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Queen: What is it that makes them so good?
- Thread starter RBG
- Start date
Well certainly the biggest attribute to Queen's popularity IMO is undoubtedly Freddie Mercury.
Sure, Roger Taylor and Brian May are damn good and John Deacon is severely underrated as a bassist, but Freddie really was the inner flame of the band. He injected a sort of powerful presence into the band; it's really no surprise that a common mistake (seen on youtube comments, for one) that people think Queen was simply an alias of Freddie.
Freddie was also a good songwriter (his talents are mostly showcased in songs like Bohemian Rhapsody) and had a magnetic personality. If you watch footage from the Wembley '85 and '86 concerts, the first thing you notice is the way he involves the audience into singing and cheering; he really draws them into the band. He also led a pretty hedonistic lifestyle, earning him more credit as the ultimate rock frontman.
With that being said, I wouldn't say they are better than other bands...take Led Zeppelin and the Who. Both bands profoundly influenced Queen; but what Queen did that made them famous was their experimental nature (in their early stages, at least). Bohemian Rhapsody is an example of this.
I guess that's pretty much why Queen is so popular...largely due to the larger than life personality of Freddie Mercury. Songwise, I don't feel they compare to rock titans like Zeppelin and the Pink Floyd, but that's my (unsubstantiated) opinion.
Sure, Roger Taylor and Brian May are damn good and John Deacon is severely underrated as a bassist, but Freddie really was the inner flame of the band. He injected a sort of powerful presence into the band; it's really no surprise that a common mistake (seen on youtube comments, for one) that people think Queen was simply an alias of Freddie.
Freddie was also a good songwriter (his talents are mostly showcased in songs like Bohemian Rhapsody) and had a magnetic personality. If you watch footage from the Wembley '85 and '86 concerts, the first thing you notice is the way he involves the audience into singing and cheering; he really draws them into the band. He also led a pretty hedonistic lifestyle, earning him more credit as the ultimate rock frontman.
With that being said, I wouldn't say they are better than other bands...take Led Zeppelin and the Who. Both bands profoundly influenced Queen; but what Queen did that made them famous was their experimental nature (in their early stages, at least). Bohemian Rhapsody is an example of this.
I guess that's pretty much why Queen is so popular...largely due to the larger than life personality of Freddie Mercury. Songwise, I don't feel they compare to rock titans like Zeppelin and the Pink Floyd, but that's my (unsubstantiated) opinion.
Unfortunately, I have to agree with this. I mean, Bohemian Rhapsody is supposed to like one those 'best-songs-ever-made' but I can't make myself enjoy or find the greatness of it.
they pioneered things other people have put forward
i mean they are just hugely influential everyone knows queen and everyone and their mom has been influenced by them at some point or another
the way freddie mercury layered his vocals, brian may's guitar playing, their heavy-but-prog early days, it's all so brilliant. they were heavy metal, prog rock, dance, disco, hippie shit, and more all in one. they just sum up musical greatness
and i don't listen to queen a lot
i mean they are just hugely influential everyone knows queen and everyone and their mom has been influenced by them at some point or another
the way freddie mercury layered his vocals, brian may's guitar playing, their heavy-but-prog early days, it's all so brilliant. they were heavy metal, prog rock, dance, disco, hippie shit, and more all in one. they just sum up musical greatness
and i don't listen to queen a lot
Queen are one of my favourite bands. they've got such a huge variety of good music and albums. one mistake that people often make about Queen is assuming they are a "best of" band, and judging them by their compliation cds. those with such assumptions should listen to "A Night at the Opera", "A Day at the Races" or "The Game". do it!
Queen is one of those bands that either you're like a fanatic about them or you could care less about them, or so I've noticed at least. I'm in the latter category, but they sure were original and I can see how they can appeal to a lot of people, I'm just afraid I'm just not one of them. BTW, I've tried Queen II and A Night at the Opera, and my fav song was still Bohemian Rhapsody which I don't even like that much.
From a technical standpoint, I'd say their music is much more solid than that of today. They covered an absolutely ridiculous amount of genres in all of their albums, and as far as mainstream music of the time, probably had the best vocal arrangements since The Beatles' later days.
Basically it just comes down to craftsmanship, they did alot musically, and they did it right.
A random thought, since most of us here were children of the late 80s and 90s, try to imagine not growing up with MTV etc., it made for a much more diverse mainstream environment imo.
I must say I fall into Steelicks's category of people who think that Queen is a "best of" band. Because they've got some really good songs, but every time I stray away from the stuff that I know, it turns really awful. However, Queen did put on great live shows in their day, and everyone that I know who went to a Queen concert said that it was great. Freddie Mercury was a great performer besides being a singer.
I've always said that Queen is great at writing a shitton of bad songs, with some good ones there too. Then again maybe I will check them out more someday! Are all of their non-single songs reminiscent of like Don't Stop Me Now, Somebody to Love, stuff like that, or are they more like We Will Rock You and Fat Bottomed Girls. The former songs always bored the hell out of me, because it was almost entirely centered on singing, while the latter two songs had really good beats and I liked them a lot.
I've always said that Queen is great at writing a shitton of bad songs, with some good ones there too. Then again maybe I will check them out more someday! Are all of their non-single songs reminiscent of like Don't Stop Me Now, Somebody to Love, stuff like that, or are they more like We Will Rock You and Fat Bottomed Girls. The former songs always bored the hell out of me, because it was almost entirely centered on singing, while the latter two songs had really good beats and I liked them a lot.
Because Death on Two Legs is one of the best songs ever.
This is very true. Considering the technology at the time, imagine the work involved in recording the hundreds of tracks and overdubs of Bohemian Rhapsody on analogue tape.
A lot of their songs had top notch arrangements too. Non songwriters might not understand how hard it is not to fall into the typical verse-bridge-chorus structure of pop/rock/all mainstream music.
Steelicks said that they were NOT that type of band lol
I quite find that Queen has made a higher percentage of good songs than any band that has ever churned out so much music that was not bitchin' guitar solos and the like, especially on their first seven albums (the core of their music). If you decide not to like Sail Away Sweet Sister just because it is not popular on the same level as Another One Bites the Dust, then that is your mistake, not Queen's (since the former is the far superior song).
Thorns, if you think that Queen makes worse music than ordinary bands today, then you have not listened to Bohemian Rhapsody carefully (I solely pick that song because you definitely have not listened to March of the Black Queen, Liar, et cetera).
best thing you've ever ever ever said
Actually, I am in between.
I find Queen to be a very solid group. The music is worth a listen from time to time, and whenever I pull my Queen CD from the abyss that I call my living quarters, I put it in my brother's CD player and listen.
On the other hand, they're not my favorite band, and they're definitely nowhere near as good as the Who.
But that's just my $0.02.
I didn't say they were, I said that I was one of the people that thought they were, that is, "I am the people that steelicks was referring to" rather than "queen is the band that he was referring to"
I also professed to my not knowing as much about their less popular songs as I should, and concluded that one day I should check them out and get to know some of their less known songs
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