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Freddie Mercury's isolated vocals on Queen's 'Somebody To Love' are immaculate - listen
17 January 2024, 14:19
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Not many people need reminding of Freddie Mercury's vocal talent.
Queen's music remains as potent as it ever was, and there's good reason why you hear songs like 'Bohemian Rhapsody', 'We Are The Champions', and 'Don't Stop Me Now' frequently still.
Whether it's a sports stadium, a bustling and boozy pub, or just speeding along in the car, Freddie's voice can rouse even the most stoic of music fans.
Even today, his voice inspires new generations of rock music zealots as an unparalleled showman with the vocal aptitude to match.
Especially since a video of Freddie Mercury's immaculate isolated vocal on 'Somebody To Love' has recently gone viral.
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Released as a single from Queen's 1976 album A Day At The Races, the gospel-infused song typifies the band's charm throughout their formative years.
Posted to Instagram by budding American singer/songwriter Will Anderson, the Queen legend's vocal performance has since been viewed over a million times and has garnered just as many likes.
"I'm smiling so much in this because these Freddie Mercury isolated vocals singing 'Somebody to Love' by Queen are so, so, so ridiculous," the caption reads.
Fans of Freddie seemingly need no encouragement to state their affection for the legendary Queen singer.
Some of the commenters on the video even went so far as to proclaim that Freddie Mercury was indeed the greatest vocalist of all time.
"Freddy is simply the best," one person commented. "The greatest voice ever. It's a real voice, not something you hear nowadays - it's imperfect but so amazing."
"His voice is the standard others can only dream to aspire to" a second wrote, whilst a third added: "The voice plus that incredible stage presence = one of a kind."
Given today's recording studio techniques, others noted his ability without needing a sniff of auto-tune. "Autotune is scared of him", one person wrote, and another commented: "No auto-tune, just raw talent."
Hearing his vocal on 'Somebody To Love' in isolation - with only the backing vocal in support - clearly shows his one-of-a-kind, spine-tingling talent.
Technically gifted, Freddie put his heart and soul into every vocal recording, and live concert, he ever performed.
You can understand why with 'Somebody To Love' he does precisely that, as it was Freddie's tribute to his idol: Aretha Franklin.
Queen: 1976 Somebody To Love - Freddie's Greatest Hit? (Episode 9)
Because of its grandeur and operatic bombast, many fans of Queen believe 'Bohemian Rhapsody' to be their greatest ever song.
Not Freddie however, who insisted 'Somebody To Love' was far superior because of its lyrical content - or that it was his personal tribute to his music idol in Aretha.
"People will obviously no matter how hard you try will think in terms of your past hits. That's inevitable," he said.
"But I think it’s up to the group and musicians to really think in other terms. From my point of view, I mean, as far as the writing side of it is concerned, I said 'Ok. 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is a big hit'."
"But as far as my writing ability is concerned I think I can write better anyway. I mean, I went and wrote, for my estimation, I think a song like 'Somebody To Love', is in my estimation, a better sort of… from the writing aspect a better song."
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His Queen bandmates Brian May and Roger Taylor both recognised Freddie wanted to channel Aretha on the song, and embraced it during recording sessions.
"'Somebody To Love' is Aretha Franklin-influenced. Freddie's very much into that," Roger once noted. "We tried to keep the track in a loose, gospel-type feel. I think it's the loosest track we've ever done."
Brian May added: "Freddie wanted to be Aretha Franklin. You have to bear this in mind. That explains everything. He loved Aretha. This was his Gospel epic…"
"Freddie came in very well prepared with a lot of vocal parts. We just worked our way through it. A very good feeling. I always remember feeling 'This is going to be something great'."
