Crazy Little Thing Called Love The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke
Fender Telecaster Electric Guitar
1: As a side-note, the terms Occam's Razor may be misleading, because the famous "entia non sunt multiplicanda sine necesítate" can't be found in any of his writings. It was popularised by the way Welsh Nobel Bertrand Russell interpreted Ockam's work (btw the three spellings are correct: Ockham, Occam and Ockam). 2: "Crazy Little Thing was the last song that I ever wrote on the guitar, I'm so limited with the guitar chords, sometimes that's a good thing, that's what I liked Crazy Little Thing, if I knew too many guitar chords I'd ruin it" - Freddie Mercury (Munich interview 1984, available on audio format through his Solo Box-Set). 3: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love took me five or ten minutes. I did that on the guitar, which I can't play for nuts, and in one way it was quite a good thing because I was restricted, knowing only a few chords. It's a good discipline because I simply had to write within a small framework. I couldn't work through too many chords and because of that restriction I wrote a good song, I think" - Freddie Mercury (2nd May 1981, Melody Maker). |
CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED LOVE
One of Mercury's big frustrations was not seeing Bohemian Rhapsody hitting the top of the American charts. He was very proud of the track, and seeing it "only" as a #9 was quite disappointing. Somebody to Love wasn't the success he'd expected either, so he probably thought that the States would keep running away from him. As it often happens, the answer came unexpectedly: Freddie's first (and only) #1 hit in the US was a simple rockabilly tune he wrote in ten minutes, that would become his last world mega-hit (Innuendo would be #1 in some countries, including England, but it's not as globally well-known as Champions, for instance). Even on an easy song to play, like this one (seven chords, generic form), Mercury had a high level of craftsmanship: there are some syncopations and a clever section variant that show this track couldn't have been composed by an amateur. Part of an artist's challenge is knowing when and where to use Ockham's Razor (1), and here he proved he was aware of that. Freddie was self-deprecating about his guitar abilities, and often credited this song's quality on the grounds that he had to work with few chords since he didn't know more (2). According to him, he'd have ruined it, had he been familiar with more chords, because he'd put more than necessary. Music
& Lyrics by: Freddie Mercury Produced
by: Queen & Reinhold Mack Recorded:
June 1979
Keys: D Mixolydian, D Minor, A Minor Acoustic
Drums: Roger Taylor Lead
Vocals: Freddie Mercury
Even on such a quick song to write (3) and even though it uses the classic two-bridge model, as many popular tunes (e.g. Yesterday), there is a nice variant in the second middle-eight, saving it from being generic or "authentic" rockabilly. The use of tag at the end is reminiscent to Seaside Rendezvous in a way, and when played live proved to give vent to crazy improvisations by Brian and Freddie himself, especially since they began hiring keyboard players. In a Japanese gig in '82, Freddie actually played some piano with Fred Mandel before going on with the guitar. Beatles-esque attention to detail is reflected in the changing arrangement:
The song's got seven chords, all major: D, G, C, Bb, E, A and F. Mode seems to switch between Mixolydian, Aeolian and even Dorian, while the tonal centre remains D most of the time, except during the break where it seems to have moved to A (note that the song would've worked OK if it finished there). C > G > E > A (the break progression) reinforces the Am flavour, since it's a very common cadence for that key (only that this time Picardy Third is applied). For instance, it's used on King Henry VIII's Pastime With Good Company (King's Ballad).
These key-changes are all abrupt (one phrase ends on a pitch-set, the next one begins on the other without having a pivot chord), but since the song is fast and the modulations aren't distant, the listener is hardly-ever disturbed by them. What's more, Freddie on lead vocals is already hinting to the modal switch when he uses F-Natural instead of F# in words like "handle" and "round". Paul McCartney's Lady Madonna also features modal switch from Mixolydian to Minor and back, only that he used ii > V instead of II > V. Both songs have a chord stream after an AA verse too. At the end of the break, as said before, the song could've been left finished there (since the Am key is well-established), but instead the next phrase begins in D-Mixolydian again. A similar formula (but involving D and G Ionian) would be used in Brian's Save Me, which was written and recorded around the same time.  The bass-line at the end of the bridge sections (before the break). The story, as it's been narrated by Roger ('In the Studio' radio programme), is that Freddie wrote the song in the bathtub at the hotel in Munich, then he went into the studios and taught it to John and Roger. They recorded the backing track in less than half an hour, and as a matter of fact they were rather tipsy. Both drums and bass have rockabilly influences, yet they're still as Queen-esque as they can get. The fact they didn't have much time to over-arrange it (Fred wanted it to be laid down quickly) and their past experience playing that genre (in many of their tours they did a medley of rock n' roll classics) led them to record simple, yet clever, parts. Again, that proves Crazy Little Thing couldn't have been done (that way) by amateurs.
Freddie played rhythm guitar both in the studio and live. It's one take, yet mixed stereo, which suggests Mack placed an external mic and at the same time there was a signal from the amp. He played using his fingers instead of a pick (like Jeff Beck does). On the record, he'd used his home Martin acoustic, while on stage he played a twelve-string Ovation (between 1979 and 1982) and a Fender Telecaster (from 1984 to 1986). Brian too used different equipment: in the studio he only recorded lead guitar with Roger's old natural-finish Telecaster. Live, he played three different instruments: from 1st verse to 1st bridge, he played a twelve-string Ovation (and doubled Freddie's part), then he changed to a black Telecaster and while Freddie was doing the sing-along bit with the public, Brian picked up his Red Special and finished off the song with it. After Freddie died, Brian replaced the Tele by the Red Special, so he just used two guitars in the song. He also replaced the Ovation bits: in the Robert Plant version he played a Godin A-12 Thinline, and when covering the song with Paul Rodgers, he plays a Yamaha Silent. As a tacit tribute to Elvis, Mercury emulated his style of singing. Again, that's another nod to Paul McCartney's Lady Madonna. The work on harmonies is very simple but interesting: during the second verse they repeat what the lead part says (a resource Fred would employ later on in The Miracle and How Can I Go On), during the fourth they provide chordal backing and then do the famous "ready Freddie" line. Brian, Roger and Freddie sing in the studio, and the sound is quite different from previous records due to production and the fact all parts were averagely lower than the Queen-standard. The King (born on 8th January 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, died on 16th August 1977 in Memphis, Tennessee) was one of Freddie's favourite singers and showmen. As a musician, he played guitar, piano and occasional bass, and was an exceptional vocalist able to cover different styles with remarkable skill. He wasn't a songwriter and couldn't read music, yet trained his ear enough to be an outright professional in most of his records. John Lennon, Freddie's biggest hero, was a fan of Elvis' too.
Lady Madonna (written by Paul McCartney in 1967) was probably Freddie's inspiration for Crazy Little Thing. Its original recording featured Paul on piano, bass and lead vocals, John and George on guitars and vocal-brasses, Ringo Starr on drums and a marvellous tenor saxophone solo by guest musician Ronnie Scott. Freddie and Roger would also do vocal-brasses in Freddie's 1975 Seaside Rendezvous. |
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