Queen have made some of the most iconic songs in rock history and have gained a cult following along the way. From the commercial success of classics like A Night At The Opera and The Works, the band had a consistent string of radio anthems and pop culture relevance. However, not all of the band’s glory is found in the 70’s and 80’s.
During the end of the latter decade and well into the 1990’s is when the songwriting started to take a new life of its own.
The Miracle was the beginning of Queen’s resurgence from the heyday of 80’s success. After the tabloid overkill surrounding Freddie Mercury’s health, this introduced a new obstacle in the group’s songwriting process. This obstacle would not be overcome until Innuendo.
The recording of this album would be created by the seemingly fearless performance of Mercury. Despite the dire circumstances, it seemed the frontman had accepted the reality of the situation and pushed his abilities like never before.
This energy would extend for the remainder of Mercury’s life and was perfectly captured in one particular track from the final studio album, Made In Heaven.
Mother Love was the last song written and sung by the late frontman and it was definitely a high note to end on. This track stands out among the rest for featuring unexpected low register vocals from Mercury, a singing style that’s atypical from his usual performances.
Following a down paced rhythm, Mother Love slowly builds up to its peaks thanks to the subtle time signatures and pacing of the band as a whole.
One of the best moments is at 1:50 when Mercury belts out the remarkable high notes during the climax before gradually lowering his voice back down, highlighting the amazing range of Mercury in the final year of his life.
In the final stage of the song, listeners will notice Brian May completing the last few verses, because Mercury unfortunately passed away in the middle of Mother Love’s production. Between all the areas of experimentation in the frontman’s career from opera, pop, and heavy metal, no one could have expected the mastery found in the powerful delivery of this epic ballad.
The track comes to an end as bits and pieces of every Queen song in their discography is played and sped up, emphasizing the finale to their career.
Mother Love stands as one of the most underrated performances in rock thanks to the anthemic presence of Mercury’s attitude.
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