Ride The Wild Wind Anyone?

I didn't buy Innuendo until long after Freddie's death. When I did, I wasn't surprised as to the quality of the album. The only thing which seemed to be missing(to my way of thinking) were some of the lush backing vocals I'd remembered from listening to my Queen albums over and over again as a youth.

One song that stood out, and still does is Ride The Wild Wind. When I first heard the song, all of the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I was covered with goosebumps. I'm not certain why. I can tell you that I love the tempo. I love the melody. I love the bass and guitar. I love Fred's rich, smoothe and melodic vocals contrasting with Roger's rough voice. But all of these things are present in many of Queen's songs, so I'm not really certain what it is about THIS particular song which strikes me so.
I'm interested to hear how some of my fellow Queenzoners feel about this song, and why.

I love it. Very underrated track.

I like it lots too. I thought it would have been a good one for Q+PR to do. Would have been great with good lighting effects etc.

I also like Don't Try So Hard, and many people don't seem to rate that either.

I also like Tear It Up and Put out the Fire, but I think RTWW and DTSH are better.

I really like RTWW too. Could never decide if it is just about street racing (common Roger theme) or is there a drug overtone in there as well? Lyrics like "on the razor's edge"..."angel eyes shining bright"...."lead you from this place"..."sometimes I get so low I just have to ride" hint at that. Or is it just me ?!

I felt it was very daggy when I first heard it but it really grew on me.  I love it.

good song, along with the rest of Innuendo

It sounds great in the darkness

Mr Zebonka? What does daggy mean?

I haven't felt the drug association...for me, it relates to riding horses, though I imagine it was written about(escapism via) motorized riding.

Thanks for taking the time to comment, folks! One of my favorite things about this forum is talking about the music of Queen. This song, in particular, doesn't seem to get much love from the casual fan, and, I wanted to discuss it! I had hoped that posting about it here might satisfy my need, so I am delighted to know there are other RTWW lovers out there!

My brother, who is not a Queen fan, but, does enjoy a few Queen songs(strangely, he has I Want To Break Free on his Ipod...) very kindly humored me by listening to the song, and, looked at me like I'd grown a second skull. I don't think he liked it...
It hurt my QueenFeelings, I should say. So it got me to wondering just what it was about the song I enjoy so much!

Nice enough song. Very Roger lyricwise, he's a petrolhead.

But the album lacking the lush backing vocals? Not really, there's just balanced usage of elements. Although more used here as an effect, than just showing off their talent, more than half of the songs still have very nice b.voc tracks in them (although a little less layered than previously): Innuendo, Headlong, I Can't Live With You, Don't Try So Hard, All God's People, Delilah, The Show Must Go On. (The Hitman has backing vocals, but I wouldn't call them all that nice.)

Almost without exception, I've always really liked Taylor tracks. There's something special about the forward propulsion, or groove, or whatever, in songs written from the rhythm section. RTWW is no exception - it was an Innuendo track that stood out for me immediately.

does anyone else remember an arcade game from the late 80's/early 90's called OutRun?
i always felt that this song would be good as an accompliment to that game [esp when you have to drive through the desert]
anyways..just love the track

Yes. As I stated, SOME of the lushness is missing. I am not asserting that ALL of the backing vocals are missing. Just enough of the layering is missing as to create a bit different sound from the one I immediately associate with Queen.

JacquesDaniels wrote:

Nice enough song. Very Roger lyricwise, he's a petrolhead.

But the album lacking the lush backing vocals? Not really, there's just balanced usage of elements. Although more used here as an effect, than just showing off their talent, more than half of the songs still have very nice b.voc tracks in them (although a little less layered than previously): Innuendo, Headlong, I Can't Live With You, Don't Try So Hard, All God's People, Delilah, The Show Must Go On. (The Hitman has backing vocals, but I wouldn't call them all that nice.)

Reminds me of Tusk by Fleetwood Mac.

Sorry to go against the flow here, but I'm not particularly keen on it. I think the synths are a bit cheesy and dated. Guitar solo's not bad though.

Dusta, 'daggy' is a word in common usage here in in Australia. It means uncool, embarrassing, old-fashioned.

Great track, one of my favourites from the album, and one of my favourite Queen albums.
I remember playing this in my car a few years back when I had a friend on board who wasn't oh so keen on my taste in music, tough titty. Anyway, he turned to me and commented on what a great track it was, it stood out to him straight away. Sweet.
Great vocals from Fred and I love the guitar solo.