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Queen + Michael Jackson: There Must Be More to Life Than This
Details
Genre: Pop, RockPros:
Mercury and Jackson's vocals are pure, sweet and innocentCons:
There's no zing to the finish; power guitar solos feel forced; melody never soarsA once-in-a-lifetime dream ballad merging two rock gods falls into the lukewarm category
A once-in-a-lifetime dream ballad merging two rock gods falls into the lukewarm category
Almost thirty-three years ago, during the recording sessions of Hot Space (1982), Michael Jackson started rubbing elbows with the rock gods of the day. Little did he know that the iconic Thriller album was going to turn him into a mega idol. Sessions with Freddie Mercury were organized around that time, and a few songs were born out of the process (An incomplete “State of Shock” turned into a hit for Jackson with Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger; “Victory” for The Jacksons’ Victory album). One of those songs — a ballad, “There Must Be More to Life Than This” — rears its head in the year 2014. It’s been heard before on Mercury’s solo LP, Mr. Bad Guy, but not like this. A new mix curated by William Orbit (Madonna’s “Ray of Light”) restores Jackson’s omitted vocal and adds in a few blossoming string add-ons and buzzy solo guitars. Both vocalists take their turns on the verses. They sound good, but the song falls into a well worn Beatles-esque melody that hardly give wings to the lightweight execution of their vocals. You can easily sense their vocals were birthed during a brainstorming demo session. For archivists, it’s a good thing to hear these moments in real time. You can an image of what could have been, especially if they both decided to pour their all into collaborative songwriting and a hearty climax for the song’s finish. None of that happens here, which is quite unfortunate. Even with Orbit’s vision, the song feels so incomplete and — for the lack of better words — trite.