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Innuendo song is really great!! It´s one of my most favourite songs! I think Freddie was her writer.
I still think this is mainly a Roger Taylor song. The middle section is Freddie, verses and basic idea Roger Taylor.
I'd love to ramble on about this...but short and sweet:
1) Jim Hutton and Freestone have both commented "Freddie working hard on a song he called his Bo Rhap of the 90's" ....later to be named Innuendo.
2) Brian has said in interview, Guitar FTPM, MAY 1993..."we got Steve Howe from Yes to play on one of Freddie's tracks, Innuendo."
3) Steve Howe said in Guitar Player, July 1996 "Freddie Mercury was very professional, he had the spanish guitar part worked out on piano that he wanted me to play."
COMBINE THIS WITH THE FACT THAT THE MUSIC ON INNUENDO IS SIMPLY OUT OF ROGER'S LEAGUE...
And you have a Freddie song.
1) Jim Hutton and Freestone have both commented "Freddie working hard on a song he called his Bo Rhap of the 90's" ....later to be named Innuendo.
2) Brian has said in interview, Guitar FTPM, MAY 1993..."we got Steve Howe from Yes to play on one of Freddie's tracks, Innuendo."
3) Steve Howe said in Guitar Player, July 1996 "Freddie Mercury was very professional, he had the spanish guitar part worked out on piano that he wanted me to play."
COMBINE THIS WITH THE FACT THAT THE MUSIC ON INNUENDO IS SIMPLY OUT OF ROGER'S LEAGUE...
And you have a Freddie song.
Just cause something has a bunch of drums doesn't mean it's a Roger song. Princes has TONS of guitar, did Brian write it? Definetely not... Freddie did.
I guess it wouldn't hurt to throw my random facts into the mix...
Take it or leave it, but I've always heard that the general sound for Innuendo came from a jam session the band was having. Freddie walked in/listened to said session and liked it so much that he wanted to make an actual song out of it. (Somewhere in the vast expanses of the Internet, I read an actual quote in which FM admits this. I know not having it probably takes down the credibility of this post but... why would I lie?) Anyways, Freddie set to work on the lyrics, with or without the help of the others I'm not sure, and the unfinished portions were eventually patched together by Roger. This is what I pieced together from various sources-- feel free to correct me. :)
Take it or leave it, but I've always heard that the general sound for Innuendo came from a jam session the band was having. Freddie walked in/listened to said session and liked it so much that he wanted to make an actual song out of it. (Somewhere in the vast expanses of the Internet, I read an actual quote in which FM admits this. I know not having it probably takes down the credibility of this post but... why would I lie?) Anyways, Freddie set to work on the lyrics, with or without the help of the others I'm not sure, and the unfinished portions were eventually patched together by Roger. This is what I pieced together from various sources-- feel free to correct me. :)
verses and basic idea Roger Taylor.
No, that's not true. It was Freddie's idea. Freddie said it was his song, why don't believe him?
verses and basic idea Roger Taylor.
No, that's not true. It was Freddie's idea. Freddie said it was his song, why don't believe him?
Source? Let me guess, you dont have a source.
Ok, let`s omit the orchestral section in 3/4. It still isn`t Roger-esque at all, the keys, the time signatures... Roger`s most comlpicated effort in terms of meters is Rock It and Innuendo is light years from that.
Let`s omit the entire middle bit (keyboards, vocals and Steve`s guitar playing). Still, the song is not Roger-esque, the way the choruses are expanded in a completely un-Roger and suspiciously very Freddie-esque way (compare them with Bicycle or Killer Queen, to name just two).
Ok, let`s pretend Roger wrote it and Freddie was in charge of the structure (as happened with Ga Ga and Magic and still those were Roger`s songs). Does it make sense now? no
For a start, there are a lot of slash chords (e.g. F/E), something Roger didn`t apply even once in his vast songwriting catalogue (which includes two bands and four solo albums), and coincidentially Fred used A LOT in those days (Miracle, Slightly Mad, the Barcelona project...). Ok, let`s say Roger wrote the chords and Fred put the inversions. Does it make sense? No.
Innuendo`s verses last half in one key, then shift up. Is it a Roger-esque detail? No. It doesn`t exclude it though. He did use that in Action This Day, in the same way John used it for Misfire, Freddie in Funny How Love Is, Brian in Keep yourself Alive, just to name one example of each one (there are several more).
The Dorian mode was used by Roger in Modern Times RnR (I think), as well as the Mixolydian was used in Coming Soon. BUT, there are plenty of examples from Freddie for both modes as well: Miracle, Soul Brother, Crazy Little Thing, Keep Passing The Open Windows... in fact it`s common for both to use them. The difference is that Roger never used both in the same song. And those aren`t the only keys in there.
All chords are major in the "main" section, there are no inversions if we ignore the slash detail I mentioned above. So let`s pretend we only have the chords major and without any alteration whatsoever. We would get a set of just major ones. We usually tend to relate that to Roger (e.g. Coming Soon), but there are examples from both John (Misfire) and Freddie (Crazy Little Thing) too. From the top off my head I don`t remember any song from Brian with that but there must be.
The melody is at least twice as long as in any track from Roger including what he wrote for Queen, Cross and his solo career. How could he come up with that overnight? A lepprechaun, or a fairy, gave him magic powers? If so, then the lepprechaun (or the fairy) is the composer, not Roger.
Last but not least, don`t you think the track has a little too many keys for being written by a person who admittedly hated modulations? (source: GVHII audio commentary, Breakthru part)
Great to read Sebastian! After reading this, how can anyone still think that Innuendo was actually written by Roger? :-S. I always thought it was a Freddie song though;)
In order to complement what I said half a year ago:
- "Through the sorrow" is a variant of the verse, using the same chords (E and F) albeit organised a little bit differently. That's the same Fred did with Bo Rhap ("easy come easy go" appearing in intro and opera bit but in different tempo).
- Three new sections in the middle part, never appearing later in the song, just like Don't Try So Hard
- Verses are the core of the song, being present in almost every cycle, sometimes as variants of themselves (the last part of the solos are a verse variant in 6/8), just like Delilah or All God's People
- F/E and A/G# dissonances, similarly to The Miracle
- Note the pitch-set in the verses: E F G# A B C D (i.e. E Phyrigian Dominant or E Hijaz). Hijaz mode had been used by Fred on Mustapha, Black Queen and Flick Of The Wrist but never by Roger.
- E>G# modulation (verse) is a I>III double-step key change, found before in Seven Seas Of Rhye and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. No examples by Roger as far as I know although there's one by Brian: Back To The Light.
- Examples of Queen songs using Dorian mode: Liar, Masterstroke, Loser In The End, Tie Your Mother Down, Crazy Little Thing, Dragon Attack, Under Pressure, Tear It Up, Friends Will Be Friends, Princes Of The Universe. Conclusion: not a clear trademark from anyone of them.
- Unresolved endings is sort of Freddie's fingerprint: Champions, Lap ... Revisited, My Fairy King. Especially My Fairy King ends in the II function, just like Innuendo (different modes though).
- Note how the break (the acoustic arpeggios before "through the sorrow") is made up a progression of chromatic steps with a pedal point. Same technique was used by Freddie in other songs like Death On Two Legs, In The Lap Of The Gods and Seaside Rendezvous intros, and the slow-down bit in My Fairy King, as well as some contemporary efforts (Slightly Mad).
- Use of 'iv' chord in major keys is non-Rogeresque: Bo Rhap, Killer Queen, Now I'm Here, You're My Best Friend, Love Of My Life, Good Company, Long Away, You And I, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Save Me, Play The Game, Barcelona, How Can I Go On, Guide Me Home, Made In Heaven, There Must Be More To Life Than This, Another World. Used by John, Brian and Fred several times but never by Roger.
- Flamenco progression variants appear in Green, Liar, Great King Rat, Jesus, It's A Hard Life, Barcelona, The Fallen Priest, Was It All Worth It. Not a single song by the others featuring such thing.
- Solo modulates from Am to E (i>V), something that indeed was used by both: Black Quen, Tenement Funster, Bicycle, Pressure On. To be fair this one's a Roger-esque detail just as much as Freddie-esque.
- The pre-solo includes a Cm7+ chord, while the key is C (Harmonic) Major. The use of the "i" function in major keys is reminiscent of Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, Staying Power, Bicycle, My Melancholy Blues, Lap Of The Gods and Barcelona. Guess who wrote all of them...
- Bridge includes G# in the key of C Major (#V function), reminiscent of Seven Seas, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Play The Game, Seaside Rendezvous, Staying Power, There Must Be More. There are some examples by the others anyway: Coming Soon, Is This The World We Created, Thank God It's Christmas, Don't Lose Your Head, Gimme The Prize, Good Company.
- G#dim7 in A Minor (#viidim), as in You Take My Breath Away, How Can I Go On and All God's People.
- A# in C# (V of ii), like in Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Killer Queen, Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, Princes Of The Universe, Seaside Rendezvous
All in all, the song's got 17 chords (not counting inversions) involving 11 different chromatic pitches as roots: only Eb was missing (unless we count one of the passing chords of the solo as Eb5- ommitting 3rd). All of Roger's songs (counting over fifteen albums with Queen plus three albums with another band and
- "Through the sorrow" is a variant of the verse, using the same chords (E and F) albeit organised a little bit differently. That's the same Fred did with Bo Rhap ("easy come easy go" appearing in intro and opera bit but in different tempo).
- Three new sections in the middle part, never appearing later in the song, just like Don't Try So Hard
- Verses are the core of the song, being present in almost every cycle, sometimes as variants of themselves (the last part of the solos are a verse variant in 6/8), just like Delilah or All God's People
- F/E and A/G# dissonances, similarly to The Miracle
- Note the pitch-set in the verses: E F G# A B C D (i.e. E Phyrigian Dominant or E Hijaz). Hijaz mode had been used by Fred on Mustapha, Black Queen and Flick Of The Wrist but never by Roger.
- E>G# modulation (verse) is a I>III double-step key change, found before in Seven Seas Of Rhye and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. No examples by Roger as far as I know although there's one by Brian: Back To The Light.
- Examples of Queen songs using Dorian mode: Liar, Masterstroke, Loser In The End, Tie Your Mother Down, Crazy Little Thing, Dragon Attack, Under Pressure, Tear It Up, Friends Will Be Friends, Princes Of The Universe. Conclusion: not a clear trademark from anyone of them.
- Unresolved endings is sort of Freddie's fingerprint: Champions, Lap ... Revisited, My Fairy King. Especially My Fairy King ends in the II function, just like Innuendo (different modes though).
- Note how the break (the acoustic arpeggios before "through the sorrow") is made up a progression of chromatic steps with a pedal point. Same technique was used by Freddie in other songs like Death On Two Legs, In The Lap Of The Gods and Seaside Rendezvous intros, and the slow-down bit in My Fairy King, as well as some contemporary efforts (Slightly Mad).
- Use of 'iv' chord in major keys is non-Rogeresque: Bo Rhap, Killer Queen, Now I'm Here, You're My Best Friend, Love Of My Life, Good Company, Long Away, You And I, Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Save Me, Play The Game, Barcelona, How Can I Go On, Guide Me Home, Made In Heaven, There Must Be More To Life Than This, Another World. Used by John, Brian and Fred several times but never by Roger.
- Flamenco progression variants appear in Green, Liar, Great King Rat, Jesus, It's A Hard Life, Barcelona, The Fallen Priest, Was It All Worth It. Not a single song by the others featuring such thing.
- Solo modulates from Am to E (i>V), something that indeed was used by both: Black Quen, Tenement Funster, Bicycle, Pressure On. To be fair this one's a Roger-esque detail just as much as Freddie-esque.
- The pre-solo includes a Cm7+ chord, while the key is C (Harmonic) Major. The use of the "i" function in major keys is reminiscent of Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, Staying Power, Bicycle, My Melancholy Blues, Lap Of The Gods and Barcelona. Guess who wrote all of them...
- Bridge includes G# in the key of C Major (#V function), reminiscent of Seven Seas, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Play The Game, Seaside Rendezvous, Staying Power, There Must Be More. There are some examples by the others anyway: Coming Soon, Is This The World We Created, Thank God It's Christmas, Don't Lose Your Head, Gimme The Prize, Good Company.
- G#dim7 in A Minor (#viidim), as in You Take My Breath Away, How Can I Go On and All God's People.
- A# in C# (V of ii), like in Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy, Killer Queen, Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, Princes Of The Universe, Seaside Rendezvous
All in all, the song's got 17 chords (not counting inversions) involving 11 different chromatic pitches as roots: only Eb was missing (unless we count one of the passing chords of the solo as Eb5- ommitting 3rd). All of Roger's songs (counting over fifteen albums with Queen plus three albums with another band and
verses and basic idea Roger Taylor.
No, that's not true. It was Freddie's idea. Freddie said it was his song, why don't believe him?
Source? Let me guess, you dont have a source.
Why don't you read the hole thread? How can you still claim that Roger wrote Innuendo? Just because you'd like it to be that way, you can't change reality, sorry.
Mr. Roger Meddows Taylor did not make Innuendo what it was all on his lonesome. It was a group effort, but it was really Freddie's child, from all the *exhaustive* evidence, both in the form of songwriting evidence and 2nd hand testimonies.
But you know what, let's pretend that he DID write Innuendo. It still wouldn't have been his best song. That gong goes out to...
MAN ON FIRE.
SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MAN ON FIRE! SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MAN POSSESSED! SOMETIMES I WANNA BURN DOWN THIS CRAZY TOWN...
Oh man, I just 80's-icised my hair, went into an abandoned warehouse and started drumming crazily. Long Live the Man on Fire video.
But you know what, let's pretend that he DID write Innuendo. It still wouldn't have been his best song. That gong goes out to...
MAN ON FIRE.
SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MAN ON FIRE! SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MAN POSSESSED! SOMETIMES I WANNA BURN DOWN THIS CRAZY TOWN...
Oh man, I just 80's-icised my hair, went into an abandoned warehouse and started drumming crazily. Long Live the Man on Fire video.
Regarding Sebastian's last post above - is he always so brilliantly detailed? Wow. I understood only half of it but... damn!
Thanks. I'm not always that detailed though ... in the case of Innuendo I've got to be since it's the one going on forever. I've never tried to put together that amount of proofs for a song like Slightly Mad or Miracle since they're both well-accepted already as Freddie's.
the fact is Innuendo was a freddie song,the music was all freds and the lryrics are freds and rogers. Why is this still an issue?....No way could roger pull off such a masterpiece!