While writing and recording
The Game
,
Queen
were asked by renowned movie director
Dino DeLaurentis
to provide the
soundtrack
for his upcoming sci-fi epic
Flash Gordon
. The band accepted and promptly began working on both albums simultaneously. Although at first many fans criticized
since it was issued as an official
release rather than a motion picture
, it has proven to be one of
rock
's better motion picture
soundtracks
over the years. The majority of the music is instrumental, with dialogue from the movie in place of
Freddie Mercury
's singing (only two tracks contain lyrics), but the songwriting is still unmistakably
. Highlights abound, such as
"Football Fight,"
"Vultan's Theme (Attack of the Hawkmen),"
"The Wedding March,"
and the
heavy metal
roar of
"Battle Theme."
But it was the two more conventional songs that were the album's two best tracks -- the anthemic U.K. Top Ten hit
"Flash's Theme"
and the woefully underrated rocker
"The Hero."
With
involved,
is certainly not your average, predictable
. ~ Greg Prato