Nobody could cover a Queen song and have it be taken seriously, becuase Freddie was such a great singer. I'd say this was Al's way of paying tribute without having to defend himself to critics and such about how he couldn't match up.
I agree. It's one of the ways it makes it more Al.
plus if he hadn't I couldn't have used the two songs as a comparison for wether British accents made the song better. I think Al did a very nice job.