Brian May of Queen performs live on stage during a Queen & Adam Lambert concert at Ziggo Dome on July 1, 2022 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Sven Hoogerhuis/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
In a recent interview, famed Queen guitarist Brian May offered a behind-the-scenes look at the recently released song “Face It Alone,” which was recorded in the late 1980s during the making of Queen’s 13th studio album, The Miracle.
“The crowning glory, of course, is Freddie’s voice,” he told Total Guitar. “It’s just great. You hear that quality in his voice. You hear the passion in his voice. Y not afraid. The way he bends some of these notes is so beautiful.”
May also admitted that the song is exceptional, with a touching backstory given that it was recorded at a time when Freddie Mercury had been diagnosed with HIV. and remembered “We dealt with Freddie’s deteriorating health and came together to support him.”
Despite everything that happened and his physical condition deteriorating, the singer was the one who took the lead during the recording. “There was always one of us who was in charge. He would come up with lyrics and walk us through this wonderful material. And while we were working on it, we were really looking forward to it.”
Queen sings “Face It Alone”
During the note, he explained that this is one set piece to which all four members of the band contributed: Freddie, Brian, drummer Roger Taylor and bassist John Deacon. “It is rare to find fragments summarizing the collaboration of the four”he commented. “But John is there, absolutely live with Freddie. And Roger is there with his weird percussion atmospheres.”
“One of the discussions we had, and one of the reasons we wanted to release it, was that everything is original,” he said. “We fixed it a bit and I think, well, I know if we had worked on it more, it would have changed. It could have been a six-minute epic. But I really like it the way it is. It’s very real. talk about time“.
On the other hand, the guitarist revealed in his guitar solo, “You can hear I played this solo basically to get from the first to the second verse. It was like, “That’s how I feel right now, we’ll probably work on that later, but who knows what might happen.” So the solo is happening pretty much right now. I’m trying to become a voice alongside Freddies to spread the mood and message of the song. It’s something very real“.
In the note, May explains that his lead guitar break on Bohemian Rhapsody, voted greatest solo of all time by TG readers of 2021, reached nine bars. in seven bars, his solo on “Face It Alone” once again avoids traditional four/eight bar structures.
Freddie Mercury and Brian May of the band Queen performing at Live Aid on July 13, 1985 in London, UK. (Photo by FG/Bauer-Griffin/Getty Images)
“So he wasn’t conscious. It’s not about counting. But it’s a conscious way of building things, so you leave a space open for the voice to take over again. So consciously in an unconscious way I guess. That’s how we build songs, so there’s room for ideas to develop and then move on.”
However, he commented on the note that there are a few details Brian isn’t sure about.
First, the weird and bold sound of the arpeggios on this track. “The basic background sound? Well I don’t remember exactly. So it’s either a keyboard or it’s been converted into a keyboard sound by some device, and I don’t really know. I understand what you are saying. I have to go back and see!”
Second, Did he play this solo with a plectrum or a fingerstyle? It feels very personal, as fingerstyle often does, but it also sounds like the clinking of metal on a string.
Brian May with Freddie Mercury plays with Queen. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
“You’re asking the right questions and I don’t have the right answers! I think it would probably just be your finger. It’s quite a sensitive piece. Of course, you can snap it with your finger so it still has a metallic edge of sorts, but it feels a lot better. So I think it was done with the index finger.”
In his reference to the 1975 Bohemian Rhapsody evolution video, he said: “It looks very briefly like what it looks like in the Rhapsody video. Sometimes it makes me smile because I didn’t realize I did it so long ago. He pounded with his right hand instead of tearing.”
Total Guitar recalled that The Miracle was the first Queen album to credit the group as a whole with writing credits for all songs as an expression of unity. But as Brian says today, “There was always one of us leading the group.” And on Face It Alone, that was Freddie. “He came up with the lyrics and guided us through this beautiful material. And while we were working on it, we were very excited.”
Continue reading:
Brian May’s 75: The guitar he built with his father, the connection to Freddie Mercury and his depression Queen’s Brian May releases his second album in 24 years31 years after the death of Freddie Mercury: The Betrayal of His Loved One and True Love of his life