Lives in My Dreams
It's Late - Queen (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
Today I was going through my room, and I found my old “All-Access” pass from Queen’s 1977 winter tour. What a time that was, with News of the World having just released… I remember the concerts like they were yesterday! Just kidding. I did not even remotely exist at the time, but I do in fact have an all-access tour pass — just one of the many cool elements from the News of the World box set I was lucky enough to get a couple years ago. At the time, my favorite Queen album was a tie between Sheer Heart Attack and Jazz, but that box set gave me an exposure to NOTW that established a love for it that lingers today. It’s got a little bit of everything, from big hits like “We Will Rock You” & “We Are the Champions” to Brian May vocals on “All Dead, All Dead” and “Sleeping on the Sidewalk”, to a rather….interesting track 7. But one song goes above and beyond, and that’s the lengthy epic that is “It’s Late”.
Sitting at the back half of an album, it strikes a balance between unassuming and intimidating. The former is due to the slow startup, a measured pace that helps the song have the energy to keep raising the bar again and again. The latter is due to its sheer length — at six minutes and twenty six seconds, there’s a bit of an investment that has to be put in. But man oh man, is it worth it! This is a tune that I regard as an essential Queen track, one that really shows all of them at their peak performance. Brian May wrote the song, so naturally the guitar stands out pretty strong. The Red Special has one of the best sounds I’ve heard, and it shines in this one, with solos and flourishes galore. The guitar has a heavy sort of lift to it that keeps it grounded throughout. Then you’ve got Roger Taylor on the drums, feverishly keeping on pace in impressive fashion. John Deacon absolutely SHREDS the bass, a crazy line that lives beneath it all and frankly deserves more love. Then you’ve got Freddie Mercury, whose voice is literally sung raw by the final note, supported by backing vocals but having a charm all of its own. After all that, they STILL manage to top it all off with the type of fake-out ending that lives in my dreams, leading to a very rewarding last crash.
As I said before, “It’s Late” is a prime example of Queen being the terrific band they are, a collaboration that’ll blow the minds of any who care to listen. I remember the first time I heard this song vividly, and it really was something special. It’s got crashing rhythms, tough vocals, and dramatic lyrics — everything and more that I would expect from Queen!
Got something I should hear? Let me know here!
Follow Ear Bites on Instagram here!
Follow Ear Bites on Spotify here!