available only on the 1985 box set The Complete Works. The song eluded release on the CD format for years, glaringly overlooked for inclusion on the 1991 reissue of The Game, but was finally released in 2009 on The Singles Collection – Volume Two and two years later on the reissue of The Game.
; I AM THE DRUMMER IN A ROCK‘n’ROLL BAND
In the ongoing saga of Roger’s fifth solo album and its progress, a track titled ‘I Am The Drummer In A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band’ and labelled as his next single was premiered at the 2011 Queen Fan Club convention. This tongue-in-cheek rocker, with a terse, synth-based backing and a sturdy rhythm, confirms Roger’s recent creative spurt, and that he hadn’t lost any of his chops on drums. A delicate bridge, dominated by piano, finds Roger affecting an upper-crust, almost Keith Moon-inspired vocal, as he channels the legendary Who drummer by rattling off a list of his likes and even addressing his status as “the butt of a thousand jokes / From far less-talented blokes”. With the year prior’s premiere of the sublime ‘Smile’ and the 2009 single release of ‘The Unblinking Eye (Everything Is Broken)’, Roger’s fifth solo album is gearing up to be a terrific album. The only question is: when will he get around to releasing it?
(I BELIEVE I’LL) DUST MY BROOM (Johnson)
This song was performed live by The Cross, with Brian on guitar and vocals and John on bass, at the band’s 1988 Christmas party for the Fan Club.
I CAN HEAR MUSIC (Greenwich/Spector/Barry)
• A-side (Larry Lurex): 6/73 • Compilation (Freddie):
Solo Collection
Queen had finally been given the chance to record their first album, though under restricted circumstances, and it was during this time that producer Robin Geoffrey Cable ran into Freddie in the corridors of Trident Studios in the summer of 1972. Cable had overheard Freddie singing a Queen track and, impressed with his voice, asked the vocalist to contribute lead vocals to a re-recording of the 1969 Beach Boys track, ‘I Can Hear Music’. Cable considered himself a visionary producer, going for the lavish ‘wall of sound’ that Phil Spector had pioneered in the 1960s, and successfully recreated that sound on ‘I Can Hear Music’. Even at this early stage of Freddie’s career, he pierces through the din of ringing acoustic guitars and thunderous percussion, with an exuberantly youthful delivery that’s still stunning all these years later.
Incidentally, during one take, Cable was heard grumbling about the sound of the synthesizer, which was providing a solo where a guitar might normally be; Freddie jumped at the opportunity, and suggested Brian provide a solo on The Red Special instead. Roger, too, was hanging around the studios and was duly recruited to perform the rollicking claves, maracas and tambourines that are densely layered throughout. Since the song wasn’t technically a Queen track (the drums, bass, acoustic guitars and strings were all performed by unknown session musicians, and John Deacon didn’t feature at all), it was initially fated to remain unreleased, but Cable loved the recording (and the other song, ‘Goin’ Back’, also recorded during the sessions) so much that he insisted they be released. Through negotiations with Trident, a one-time deal was struck with EMI, and ‘I Can Hear Music’ was released in June 1973; ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ would be released as Queen’s debut single two weeks later. For this reason, the song was not billed as Queen, but instead as Larry Lurex and The Voles From Venus, a lighthearted jab at two contemporary, separate acts: Gary Glitter and The Spiders From Mars, though The Voles From Venus was eventually dropped. Receiving little promotion, apart from a brief mention in Record Mirror (“It may sink without a trace, but the arrangement of this old Spector-inspired piece and the high-pitched voice going like the clappers ... well, it could click”), the single simply disappeared and remained unreleased on any official compilation until 2000, appearing on The Solo Collection, and again six years later on Lover Of Life, Singer Of Songs.
I CAN TAKE YOU HIGHER
Unfortunately, only a forty-second snippet of ‘I Can Take You Higher’ has surfaced over the years, but from the short clip that exists, the strengths of the track are obvious, proving that it wouldn’t have been out of place on Strange Frontier, for which the song was originally recorded.
I CAN’T DANCE / KEEP SMILIN’ (Mercury)
• Compilation (Freddie): Solo Collection
Inspired by an anonymous ballet dancer friend of Freddie’s, ‘I Can’t Dance’ was recorded on 17 February 1987 (also the birth date of Brian’s second daughter, Emily) at Townhouse Studios and actually featured the anonymous friend on additional backing vocals, though the released recording on the 2000 box set is an alternate version without the vocals (Freddie harmonizes with himself).
The song changes pace about two minutes in, with Freddie singing an upbeat song titled ‘Keep Smilin”. Freddie had been approached by the parents of Colin Preston, who asked the vocalist to visit their son in hospital. Colin was a life-long Queen fan, and bore more than a passing resemblance to Freddie, and was involved in a car accident and sunk into a coma. Freddie went one better and took the studio time to record a personal song for the fan, then sent the tape to Colin’s family. Freddie kept in contact with Colin’s parents and heard that, while he rallied initially, he died shortly afterwards, but that the song had made a difference. Colin’s family promised that the tape would be buried with him so that it would be a song just for him, and so it would seem in bad taste to include such a recording on any wider release, but it was included anyway on The Solo Collection, carrying a dedication to Colin.
I CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF MY HEAD
Long believed to be an outtake from Roger’s Strange Frontier album, ‘I Can’t Get Yout Out Of My Head’ was recently discovered to be a Clayton Moss outtake from the Mad: Bad: And Dangerous To Know sessions – as confirmed by the songwriter itself on his YouTube channel page. (This, however, sits at odds with an acetate from the Strange Frontier sessions, purchased by a renowned collector in 1986, which has both this song and ‘Celebration’ on it. The plot thickens!) With ringing acoustic guitars and tasteful saxophone, and a set of lyrics of being utterly smitten with a past love while lamenting the loss of the relationship, the song would have been a pleasant addition to its parent album, but was dropped in favour of Moss’ other songs, ‘Penetration Guru’ and ‘Better Things’.
I CAN’T EXPLAIN (Townshend)
The Who’s first single was performed live by The Cross at the first Fan Club show in December 1992 at the Marquee, with Roger Daltrey on lead vocals.
I CAN’T LIVE WITH YOU (Queen)
• Album: Innuendo • Compilation: Rocks
Unlike the raucous ‘Headlong’ and ‘The Hitman’, ‘I Can’t Live With You’ is a more controlled rocker on Innuendo, a track that Brian had originally written for a solo project. “I was in the studio for a couple of days to get some things out of my system,” Brian told Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt in a 1991 interview in Guitar World. “I thought that maybe I’d be left with a solo album, maybe with a Queen album – I just didn’t know – and I came up with ‘Headlong’ and ‘I Can’t Live With You’, and the guys liked them.”
Not one of the standout tracks on the album, ‘I Can’t Live With You’ sounds like a Miracle-era reject, especially with its tinny-sounding backing track. Freddie’s vocal performance, as always, is superb, and Brian redeems the track with several soaring guitar solos, but it’s neither offensive nor spectacular – merely ordinary. “For some reason,” Brian continued in Guitar World, “[‘I Can’t Live With You’] was almost impossible to mix. It was one of those things where you put all the faders up and it sounds pretty good, and you think, ‘We’ll work on this for a couple of hours.’ Then it gets worse and worse and worse. We kept going back to the rough mix. It’s got an atmosphere to it. I think it sounds so special because we kept a lot of the demo stuff on it. Usually it all gets replaced.”
The song was remixed for promotional single purposes in the US by Brian Malouf, indicating it may have been in the running for a stateside-only release, but even that couldn’t save it from being more than a mediocre track with poor production. It was finally salvaged in 1997 with a completely new and more muscular backing track replacing the original, much as Brian originally intended it. The live drums and aggressive guitar turn it into the rocker it deserves to be, but, incident
ally, it would have been out of place on Innuendo; thus, its placement was appropriate on Queen Rocks, a Brian-heavy compilation of rock songs from the band’s catalogue.
I CRY FOR YOU (LOVE, HOPE AND CONFUSION)
(Taylor/Richards)
• Album (Roger): Frontier • B-side (Roger): 7/84
Concluding Roger’s Strange Frontier in a typically overblown manner, ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope And Confusion)’ has split fan appreciation neatly down the middle, but, love it or loathe it, it’s an optimistic rock anthem with percolating synths, programmed drums, and soaring guitars, with production values dating it firmly to 1984. Rife with cliché lyrics (“I cry for you”, “love me tender”, “give ’em hell”, “hope springs eternal”) meant to inspire, the song is nevertheless a superb finish to Roger’s second solo album.
Released as the B-side of ‘Strange Frontier’ in July 1984, ‘I Cry For You (Love, Hope And Confusion)’ was remixed by John Deacon, slowing down the song to half-time, removing most of the drums – which revealed Roger’s vocals more clearly – and adding his own flourishes on bass. This remix was then extended for the 12” vinyl version of ‘Strange Frontier’, this time by both John and Mack, bringing the running time to just over six minutes and adding further guitar work and programmed drums.
(I DON’T WANT NOBODY) TEASIN’
AROUND (WITH ME) (Emerson)
Brian was asked to contribute a recording to Good Rockin’ Tonight: The Legacy Of Sun Records, released in 2001 and also featuring luminaries such as Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. The absolute highlight was the one song that didn’t appear on the album: Brian’s recording of Billy ‘The Kid’ Emerson’s 1954 blues track ‘(I Don’t Want Nobody) Teasin’ Around (With Me)’ is deconstructed to a mournful slow burn, with the guitarist squeezing every last bit of emotion out of his weeping guitar. The true surprise was Brian’s voice: long suited only for tender ballads and not loud rock songs, his voice is especially powerful on this recording, bouncing between a barely-restrained whisper and an anguished howl. When asked about the difference between singing rock and slower numbers in 2001, Brian said, “Actually, I’ve been playing some blues lately. I’ve done a couple of tracks and I usually end up singing and not screaming; it’s in the range where I can put some passion into it. The funny thing is, I actually can scream. I just did this track for Scotty Moore on a Sun Records tribute. It starts off very quiet and then the guy screams because he’s totally pissed off ... I did a version of that and I screamed it; the problem is that I can’t do it all night.” Despite not being released on the album, Brian gave it its one and only live performance on 7 July 2001 at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Stravinski Hall, Montreux.