Brian May has revealed his favorite Queen album and it may surprise some people.
The Guardian had the guitarist answer questions from fans, and when one asked if he felt that 1974’s Sheer Heart Attack was Queen’s “greatest album,” May didn’t quite agree.
“It was a breakthrough in terms of getting out there, but I don’t know if it’s the greatest,” May replied. “My favorite, strangely enough, is probably the last one, Made in Heaven, which we completed after Freddie (Mercury) had gone.”
The album was released in 1995, four years after Mercury’s death. May said it’s “got so much depth to it, so much spiritual content and emotion, because we were working with Freddie’s voice when Freddie was no longer here.”
May said it took a while for them to make the album because they were grieving, but they eventually realized “this album is crying out to be made.” He noted, “It was a labor of love, but I find that I can listen to it with a great feeling of peace now.”
In the same Q&A, May discussed bassist John Deacon’s departure from Queen, saying they knew he was “quite sensitive to stress.” After working on a project in 1996, Deacon suddenly told them he couldn’t do it anymore. May shared, “We knew that he at least needed a break, but as it turned out he never came back.”
Buy May said although Deacon doesn’t perform with them anymore, ”he’s still part of the machinery of the band.”
“If we have any major decision, business wise, it’s always run past John,” he said. “It doesn’t mean he talks to us – generally he doesn’t – but he will communicate in some way. He’s still very much part of Queen.”
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