TALON'S TAKE:
Modern Times Rock 'N' Rollwritten by Roger Taylor
Musicians:
Roger Taylor - vocals, drums
Freddie Mercury - backing vocals, piano
Brian May - guitars
John Deacon - bass guitar
John Anthony - backing vocals
- The first non-Freddie or Brian song on a Queen album AND the first lead vocal by someone other than Freddie.
- Roger's writing, especially at the beginning was never very complex - he was the most likely to do some straight forward rock and roll for rock and roll's sake. That's not a bad thing at all as it makes for a nice break in the complexity.
- In fact this song actually reminds me of punk - years before punk became vogue!
- This was played live, sporadically as closer to the set with Freddie on lead vocals through 1975.
ALTERNATIVE RELEASED VERSIONS:
BBC SESSION #3- ESSENTIAL listening.
- Released on
Queen At The Beeb in 1989 in the UK and
Queen At The BBC in 1995 in the US.
- A somewhat faster pace if possible, frenetic backing track with some additional vocals and guitar.
UNRELEASED VERSIONS:
BBC SESSION #4- ESSENTIAL listening.
- My personal favorite version that is unreleased at this point. It was leaked though obviously
A much slower more deliberate pace. There is some great guitar work here and additional Freddie backing vocals at the end.
UNRELEASED AND UNHEARD:
-Rumors of a "Rough Demo" have been bandied about. Not much is known.
LIVE VERSION:
LIVE AT THE RAINBOW - MARCH 1974- Not too many great recordings exist, but it's worth a listen as Freddie is on lead vocals when it was done live. Awesome guitar work from Brian as usual.
PERSONAL NOTES:
- Again not one I listen to all the time, but a highly energetic number. Great for driving! Of course it's a very short drive
Roger develops as he ages that's for certain but there is a definite youthful innocence here that can't be denied. Rebellious youth at it's best!
CHANCES:
Modern Times Rock 'N' Roll......8% -- I don't think it likely BUT Roger could pull it out for his section...but there are far more likelier suspects. This song may be a bit to frenetic for the old man
SUPPLEMENTAL:
A Human BodyWritten by: Roger Taylor
Musicians:
Roger Taylor - lead and backing vocals, drums, percussion, acoustic guitar (?), bass guitar (?), Vocoder
Freddie Mercury - backing vocals
Brian May - guitars (?), backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar (?)
**As always Roger tracks during this time are the hardest to figure out because much of his material started during solo sessions until he decided what to bring to Queen and sometimes he kept his own instrumentation. We know Roger sang lead and backing. We know Freddie did backing vocals. We know Roger did drums and percussion. We believe the acoustic guitar is Roger. The electric could be Roger or Brian, but Brian is definitely on vocals. John is the wild card.**
- It was the B-Side to
Play The Game- It was initially to have been on
The Game and
Coming Soon was to be the B-Side and that's how Roger wanted it but Freddie and Brian won out and switched it up.
- A lyrically interesting song as Roger branches out from the usual love, parties, etc.
- There were no live performances.
QUOTES:
“I remember Roger wrote three tracks for
The Game, and the three caused problems in the band: there was a song called
Coming Soon, which Roger, at first, thought would be on the single, leaving a place on the album for another one of his,
A Human Body. But Brian and Freddie objected that if
A Human Body was included, the album would be too melodic, since they had already written three songs for it. Finally they convinced Roger, who was especially proud of
A Human Body and opted for
Coming Soon. - Mack
PERSONAL NOTES:
- I think Freddie and Brian were wrong here. This track should have been on the album and
Coming Soon relegated to B-Side. I also wish Rog had performed it on his solo tours!
CHANCES
A Human Body.....0% -- With all the hits, non album concert favorites, and possible obscurities there is no chance this b-side is unearthed at this point! Maybe at a Roger solo show, but not here....
And admire Adam's legs 
