"One Vision" by Queen

Song#:  2561
Date:  12/07/1985
Debut:  88
Peak:  61
Weeks:  10
Genre:  Rock, Soundtrack



Pop Bits:  Queen's more 80s-influenced 1984 album The Works did well in several countries including their UK homeland. It would be a gold seller in the US, but the results certainly weren't like their multi-platinum days. Tensions about the musical direction of the album arose between members and by the time the album completed its run, the band was at a bit of a crossroads as to their future. While figuring it out, they accepted an invitation to appear on the London stage of Live Aid. Their performance, bolstered by a stadium of 70k+ people, was universally hailed as brilliant and it brought a lot of attention to the band. Energized by the performance and reception, Queen went back into the studio to see what they could come up with to capitalize on the moment. They recorded this track that they decided to issue out as one-off single. It scaled the chart in the UK and made it to #7. In the US the track would get to #19 at Rock, but it couldn't quite find an audience at Pop and it stalled in the bottom half of the chart.

ReduxReview:  This song borders on being a great track. It has a lot of good elements - a dramatic opening, nice rock riffs, solid 80s production, a theatrical mid-section, and killer vocals from Freddie. Yet the song as a whole just misses the mark a bit. Most of the sections work well, but a couple don't quite make the cut. When stitched together, there are moments where the song sags - as if they didn't quite know how to make the transitions. I like the tune, but I think it could have been a lot tighter. It was also cool to hear Queen rockin' again with some meaty guitars.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1) As the song was getting ready for release, the band got an offer to have it featured in the upcoming action flick Iron Eagle. The tune would end up being used in the film and placed on the soundtrack album. The movie was critically panned but was a modest box office success. It would do even better in the home video market. Queen would also include the song on their next LP A Kind of Magic.  2) A the end of the song, Freddie Mercury sings "gimme gimme gimme fried chicken."Apparently the line happened when the band was trying to figure out the right words to match the melody notes and rhythm. Mercury was goofing around with the line trying to make things fit and as an improvised joke started using "fried chicken." Although it had nothing to do with the rest of the lyrics, the kooky phrase fit well and the band opted to keep it as the last line of the song as a bit of a lark.

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