I Want It All (Queen song)
| "I Want It All" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Hang on in There" |
"I Want It All" (Audio file "Queen - I Want It All.ogg" not found) is a song by English rock band Queen, featured on their 1989 thirteenth studio album The Miracle. Written by guitarist and backing vocalist Brian May (but credited to Queen) and produced by David Richards, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 2 May 1989.[1] "I Want It All" reached number three on both the UK Singles Chart[2] and the American Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart,[3] number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart[3] and number one in other European territories, including Spain, where Los 40 Principales regularly played the song during the month of July 1989.[1]
The song was first played live on 20 April 1992, three years after its release, during The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert, performed by the three remaining members of Queen, with Roger Daltrey singing lead vocals and Tony Iommi playing rhythm guitar.[4] Mercury himself never performed the song live, as he died in November 1991 from AIDS at the age of 45, and his final performance with Queen was at the end of the Magic Tour, in 1986. The song is sung mainly by Mercury, with May singing on the choruses, and the middle eight.
There are at least two versions of this song. The longer one is the album version, while the shortest one is used in the music video and in the Greatest Hits II compilation. The sample on the top of this article is the beginning from the short version. Compared to the album version, the video version features a different beginning, omitting the acoustic/electric guitar part and the short rhythmic-electric guitar part immediately following. It starts with the band singing the chorus a cappella, and then, after a 1/8 + 2/4 A5 power chord, it picks up on the first electric guitar riff by Brian May that follows the short rhythmic guitar part mentioned before. The guitar solo section is different as well: the album version features an extra solo, done at the same tempo as the rest of the song, just before the faster main solo. Freddie Mercury's vocals after the middle eight are also slightly different and are positioned on the "extra" solo on the album version, and on the main solo on the video version.
Background
The song is notably heavy and features themes relating to rebellion and social upheaval. Songwriter May, however, claims that it is about having ambitions and fighting for one's own goals; because of this, the song became an anti-apartheid song in South Africa and has also been used as a gay rights protest theme and a rallying anthem for African-American youth.[1]
Style and reception
In reviewing The Miracle for Allmusic, Greg Prato suggested that the song, like title track "The Miracle", "reflect[s] on [...] the state of the world in the late '80s," summarising the song stylistically as "heavy rock."[5] Melville-based newspaper Newsday mentioned "I Want It All" as one of "The best" of the album, describing it as "colored by May's rocking guitar rolls and Mercury's rough-boys vocals."[6] In reviewing the album, The Dallas Morning News described "I Want It All" in some depth, explaining how it "starts off with a Bowiesque guitar part, picks up a heavy cargo of steel, quickly lays down the hard line implied by the title, then takes flight along Mr. May's greased fretboard."[7]
Music video
The music video features the band performing in a studio that used halogen lighting. It was directed by David Mallet. In the Greatest Video Hits 2 DVD audio commentary, Brian May and Roger Taylor recall that Freddie Mercury's health was already quite bad when the video's shooting took place, and it was remarkable that it didn't show up in the video, with Freddie Mercury performing with all the energy he had.
Video game appearances
Guitar Hero series
The song is available as a playable track in the 2009 music video game Guitar Hero: Van Halen.
Rock Band series
The song was made available as downloadable content for the Rock Band series of music video games as part of the 10 song Queen pack on 20 October 2009. It was later re-released on 5 December 2010 with support for the new instruments featured in Rock Band 3.
SingStar
The song is featured in the music video game SingStar Queen.
Madden NFL 12
A mash-up with "We Will Rock You" is featured in Madden 12. It's is a rap version and features Armaggedon, a former member of Terror Squad. This version was also featured in the 2011 film Sucker Punch.
Chart performance
| Chart (1989) | Peak position |
Total weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart[8] | 10 | 12 |
| Austrian Singles Chart[9] | 11 | 14 |
| Canadian Singles Chart[10] | 34 | 13 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[11] | 2 | 14 |
| German Singles Chart[12] | 9 | 17 |
| Irish Singles Chart[13] | 3 | 5 |
| Italian Singles Chart[14] | 4 | ? |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[15] | 3 | 10 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[16] | 4 | 7 |
| Swedish Singles Chart[17] | 14 | 4 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[18] | 8 | 14 |
| UK Singles Chart[19] | 3 | 7 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[20] | 50 | 10 |
| U.S. Mainstream Rock Charts[21] | 3 | ? |
References
- ^ a b c Jenkins, Jim (2000). The Platinum Collection (Media notes). Parlophone. p. 12.
{{cite AV media notes}}:|format=requires|url=(help); Unknown parameter|albumlink=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|artist=ignored (|others=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|mbid=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|publisherid=ignored (help) - ^ "Queen". Chart Stats. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ^ a b "Queen > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". allmusic. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ^ The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: I Want It All Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 5 July 2011
- ^ Prato, Greg. "The Miracle > Review". allmusic. Retrieved 7 May 2009.
- ^ "06-25-1989 – The Miracle – Newsday (Melville, NY)". Queen Music Reviews. Queen Archives (originally published by Newsday). 25 June 1989 (original publication). Retrieved 7 May 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "07-02-1989 – The Miracle – The Dallas Morning News". Queen Archives (originally published by The Dallas Morning News). 7 February 1989 (original publication). Retrieved 7 May 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Australian charts portal. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Austria Top 40 – Hitparade Österreich. austriancharts.at. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Welcome to the LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA website | Bienvenue au site Web BIBLIOTHÈQUE ET ARCHIVES CANADA". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
- ^ Dutch charts portal. dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche. musicline.de. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ The Irish Charts – All there is to know. Irishcharts.ie (1962-10-01). Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Hit Parade Italia - Indice per Interprete: Q". Hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
- ^ New Zealand charts portal. charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Norwegian charts portal. norwegiancharts.com (2006-06-15). Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Swedish Charts Portal. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community. swisscharts.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ UK Singles & Albums Chart Archive. Chart Stats. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ Music News, Reviews, Articles, Information, News Online & Free Music. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
- ^ AllMusic. AllMusic. Retrieved on 2011-03-01.
