I Can't Live with You

"I Can't Live with You" is a song by the British rock group Queen. It was released as a promo single from their 1991 album Innuendo. The single was released by Hollywood Records in the United States only, peaking at #28 on the Mainstream Rock Chart.

The song was written by Brian May but credited to all four members of Queen. "I Can't Live with You" was originally written for May's solo album. He gave it to the band since all three other members of Queen were fond of the track. Drums were programmed on synth by May, and the keyboard-pads were added by the producer David Richards.

For this promotional single, American producer Brian Malouf remixed the original album track. The remix was titled "I Can't Live with You (Malouf Mix)". Despite the promo sleeve only displaying one track, there are two on the single, the other being "I Can't Live with You (Malouf Mix Edit)".^[1]^[2]

The Malouf Mix uses slightly different lead vocal tracks by Freddie Mercury, louder and tighter harmony tracks, and reprogrammed synth drums, resulting in a much more punchy and "over the top" poppy version than included on the album.

An alternative version of this song appeared on the 1997 compilation album Queen Rocks, billed as the "'97 Rocks Retake". it was said to be more along the lines of how May and Taylor originally wanted the track to sound, with a harder, guitar-driven rock edge. The original versions vocal was used in this retake.

It was among the last songs recorded by Freddie Mercury, who died within a year of the album's release.

Writing

In August 1991, May was interviewed by Guitar World where he spoke of the song. "As time goes by I find I'm more concerned with the lyrics than ever. A lot of people say you can only create when you're in pain. But when I was really in pain, I couldn't create anything. I couldn't even get out of bed. When you're climbing out and beginning to get things in the right boxes again, that's when you can put it into music. There's quite a bit of that sort of thing on this album. There's some in 'I Can't Live with You'; it's very personal, but I tried not to make it autobiographical because that narrows things too much. I tried to express it in a form that everyone can relate to."^[3]

Recording

In the August 1991 Guitar World interview, May spoke about the mixing of song. "For some reason, 'I Can't Live with You' was almost impossible to mix. It was one of those things where you put all the faders up and it sounds pretty good, and you think, 'We'll work on this for a couple of hours.' Then it gets worse and worse and worse. We kept going back to the rough mix. It's got an atmosphere to it. I think it sounds so special because we kept a lot of the demo stuff on it. Usually it all gets replaced."^[3]

Reception

AllMusic wrote "I Can't Live with You shows the band's pop sensibilities in full force."^[4]

The Orange County Register wrote "Unfortunately, too much of "Innuendo" is given over to would-be arena roof-raisers such as "Headlong," "I Can't Live with You" and "Hitman," all ordinary rockers."^[5]

The Record (NJ) wrote "If you can wade through the pompous muck of such heavy-handed tunes as "Don't Try So Hard," "I Can't Live With You," and "The Show Must Go On," you'll find several songs that are worth the effort."^[6]

Track listing

CD Promo Single

"I Can't Live With You (Malouf Mix)"
"I Can't Live With You (Malouf Mix Edit)"

Chart performance

Chart (1991)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart^[7]	28

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, programming
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar
David Richards - keyboards

References

↑ "Queen I Can't Live With You USA Promo 5" CD SINGLE (7744)". Eil.com. 1992-08-06. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
↑ "I Can't Live With You (promo)". Ultimatequeen.co.uk. 2011-03-05. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
1 2 "Queen Interviews - Brian May - 08-XX-1991 - Guitar World - Queen Archives: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Interviews, Articles, Reviews". Queen Archives. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
↑ Prato, Greg (1991-02-05). "Innuendo - Queen". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
↑ "Queen Interviews - Queen - 02-01-1991 - Innuendo - The Orange County Register - Queen Archives: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Interviews, Articles, Reviews". Queen Archives. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
↑ "Queen Interviews - Queen - 02-21-1991 - Innuendo - The Record (NJ) - Queen Archives: Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Interviews, Articles, Reviews". Queen Archives. 1991-02-21. Retrieved 2011-08-30.
↑ "Queen". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-08-30.

External links

Lyrics at Queen official website (from Queen Rocks)

Queen singles discography

Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"

Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley" "Stone Cold Crazy"

A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"

A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"

News of the World	"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"

Jazz	"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"

Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)

The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon	"Flash"

Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"

The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall"

A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"

The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"

Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live with You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"

Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"/"Tie Your Mother Down"

Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"

Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)

Other songs	"See What a Fool I've Been" "Death on Two Legs" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made In Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More To Life Than This"

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