Did Brian`s guitar play rescued "It`s a Hard Life " ?

Here Brian talks about the solo a bit. For those interested -

[url=https://youtu.be/wkhmDEKeaBU?t=27m29s]https://youtu.be/wkhmDEKeaBU?t=27m29s[/url] .

i like it better than Love of My Life and Is This the World We Created. can't fucking stand those two songs and always skip it on live recordings.

I think this is a great tune, for me it was always the last song they did to have that epic 70s classic rock sound.

The intro is wonderful, very dramatic. What follows is a slighty better than average song.
And the video....I used to hate it but now I can appreciate it. It is like Fred arranged it all, including the costums for Brian, Roger and John. He probably laughed for hours when they got out their dressing rooms.

I wonder if John suggested this opera piece to impress his "mentor" and Freddie, flattered, couldn't say no.

I'll tell ya one song rescued by its guitar solo: "Dancer".

Dancer, checked. I can think of several other songs rescued by Brian's guitar (solo or rhythm), in my very own opinion:

Back Chat, A Kind of Magic, You're My Best Friend, Friends Will Be Friends (and any other Friend that John can come up with), I Want To Break Free, Fat Bottomed Girls, Bicycle Race,...

And to a certain extend, We Will Rock You. Don't take me wrong, the verses are fresh and tight on their own, but without the guitar solo coming out of nowhere raising the song to another level, it wouldn't probably have been that popular.

Actually it'd be nice to have a new thread about Which songs are rescued by the guitar?
Which songs are rescue by the vocal? (One Year of Love)
Which songs are rescue by the piano?
Which songs are rescue by the drum?
Which songs are rescue by the bass?
etc.

A potentially interesting topic there ^

Anyway, no Brian did not rescue it, because it never needed rescuing. A very nice, heartfelt ballad, possibly the last with that "classic Queen" sound , as many pointed above. "Dancer" is a much better example of a song rescued by the guitar... It certainly comes to life once the Red Special kicks in.

I was perhaps too harsh on Hard Life earlier. I do like the lyrics in the sense of the character arc that's present. Queen songs tend to be brilliant in that sense - unlike plenty of pop songs, they capture a progression rather than a single feeling or impression.

Granted, 'It's a hard life to be true lovers together, to love and live forever in each others hearts' isn't Freddie's best lyricism, but it still works out nicely when it's wrapped up at the end - 'But I'll always live for tomorrow - I'll look back on myself and say I did it for love'. The simple, perhaps cliched lyrics shimmer with the hopefulness and resolution that the song's conveying at that point.


But yeah, that middle section, largely guitar driven, elevates the song tremendously. Without it, Hard Life would be much like a less musically beautiful Play the Game, in my view.

the song is great in itself!

"true" or "two"? I always heard it as "two". But I like it anyway.

in the Hard Life video at 3:38, he has a little evil smile where he says "fuck you all, I want this video"

I just assumed it was 'true'. The Works 2011 remaster's booklet says 'true', also.

You're probably right. Not sure whether Freddie's lyrics are necessarily supposed to make sense. :-)

I like Its a Hard Life, and I absolutely love the 12" Mix where the backing vox are brought to the front like a vocal solo.
Queens 12" mixes off The Works were quite bland, but It's a Hard Life they gave an extra dimension.