One of my favourite things about Queen has always been their ability to play tough hard rock as well as more anthemic material and yet still make them both believable.
While songs such as “We Are The Champions” probably count as “anthems” Queen, I’ve always been drawn to the song Spread Your Wings.
“Spread Your Wings”, taken from the 1977 album ‘News of the World
’, and was written by Bassist John Deacon. Perhaps the least well known member of Queen, Deacon wrote some of their most recognisable songs (Another One Bites the Dust, I Want To Break Free & You’re My Best Friend).
’, and was written by Bassist John Deacon. Perhaps the least well known member of Queen, Deacon wrote some of their most recognisable songs (Another One Bites the Dust, I Want To Break Free & You’re My Best Friend). The song kicks off with a simple piano accompanying Freddie’s vocals before Brian May‘s layered guitars slowly fill in the spaces. Mercury’s singing is its usual powerful self but it’s given a lot of lift by those bombastic guitars. On “Sheer Heart Attack,” which may or may not be a reaction to the punk music of the day, vicious chugging power chords provide relentless, surging energy. By the time you get to the nervous guitar squeals that usher in the phase-shifted drum break, any doubts you might have had about Queens ’s ability to rock out should be in hiding. The song was not one of the group’s most successful releases, peaking at number 34 in the UK
This song was covered quite faithfully by German speed metal band Blind Guardian on their 1992 album "Somewhere Far Beyond". You can judge for yourself how good a cover version it is here:
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