May 21, 1982 - Hot Space and Under Pressure

A week after my last release and a year and a half after "Flash Gordon", Queen released their tenth album "Hot Space" on May 21, 1982. This would be a huge shift for Queen as this would be the first of many albums to have a very pop-y/disco sound to it. They showed some of this style on "The Game" but "Hot Space" is nowhere near as good as that album or any of their 70s material. It's a real shame that Queen fell off the wagon so hard, but they do still have one good song off this record that would end up being their second #1 hit; it's called "Under Pressure" and it features David Bowie who contributes vocals and synthesizer. John Deacon kicks things off with one of the most iconic basslines you will ever hear; it's extremely catchy and sounds really cool and smooth. Freddie Mercury adds some slow piano and Brian May comes in with a nice light guitar riff. Once Roger Taylor finally joins the mix on drums, the main riff is complete and Mercury and Bowie sing the beginning of the verse together. Freddie sounds fantastic as usual with his great high voice while Bowie provides a nice lower voice that meshes with it pretty well. They play off each other really nicely and Bowie leads the chorus as Mercury echoes his line of "let me out!" Mercury sings most of the following verse and he hits some pretty high notes as he wonderfully rambles along. After another chorus they quiet it down briefly before Mercury holds a really long very high scream! Taylor plays some nice drums while Mercury holds the epic note and after a couple lines from Bowie, Mercury returns to lead a new catchy verse. It's pretty pop-y, but this song is undeniably catchy and fun. Bowie leads a final building part and they end it as they began with the cool bass riff and we hear the snapping of fingers until the song finally fades to an end. This collaboration is certainly a worthy addition, but unfortunately Queen's good songs are now few and far between. 

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