Strange Frontier



Strange Frontier is the second album by the English musician Roger Taylor. This album includes two covers as well as a heavier sound than the previous album. Although Taylor again played most of the instruments himself (drums, guitars, bass and keyboards) and did most of the vocals, there were some occasional cameos by producer David Richards (on synths and piano), Status Quo member Rick Parfitt (on rhythm guitar) and Queen's bass guitarist John Deacon (on bass and mixing), Brian May (rhythm guitar on "Man on Fire") and Freddie Mercury (additional keyboards, and it is rumoured Mercury did backing vocals on "Killing Time", although this is speculative). The US edition has the track order rearranged.

Multiple musical elements from the song "I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion)" (the drum machine, harmonies, chord progressions and overall arrangement) would be reused for the Queen hit song "Radio Ga Ga", released later the same year.

Side 1

 * 1) "Strange Frontier" (Taylor) – 4:16
 * 2) "Beautiful Dreams" (Taylor) – 4:23
 * 3) "Man on Fire" (Taylor) – 4:05
 * 4) "Racing in the Street" (Bruce Springsteen) – 4:28
 * 5) "Masters of War" (Bob Dylan) – 3:51

Side 2

 * 1) "Killing Time" (Taylor) – 4:58
 * 2) "Abandonfire" (Taylor, David Richards) – 4:12
 * 3) "Young Love" (Taylor) – 3:22
 * 4) "It's an Illusion" (Taylor, Rick Parfitt) – 4:03
 * 5) "I Cry for You (Love, Hope and Confusion)" (Taylor, David Richards) – 4:16

Personnel

 * Roger Taylor - vocals, drums, keyboards, bass guitar, guitars
 * David Richards - keyboards
 * Freddie Mercury - backing vocals on "Killing Time"
 * Rick Parfitt - guitar on "It's an Illusion"
 * John Deacon - bass guitar on "It's an Illusion"
 * Brian May  - rhythm guitar on "Man On Fire"

Singles
A-Side: "Man On Fire" B-Side: "Killing Time" Released on 4 June 1984. Reached #66 in the UK Singles Chart. Released in the UK, Japan, USA, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Australia and South Africa. A-Side: "Strange Frontier" B-Side: "I Cry For You" Released on 30 July 1984. Reached #98 in the UK Singles Chart. Released in the UK, USA, Canada and The Netherlands. A-Side: "Beautiful Dreams" B-Side: "Young Love" Released in August 1984. Only released in Portugal.
 * "Man On Fire"
 * "Strange Frontier"
 * "Beautiful Dreams"