Review:

on 2011-07-14 CharlesMartel Said:

Is there anyone who does not know this? Is there anyone who does not love this? The sheer audacity of the work, the scope and the precision of the execution was compounded when Queen insisted that it be issued as a single, against all prevailing wisdom of what constituted a single. Not only was it a hit, but has been voted the best single ever in many polls. In that sense alone it was a refreshing change and it proved that the smug record company executives did not have a monopoly on what would constitute a hit.

Queen entered the height of their mock operatic phase with this single and would never look back. This single, more than any other, set them on the path to arenas and mainstream acceptability. And yet, despite attempts to claim to the contrary, the song isn't really about anything. Brian May recently gave an interview when he confirmed that there is no story here - just a series of images drawn from a broadly literary theme. There may be references to Beelzebub and a poignant lament of a young man going off to war, but there is no coherent meaning to it. This was something the band seemed to have opted to do to prove a point.
Rating: 8/10