MERCURY AND ME

Fans of the Queen biopic BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY who are hungering for more about Freddie Mercury may find a bit of satisfaction in this work cowritten by Mercury's longtime lover, Jim Hutton--but ultimately the audiobook is more about Hutton than Mercury. Narrator Patrick Moy lends gravitas to the work, skillfully interpreting the author's memories of a complicated relationship, but while Moy's execution is excellent, the material itself is lacking. In Hutton's view, Mercury could just as well have been a salesman as a rock star. The importance of Mercury's talent and musical career seems lost on Hutton, who admits he never attended a rock concert until Queen's show-stopping performance at Live Aid. Hutton goes into minute detail about his love life--especially the arguments and breakups--but in the end, the man who knew Mercury best seems not to understand the music. M.S. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: MAY 2019]