Queen (Under Rated?)

[goldenguitar]

Queen was an excellent band and Mercury the best pop-rock singer ever.However their music is sometimes a bit overdone,some of their songs are really excellent, while others like Bicycle race or radio Ga ga really suck, Led Zeppelin would never have made songs like that.

[greenman]

Queen was an excellent band and Mercury the best pop-rock singer ever.However their music is sometimes a bit overdone,some of their songs are really excellent, while others like Bicycle race or radio Ga ga really suck, Led Zeppelin would never have made songs like that.

Since when did "what Zep would have done" become the only standard music should be judged agenst? many bands I love wouldnt record something as over the top as Stairway to Heaven but that doesnt make it a bad track.

I agree Queen were a singles band but what set them apart from most other acts with that lable was how long they last, 20 years of putting out mostly great singles. The 70's stuff was undoubtly there best work but as far as campy 80's stadium rock goes I don't think many did it better than tracks like Hammer to Fall or One Vision.

[Evster2012]

I believe that musically Queen acheived greater heights than The Beatles. Maybe Queen have The Beatles to thank for that. Regardless, they took it there.

*edit to add* In the 70s. I know there was a lot of pomp, and showmanship at times eclipsed the music. But those first 5 or so albums really made great strides. After Jazz, I won't debate. Some good moments. Some WTF moments. Flash Gordon was crap, imo. Though there were some great moments on the Highlander soundtrack. Gimme the Prize! But Radio Gaga? No thanks.

[Mangani]

I believe that musically Queen acheived greater heights than The Beatles.

Only because Brian May was an astronomer. Or is it astologer? I get confusedinated.

[goldenguitar]

I never understood why the critics hated them, especially in The US.

[BIGDAN]

I never understood why the critics hated them, especially in The US.

Hi 'goldenguitar'

Maybe because they were never considered as a serious act, they were more interested in being flamboyant and the music was regarded as an afterthought, that's my opinion of what the critics thought anyway, if you want my opinion it would be that they were too interested in being flamboyant and less interested in being known as the talented musicians that they were.

Regards, Danny

PS, And i just couldn't stand Freddie, goofy poof that he was.

[kiss of fire]

I miss Freddy to this day. He was one of a kind. Brian May has worked very hard over the years to keep his memory alive.

To some he seemed weird to me he was a legend still is!

[kaiser]

I've been listening to a lot of Queen recently & they were such a great band. Fantastic vocal arrangements, May's unique style & tone, & just completely over the top in every way, but in a good way. Bands that try to emulate what Queen did just fail miserably because there is no way to replicate what they did, ie The Darkness. Queen was really one of a kind.

[goldenguitar]

They actually shared a lot in common with Led Zep, especially in the way their songs are built(Bohemian Rhapsody and Stairway), both were able to introduce different melodies in one single song.

[Jahfin]

[silvermedalist]

They actually shared a lot in common with Led Zep, especially in the way their songs are built(Bohemian Rhapsody and Stairway), both were able to introduce different melodies in one single song.

That was a great song, is a great song. But those of you that took a shot at the Who, and them not being that important, back at you with Queen. I never thought they were that important or that big. The Who is far better in my opinion.

[dazedcat]

Granted this is personal opinion, but if there is a better lyricist than Pete Townshend I haven't found him.

I agree, I haven't found him either. I don't think there is another better one actually.

Not to go off topic but I know you're a fellow Who fan...........you've seen the soon to be released 40th Leeds Anniversary box? Thoughts?

Regarding Queen, I saw them open for Mott the Hoople back in '74 and they were a great opening act. That's pretty much all the personal praise I have for Queen, sorry.

[Kiwi_Zep_Fan87]

Well, after Led Zeppelin, Queen is my second favourite band of all time. Queen was actually the first proper rock 'n' roll band I got into. I heard my first Queen song (Seven Seas of Rhye) at the age 5 (in 1992).

As far as answering the question whether Queen is underrated or overrated, I would say their work in the 1970s (especially albums like Queen I, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Day At The Races and Jazz) are quite underrated. I love Queen (mostly for their work in the 70s!) because to me, what set them apart from other bands was the fact that they did the pretty crazy thing of combining rock and opera. With the kind of vocal abilities Freddie had in the 1970s and the fact that they were so flamboyant, made me think that listening to a Queen album is pretty much like going to a Pantomine and to a Rock concert at the same time. It is indeed the best of both worlds.

I heartily disagree with the person who said that Queen was more focussed on being flamboyant than actually creating music which was worth listening to. Go and listen to tracks like "Lily of The Valley", "In Lap of The Gods : Revisited", "Nevermore" and "White Queen : As It Began". Where's the flamboyancy there? And whatever anyone on this forum might say, Freddie Mercury is by far one of the best vocalists out there. I don't think anyone could in the 70s tackle those opera-based rock songs like he could, IMO! The man could do rock, opera (I mean real opera music) and tons of other stuff! A real versatile vocalist! I don't think anyone can beat Freddie in terms of his vocal abilities in the 70s!

Now, eventhough I am a Queen fan, that does not mean that I am a fan of all of their work. I was absolutely put-off by their work during the 80s. The 1980s was the decade during which Queen officially lost their individuality by completely abandoning their progressive rock tendencies and becoming this arena rock band. I think the saying "if you have seen one band, you have pretty much seen them all" applies to Queen's work during the 1980s. But I still like albums like "The Game" and "A Kind of Magic". And the 1990s album "Innuendo" is a master-piece in my opinion! Queen truly showed some great potential of making a comeback there but a sad turn of events unfortunately prevented them from doing so!

All in all, for me, Queen's 80s work remains overrated! It kept people away from exploring their work during the early 70s (1973, 1974, 1975 and 1976) and really getting a feel of what Queen TRULY sounded like! And as for "We Will Rock You", that song, just fuckin gets on my nerves! It's been beaten to death more number of times than "Stairway To Heaven"!

And I have to say that the major difference between bands like Queen and Led Zeppelin is the fact that Zep maintained their individuality and unique style till the very end! Queen on the other hand foolishly abandoned it during the 80s! Queen for me are also strategists in a way, because if it hadn't been for their change in music style in the 80s, they would have been forgotten a long time ago, I guess due to their excessive flamboyancy, campiness and possible lack of mass appeal!

[Magic Fills the Air]

Queen were a great, great band. I don't think they're under-rated at all. They have a lot of fans across the world (I have a friend from Germany who learnt how to speak English fluently from listening to Queen!) and most people are aware of their musical legacy. I also think most people would agree that Freddie Mercury was one of greatest vocalists and showmen of all time. Like Kiwi has said above, I think what are under-rated are their earlier '70s albums, albums like A Night At the Opera, A Day at the Races, Sheer Heart Attack. All the songs on these albums are brilliant and innovative, not just the singles that were released and everyone is familiar with. Innuendo was also an amazing song, I can still remember the first time I heard it and being blown away.

Queen were also huge Zep fans and would play Immigrant Song in the studio to warm up.

I also think (Dr) Brian May is a really amazing and lovely guy. I love reading his 'soapbox' on his website and find myself agreeing with his opinions on most things!

http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html

[badgeholder]

That was really cool!

[goldenguitar]

Queen was also the best band on stage especially between 1980 and 1986.Their songs sometimes sound better live than they do on the original version(Save Me Montreal 1981).They remained innovative for 20 years, therefore they sometimes released bad albums, they took risks and sometimes they failed.But when they succeeded, they created songs like BoRhapsody, ThE Show must go on, Somebody to love.

The Stones for instance, had another strategy, they chose to keep the same style for 50 years,when they didn't have any idea, they released albums full of boring country or blues songs, and Rolling Stone magazine gave them a good mark, they hadn't tried anything,but they had chosen a style in which they could'nt do wrong.This was the opposite of Queen's vision of music.

[johnlennon696]

Having recently got the 2011 remastered editions of thier first five albums, my god they

were majestic, raw and heavy, having been more familiar with the greatist hits and later stuff

like Want To Break Free etc, i was blown away by some tracks, for example:

Ogre Battle

Son and Daughter

Liar

See What A Fool Ive Been

March Of The Black Queen

The Fairy Fellers' Master Stroke

and of course the known classics Bohemian Rhapsody. We are The Champions, We Will Rock You,

I Want To Break Free,

Get Queen and TURN IT UP!!!!!

[Otto Masson]

This is to reply to Kiwi's question in this thread... I think my old post on p. 7 of this thread gives a pretty good idea of how I see the band and what they achieved, but anyway, I don't really have a single favorite Queen album. I do have a favorite period, which is 1975-1977 or so, when they released A Night at the Opera, A Day at the Races and Jazz, all of which are fantastic. There is an absolutely incredible bootleg of their performance at the Hammersmith Odeon on December 24, 1975, i.e. rather early in that period - they were nearly always great live, but this one is especially interesting to me, at the start of their best period, and it sounds great. If you know where to look there is also a bootleg DVD of the show around. It captures Queen as they were finally becoming huge, after having worked their asses off for years without seeing a lot of money, as we know from Death on Two Legs

Yeah, I also love the earlier period, when they released the first three albums. There really are so many flashes of brilliance on Queen, Queen II and Sheer Heart Attack, and I used to play them a lot in the 1970's, but as far as the songwriting goes, it seems to me that on the whole they achieved greater precision of form in 1975-1977.

[goldenguitar]

Best period:(as far as albums are concerned: 1975-1978 and 1991:Innuendo)

Best period on stage: 1980-1986 ( from Montreal to Knebworth)

[Otto Masson]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DvlYv5RrVQ

[goldenguitar]

An outstanding performance

( 2:46 to 4:32, music from heaven...)

[Jahfin]

[Strider]

Queen's a great band; made some great albums and were a joy to see in concert. I'm not questioning the fact there's a thread.

But to think Queen is underrated is a bit misleading. In fact, they're pretty highly regarded.

They sold millions and millions of records. Toured all over the world playing to huge crowds. Their performance at Live Aid was widely acclaimed as the best of the day. Freddie Mercury frequently tops or makes the top 10 of various Best Vocalist/Frontman in Rock polls.

Hell, in the UK, they've even topped the Beatles as favourite band on occasion.

So is Queen underrated? Not in my book.

[dazedcat]

The first five Queen albums have been re-issued in an elaborate boxed set...............

http://www.amazon.com/Queen-Limited-Collectors-Amazon-com-Exclusive/dp/B004SBB0LU/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1305825094&sr=1-2

[Jahfin]

But to think Queen is underrated is a bit misleading. In fact, they're pretty highly regarded.

I've noticed that when some people are huge fans of a band or artist, they never think they get enough love even when the band in question is as popular as Queen. I think it's a case of not being able to see the forest for the trees.