Innuendo (album)

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Innuendo is a 1991 album by British rock band Queen. It was the band's fourteenth studio album and the last to be released while lead singer Freddie Mercury was still alive. The album was praised by some critics and fans as one of the strongest albums of Queen's later career. It reached number one on the U.K. album charts (2 weeks) as well as in the Netherlands (4 weeks), in Switzerland (8 weeks), Germany (6 weeks), and Italy. It peaked at number thirty in the United States. The album would be the first Queen album to go Gold in the US upon its release since 1984's The Works.

The album was recorded when Mercury was in the final stages of a battle with AIDS. Much of the material on the album deals with the band's coming to terms with his imminent death. The morbid theme is also reflected in the music, which can be heavy and arresting ("Innuendo" and "Headlong"), but also bleak and dark ("The Show Must Go On" and "Don't Try So Hard"), and very often both ("Bijou").

"Innuendo" was released as a single in January 1991, and as an album the following month. It was a top-ten hit in almost every country in which it made the charts.

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Personnel 3 Singles 4 Trivia

Track listing

1. "Innuendo" (Mercury, Taylor) *
2. "I'm Going Slightly Mad" (Mercury) *
3. "Headlong" (May) *
4. "I Can't Live with You" (May)
5. "Don't Try So Hard" (Mercury)
6. "Ride the Wild Wind" (Taylor)
7. "All God's People" (Mercury, Mike Moran)
8. "These Are the Days of Our Lives" (Taylor) *
9. "Delilah" (Mercury)
10. "The Hitman" (Mercury)
11. "Bijou" (Mercury, May)
12. "The Show Must Go On" (May/Deacon/Taylor) *

On the album all songs (except "All God's People") are credited to "Queen".

* Released as singles

Personnel

• All lead vocals by Freddie Mercury except "Ride the Wild Wind" (Mercury & Roger Taylor)
• All backing vocals by Freddie Mercury except:
  • "I'm Going Slightly Mad": Mercury & Brian May
  • "Headlong": Queen
  • "I Can't Live with You": May & Taylor
  • "The Hitman": May
  • "The Show Must Go On": May & Taylor
• All drums and timpani by Taylor
  • Conga percussion in "Days of Our Lives" by David Richards
  • Synth-drum programming in "I Can't Live with You" by May
• All bass guitars by John Deacon
• All electric guitars by May
  • Spanish rhythm guitar in "Innuendo" by May
  • Spanish guitar orchestration and solo in "Innuendo" by Steve Howe
• All pianos by Mercury except "All God's People": Mike Moran
  • All keyboards by Mercury except:
    • "Innuendo": Mercury & Richards
    • "I Can't Live with You": Richards
    • "Days of Our Lives": programmed by Queen
    • "The Show Must Go On": May

Singles

Five singles were released from the album:

• "Innuendo" was the lead single from the album in most countries save the United States where it was the second single. One of Queen's heaviest works, the song was a 6:31 track that included a flamenco guitar solo in the middle, performed by Yes-guitarist Steve Howe. It was released on January 14, 1991 in Europe and March, 1991 in the US and became Queen's third number-one single in the U.K. The song also achieved modest success in the U.S., charting at seventeen on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. Still, the length and style of the track limited its appeal, and it only spent a week at number one in the U.K. and quickly slid down the chart, spending only six weeks in the top seventy-five.

• "I'm Going Slightly Mad" was released on March 4, 1991. It reached number twenty-two in the U.K. charts. Backed by a voice synthesizer track, the song consists of various observations that work to gradually convince the listener of the singer's madness. Despite being an infectious pop song and the catchiest single released from the album, the song's lyrics raised questions about whether Mercury was merely penning a humorous account or whether the song was in fact inspired by AIDS-induced dementia. It peaked at number 1 in Hong Kong.

• "Headlong" was released in January, 1991 in the US and on May 13, 1991 in the UK. It was one of the most successful songs from the album, and actually served as the lead single in the United States. It entered the U.K. charts at number fourteen, and reached number three on the U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

• "The Show Must Go On" was released on October 14, 1991 in the UK and January, 1992 in the US. The song is about Mercury's desire to continue making music even as his health was deteriorating. The single peaked at number sixteen in the U.K. charts. After Mercury's death in November, the song re-entered the British charts and spent longer in the top seventy-five than it had on its original release. An Elton John reworking of this track appeared on the third Queen greatest-hits album. This single was released just six weeks before Mercury died. The song was released as a double a-side with "Bohemian Rhapsody" in the US and reached #2 in the US.

Following Mercury's death, Queen re-released "Bohemian Rhapsody" as a double A-side with "These Are the Days of Our Lives". The video for the song, filmed in black-and-white, was the last to be filmed while Mercury was alive. The single was the U.K.'s Christmas number one of 1991.

Trivia

• "All God's People" was originally written during the sessions for the Freddie Mercury-Montserrat Caballe "Barcelona" album under the title "Africa By Night". A demo of "Africa By Night" is said to exist, however the song was abandoned and not included on "Barcelona".

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