The Sorrowful Beauty of ‘Innuendo’, the Lesser Known Musically Complex Operatic Anthem by Queen

With the upcoming release of the Freddie Mercury biopic on November 2, 2018, the knowledgeable music essayist Polyphonic makes a beautiful introduction to an operatic Queen song that is lesser known than the one performed carside in Waynes World. The song, “Innuendo”, may not be as ubiquitous as “Bohemian Rhapsody”, but it is no less fascinating and musically complicated as its predecessor.

There’s one Queen song that’s always lured me like no other in some ways it seems more a symphony than a song. It’s got half a dozen different movements and one of the most memorable guitar solos of Queen’s career and in front of this music it has lyrics that are raw and human. It’s epic in scope and dramatic in execution. The kind of thing that only Queen could ever pull off.

“Innuendo”, which was also the album title, was release in 1991, nine short months before Mercury’s tragic death.