Unwell, unproductive

Greetings, all you fantastic blog readers and friends o' mine.

For the life of me, I just haven't been able to get back into a regular groove here. I'm sure you all can understand how it is, though ... I'm sure doctors don't want to be diagnosing patients on days off. Police don't want to handle disturbances on their days off. And me? Well, my job keeps me in front of computers for 10-12 hour bursts each day, so it is sometimes just difficult to get the energy to sit down during my free time to write.

But I love writing. And I love writing about music. And I appreciate each and every read and comment that my stuff gets. I don't take that lightly. Thanks to all of you who stop in, and those of you who share thoughts are doubly appreciated.

Let's see, let's take a moment to do an update here.

Lover of life, singer of songs ... a hell of a talent

Will there ever be such a consummate performer and powerful singer as Freddie Mercury ever again? I hope so, but with quality such as this ... it is hard to imagine.

Being best known for his remarkable work with Queen, Mercury is no less a talent on his solo work. He didn't produce many solo albums ("Mr. Bad Guy" and "Barcelona" were the only legit records he put out in his lifetime), but his personality and style are stamped upon each song he recorded and released.

A death, a reunion, an album

When Freddie Mercury died in 1991, it seemed like Queen's new studio output was basically over. After all, how could you try to move on without a man who was not only a consummate performer and top-tier vocalist, but also was arguably the most important songwriter in the group?

Mercury's passing was undeniably tragic for the band and its fans. Succumbing to bronchopneumonia one day after acknowledging that he had AIDS, Mercury's powerful voice and dramatic musical flair was now silent.

Or so it seemed.