SONIC WAVES……Queen/The Game

I have a buddy named Chico whose sister had a copy of Queens News Of The World on LP around say give or take 1979 so this was my first introduction to the Queen machine but at that time it was all KISS,AC/DC ,New England and Cheap Trick nuthin else really mattered back than but  in 1980 Queen unleashed The Game and lil Deker expanded his listening bands to 5!

What grabbed my attention other than the fact Another One Bites The Dust was everywhere was the cool looking cover. Full props to the person who decided to go with the silver look as colour of choice with a cool looking black and white  pic of the band on the cover! Queen looked badass and it’s kinda funny how two short years later when Queen put out Hot Space(???)  they didn’t look so bad ass anymore! But nevertheless lets play a game and talk about The Game!

PLAY THE GAME-Starts with what sounds like a UFO landing and the song begins with Freddie Mercury at the keys and for me at the time (13) my musically horizons are expanding! Every album I owned up to that point had ripping opening numbers(KISS had songs like Detroit Rock City,AC-DC had Hells Bells,you get the picture?!) to get em out of the gate but here’s Queen schooling me that you don’t have to come blasting out of the gate at a million hundred miles per hour but Queen was showing their diversity in the grooves and man this is sumthin new to my ears and guess what I’m ok with it! Also big in this song next to Freddie is Brian Mays guitar action the dude pulls off a real good solo.

DRAGON ATTACK – Could easily be one of my favourite Queen songs  ever( the other is Need Your Loving)John Deacon funks out some bass with Good ol Roger Taylor into the Dragons Den and man this is Queen grooving off in a jam with Fred chirping telling me that the “Reds all red baby that’s what I said “and Brian May carries the super cool tune along with some cool percussion from Taylor and snappy bass from Deacon. This is Queen at their best for me anyways!

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST-Give  a shout out to the bass player John Deacon for writing this tune and it’s his bass that carries this tune. I mean flashback to the early 80s this song was everywhere and I still remember years later it being used in a chocolate bar commercial that sent people freaking! Relax people it’s just John Deacon cashing his chips in man! He wrote the fuckin thing ! I still hear Mercury in my head saying “Another One Bites The Dust Hey Hey” this song as well if you were old enough in the early 80s to go to bars the bass in this song would just be jacked probably to the point of deafness! I guess that’s where the blow and booze would come in!

NEED YOUR LOVING TONIGHT-So Johnny Deacon sez if you think I’m just a one hit wonder in the songwriting department check out Need Your Loving Tonight! He writes pop ditties and man the rest of the guys with the drums,vocals,bass acoustic and electric guitars just add to this song and it’s my fav on The Game and I’m not just saying that because of the other two megabits on here! This song should have been huge and well for me it’s Queen once again  at their best! Like Freddie says ‘Hit Me’ Bravo John Deacon!

CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE-Freddie plays guitar, acoustic guitar that is on this track and man this song was huge ,huge just like Another One Bites The Dust! Maybe bigger?? Deacon drives the bass and May yanks a cool 1950ish sounding solo and yep it does sound like Elvis could have done it! And hey we all know the saying ‘Ready Freddy’….great first side now flip your vinyl and let’s dive nose first into….

ROCK IT (PRIME JIVE)- Roger Taylor says well everyone is writing tracks so I better contribute to get some royalties!! Rock It starts off slow with May and Freddie talking about our love for rock n roll as it’s all in our souls and once the drums kick in Taylor takes over the lead vocals and I remember as a kid thinking wow all 4 members contribute tracks just like KISS except Queen is a little more complex. What I mean is that you weren’t gonna find any ” please to meet ya in the Ladies Room” that’s ok there’s a place for that but not at the Queens Palace!

DONT TRY SUICIDE-Fred says don’t do it cuz nobody gives a damn! Cool handclaps and neat rhythm and Queen has rhythm man. Check out the middle part of the tune when Fred pounds the keys the  Queen is a Rocket Ship headed into frontiers for  others to follow and I will explain it at the conclusion of this review. Plus as a 13-year-old was the first time I heard the word “Tits” used on a record!! I’m not quoting the line Freddie says,you go listen to it!

SAIL AWAY SWEET SISTER- May does the honour on this song as he sings it as well! It’s a big time ballad in the Queen sense. Queen must have puked when all those flipping hair metal bands in the 80s were doing ballads. I mean you know my deal on ballads but Queen had class doing them. Warrant did Heaven think about this will ya!

COMING SOON- Ol Rog throws down song number by himself on side 2 and Queen picks up the pace with this mid tempo little rocker! May carries this tune as well. This song is one  that nobody ever speaks of,buts it’s good,no shit Sherlock!

SAVE ME- The album ends huge as a huge epic Queen tune. The piano and Fred carry this tune. Man could Mercury lay it down vocally! Shit man this guy is one of the best as when you hear him you know it’s him! Fantastic finish to a classic rock record!

IN CONCLUSION- For this being really the 4th band I ever got into Queen showed me how you could travel down another musical landscape and still come out it with the feeling of Rawk without pussing out! Deacon,Mercury,Taylor and May also proved that you do a record all with single cowrites and still exist creatively and man you never hear the Queen guys Bitchin about royalties and if they did they kept in-house!

The sonics on this album even today are superb! Queen was ahead of their time by a mountain slide of other acts putting out records during the 1980s. Kudos to producer Mack and to Queen for pushing the sonic envelope! Don’t believe me? Grab a pair of headphones man….

Also some artists of the 80s borrowed heavy from this record and 2 come to mind quickly.

1- Billy Squiers Emotions In Motion album is heavily influenced by The Game as well as Queens producer Mack fiddled with the dials as producer on Emotions in Motion!

2- The Cars,don’t laugh listen to The Game especially Taylor’s Rock It has Ric Ocasek all over it. Than again maybe the Cars had some influence on Queen…I doubt it I can’t see anyone influencing Queen other than Queen themselves!

I must also mention I’m not a huge  Queen fan and would never pretend to be but for me The Game and there Queen Rocks Montreal are must haves…..check em out!

Tell the cash register that Deke sent ya!