Positive Liberty

Jon Rowe reports that the glam-rock band Queen is reuniting.

But wait, you ask, didn’t Freddie Mercury die? And wasn’t he pretty much impossible to replace?

In short, yes. Freddy Mercury once described Queen as the Cecil B. De Mille of rock and roll, and it’s a perfect description–love it or hate it, Queen was one of a kind, and Freddy Mercury was a very big reason why. Plans are to replace him with Paul Rodgers of Bad Company, which is insane. Bad Company was a talented but formulaic 1970s cutout band with absolutely none of the originality and flair that Queen once had. Hitting the notes is one thing–but projecting the image is quite another.

I can think of only two people who could possibly replace Freddy Mercury in terms of charisma, vocal style, stage presence, and all-around androgyny. They are Peter Gabriel and David Bowie. Now, it’s not as if either of them would do it–but is there anyone else on today’s music scene who even remotely resembles Freddy Mercury? Please.

Back when Peter Gabriel was still with Genesis, the band was something very much like a workingman’s Queen: The music was thoughtful, purposefully androgynous, awesomely grandiose, and shamelessly talented. And if anything, David Bowie came even closer in his prime. Sadly, they both have their own personae, which cannot be suppressed, and which would very likely steal the show in any Queen reunion. A more daring idea–to replace Freddy Mercury with Madonna–would be wonderful as far as I’m concerned, but I suspect that the more orthodox Queen fans would never approve.

Bottom line: If the Queen reunion comes to Baltimore, I might just buy tickets. But I already know it won’t be the same.