The Game (album)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Game | ||
 |
||
| Studio album by Queen | ||
| Released | 30 June 1980 | |
| Recorded | June-July 1979 and February-May 1980 at Musicland Studios in Munich, Germany | |
| Genre | Pop rock | |
| Length | 35:39 | |
| Label | EMI, Parlophone (Europe) Elektra, Hollywood (US) |
|
| Producer(s) | Queen and Mack | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| Queen chronology | ||
| Live Killers (1979) |
The Game (1980) |
Flash Gordon (1980) |
The Game is a rock album by English band Queen released June 30, 1980. It was the only Queen album to reach the #1 position in both the United Kingdom and the United States and became Queen's best selling studio album in the US with four million copies sold to date, tying News of the World's US sales tally. Though the album had simpler song arrangements than previous Queen albums, The Game launched Queen into global megastars. Notable songs on the album include the bass driven "Another One Bites the Dust" and the rockabilly "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", both of which reached number 1 in the United States. The Game was the first Queen album to use synthesizers, and the album's popularity inspired the band members to continue using them heavily for the rest of the band's career, with somewhat mixed results. The album's working title was "Play the Game", but Taylor voiced concern about its possible overtones of conformity, so it was changed to simply "The Game".
Re-issued in May 2003 on DVD-Audio with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and DTS 5.1. The 5.1 mix of "Coming Soon" features an alternate backing track, because the final master tapes were not found when mixing the album to 5.1.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- Side One
- "Play the Game" (Mercury) - 3:31
- "Dragon Attack" (May) - 4:19
- "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) - 3:38
- "Need Your Loving Tonight" (Deacon) - 2:49
- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" (Mercury) - 2:43
- Side Two
- "Rock It (Prime Jive)" (Taylor) - 4:33
- "Don't Try Suicide" (Mercury) - 3:53
- "Sail Away Sweet Sister" (May) - 3:33
- "Coming Soon" (Taylor) - 2:51
- "Save Me" (May) - 3:49
1991 Hollywood Records CD bonus track (US re-release):
- "Dragon Attack (1991 Remix by Jack Benson and R.A.K.)"
[edit] Play the Game
Mercury wrote "Play the Game" after breaking up with his male lover at the time. Mercury played piano and did the lead vocals. He'd been starting to smoke around that time and the difference on his voice was already noticeable.
[edit] Dragon Attack
"Dragon Attack" was a jam session by band members and crew, to which May added lyrics and the idea of alternating solos (drums, then bass, then guitar, and then an almost a cappella chorus). The melody is similar to We Will Rock You: compare "buddy you're a boy make a big noise" with "take me to the room where the red's all red". The song got a funky bassline mixed with hard rock, and is the by far heaviest song on the album. It is also a favorite among Queen's fans.
[edit] Another One Bites the Dust
Deacon wrote "Another One Bites the Dust" about cowboys, but then changed it to make it more suitable to the band. Mercury loved it and was instrumental in making it included on the album. Their roadies told them it'd be a good idea to release it as a single but they didn't believe them. According to Brian May and Roger Taylor on a 1991 interview with US DJ Redbeard on the show In the Studio with Redbeard for the making of The Game, Michael Jackson ultimately convinced the band to release it as a single. They did it and it became their second #1 hit in the US. The song doesn't have any synths, the strange sounds were achieved via reversed pianos, and May's Red Special guitar through an Eventide harmoniser. It stayed at number one for four weeks in the United States. It is the only song to ever top the Billboard rock, dance, and R&B charts simultaneously.
[edit] Need Your Loving Tonight
"Need Your Loving Tonight" was the other song by Deacon. Very Beatles-influenced in the melody ("oh I need your loving" is word-for-word and almost note-for-note taken from "Eight Days a Week"), although it got a rocking guitar riff, giving the song a more power pop sound. On the live versions May sang backing vocals and Mercury played piano (both absent in the studio version). The song was released as a single in November 1980 and peaked at #44 in the US.
[edit] Crazy Little Thing Called Love
"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" was the band's first #1 single in the United States. Mercury started it off in the bathroom in June 1979 and then wrote the chords using his Martin D18 acoustic guitar. He recorded it with Taylor and Deacon after having some drinks, and the entire session lasted about half an hour. Shortly before releasing it as a single, May heard it and added backing vocals and a guitar solo using Taylor's Fender Telecaster instead of his Red Special. No synths.
[edit] Rock It (Prime Jive)
"Rock It" was composed by Taylor, and it caused controversy in the band. Mack (the producer) and May suggested it'd sound better with Mercury on vocals. They demoed both versions and Deacon preferred Taylor's version. Finally they decided to leave Mercury doing the intro and Taylor singing the rest. Taylor plays rhythm guitar and bass, Mercury plays organ and Mack plays synth on this track.
[edit] Don't Try Suicide
"Don't Try Suicide" is a song by Mercury including some slap-bass playing by John Deacon and piano parts by Mercury. No synthesizers were used. This song is widely disliked among Queen fans.
[edit] Sail Away Sweet Sister
"Sail Away Sweet Sister (To the sister I never had)" was composed by Brian May. May sings the verses and choruses, Mercury took over the vocals for the middle eight.
Axl Rose, from Guns N' Roses sang the chorus of this song as an intro to Sweet Child O' Mine during UYI tour 1991-93 An example of this can be seen on the second half of the band's Live In Tokyo DVD)
[edit] Coming Soon
"Coming Soon" is Taylor's song, sung as duet between Mercury and himself, and featuring Taylor on rhythm guitar. Originating from the Jazz album sessions in 1978, although only a glimpse can be heard in the early demo from the final version.
[edit] Save Me
Brian May wrote "Save Me" about a friend whose relationship had ended, and played piano, synths and guitars (electric and twelve-string acoustic) on it. This song, "Sail Away Sweet Sister", "Coming Soon" and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" were recorded in 1979, the rest of the album was done in 1980.
[edit] Credits
Lead vocals: Freddie Mercury except:
- Rock It: Mercury (intro) & Taylor (song)
- Sail Away Sweet Sister: May (verses & choruses) & Mercury (bridge)
- Coming Soon: Mercury & Taylor
Backing vocals: Mercury, Taylor & May except:
- Another One Bites the Dust: Mercury
- Need Your Loving Tonight: Mercury
- Rock It: Band + Crew
Drums: Taylor
Bass guitar: Deacon except "Rock It" (Taylor)
Acoustic guitar: May, Deacon & Mercury
Lead guitar: Brian May except "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon)
Rhythm guitar: Brian May & John Deacon except "Rock It" (Taylor), "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" and "Don't Try Suicide" (Mercury)
Pianos & organ: Freddie Mercury except "Another One Bites the Dust" (Deacon) and "Save Me" (May)
Synth: Freddie Mercury except "Rock It" (Mack)
[edit] Trivia
- At approximately 35 minutes, The Game is the shortest of Queen's studio albums.
- The photo on the cover of the EMI CD is different from that originally used on the LP and cassette even though the Hollywood CD still has the original photo. The original photo (with Taylor having folded arms and May not having a hand resting upon his exposed hip) is shown above.
- The Game is Queen's only album to top the American Billboard Charts.
- The video for "Play the Game" has scenes that are played backwards i.e. Mercury's toss of the guitar to May.
[edit] Singles
- "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"/"Spread Your Wings (Live)" - Elektra E46579; released December, 1979
- "Play the Game"/"A Human Body" (non album B-side) - Elektra E46652; released June, 1980
- "Another One Bites the Dust"/"Don't Try Suicide" - Elektra E47031; released August, 1980
- "Need Your Loving Tonight"/"Rock It (Prime Jive)" - Elektra E47086: released November, 1980
[edit] Charts
| Country | Charts | Sales | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peak position | Weeks | Certification | ||
| Canada | 1 | Platinum (5x) | 500.000 | |
| United Kingdom | 1 | 18 | Platinum | 300.000 |
| United States | 1 | 43 | Platinum (x4) | 4.100.000 |
| Germany | 2 | Gold | 400.000 | |
| Netherlands | 2 | Gold | 50.000 | |
| Japan | 5 | 100.000 | ||
| Austria | 5 | Gold | 25.000 | |
