All Dead, All Dead (Queen): Behind the Score (Episode 23)
Added 2022-07-17 03:52:31 +0000 UTCFor this edition of Behind the Score, I'm tapping into the music of Queen for the first time in this series. Thanks to Randy for sending me the chart to this one.
I was intrigued as I read in on this piece...as it's just a few songs behind Arena Rock anthems We Will Rock You and We Are the Champions. It's a little song by Brian May, who sings the lead vocal and plays the piano, about loss and remembrance, paying homage to his childhood cat.
Even in a simpler harmonic perspective, we can find the nuances that lead us from phrase to phrase and between a Major and Relative Minor key. I hope you enjoy!
Unlisted Vimeo Link: https://vimeo.com/730629361/c5756c156e
Comments
wonderful treatment... thank you! but there's no synth on this track, someone correct me if I'm wrong... those insane stacked harmonies are all Brian May overdubbing his own already insane guitar tracks. I'd love to delve deeper into the tuning on these but no need here... a track I'd forgotten about... thanks for shining a light on it!
ax o'lotl
2022-07-30 19:47:01 +0000 UTCLike others, I also enjoy Brian's songs and nearly forgot about this lovely little tune. Taking the Composition course is opening my eyes (and ears) to greater advantage. I think I am going to use the Behind the Score videos as a supplement to the course. Thank you, Doug!
Thom P
2022-07-22 19:53:56 +0000 UTCAlso, Freddie loved cats, he had 10 at one time and when on the road would call Garden Lodge to talk to the cats. He had one named “Delilah” and wrote a song for her. Brian, Roger and John didn’t want it on the album, but relented to Fred
Jeannine Doyle
2022-07-21 20:11:54 +0000 UTCLoved this. Thank you, Doug.
Les Mable
2022-07-20 22:54:06 +0000 UTCDr Becky is awesome as is Dr May. :D Yeah. Excellent episode thanks.
John Sawyer
2022-07-20 08:29:33 +0000 UTCI find the songs that Brian wrote with Queen, and particularly the ones he sings, to be among my favorites. Also, there are no synths on this album (or any Queen album until 1980’s The Game). The guitar interlude here is just that, layers of Brian’s electric guitar. I didn’t think about it at the time, but I should have also sent this link that transcribes all the guitar parts (all 15 of them): https://youtu.be/4PHwu4dnRko
Randy Hammill
2022-07-17 16:32:37 +0000 UTCThanks Doug. For me it was always a special thing, how this intimate tune follows, almost without a pause, Sheer Heart Attack, this speedy, loud punk song. These dynamic changes are of course a speciality of Queen, but on this album, it seems like a comentary to the albums title News Of The World, cause this is such a classic, "old fashioned" song, as if to say: you know, there is a lot in this world, that stays the same.
Wolfgang Logoz
2022-07-17 14:00:09 +0000 UTCThanks Doug, Brian is an extraordinary man, he did his thesis for his Doctorate as an Astrophysics on Interplanetary Dust. The Red Special, is the guitar he built with his father at age 16. This song could have been included in the fan favorites, “lesser known songs”, it’s beautiful and really conveys the feeling of losing a pet. A pain like no other, thank you. I wouldn’t rule out an interview with Brian with your creds. Thank you
Jeannine Doyle
2022-07-17 11:43:59 +0000 UTCThe day I heard Freddie had died, I got my cassette of this album and played this track over and over again.
Chris Ramsbottom
2022-07-17 08:44:26 +0000 UTCThank you Doug!
EphesiansSix
2022-07-17 05:22:52 +0000 UTCI added the link to the post’s description. Thanks.
R. Douglas Helvering
2022-07-17 05:18:14 +0000 UTCHey Doug! Can't wait to watch this! Would you mind putting up the link so I can download it? Thank you for all you do!
EphesiansSix
2022-07-17 04:07:19 +0000 UTC
