To go along with my "why the beatles worked" post a few weeks back, i feel it was time for a follow-up, and what better way to follow up than with a band that i think was just on a another level than everyone. Mainly because Freddie Mercury, Brian May, Roger Taylor and John Deacon were the best at what they were doing and they knew it. If you took one of them out of Queen it wouldnt be the same thing. The irony of QUEEN is that they were not a "commercial" force in America and yet they are one of the biggest selling bands/artists of all time worldwide. QUEEN always knew that, and that was a reason they chose that name, because it was simple to every country. QUEENS peak in America was mainly from 1977-1980 commercially that is , but worldwide it was built from day one, they never left out any territory when touring, and as Roger Taylor said in the later 80's they didnt even realize they lost popularity in America mainly because they were so big in all these countries, that they just really changed their focus to them, especially when touring.

Queen can be viewed in alot of different ways, they can be looked at as a hard rock band, at times majestic, operatic, and at times a Pop Band, a funk band too. Queen knew how to mix it up, and incorporate things into QUEEN and not make it sound like a total "sell out". QUEEN easily had the best front man of all time IMO, i mean just watch LIVE AID and see how someone can take over with a performance and let that do the talking and NOT THEIR EGO like so many of todays Hype artists. Queen were also a smart band, and very early on knew they were getting ripped off, and took over and fired managers and managed their own finances, this can be heard on "Death on Two Legs", as Freddie sings about the ex-managers. One of the reasons i think that people never include QUEEN on "greatest" lists is that they cant pinpoint them to a sound, where as with bands like Zep or the Stones or the Who you can pretty much put them in a box, Queen were clearly not "box" material. Queen also had the greatest backing band, whether it was Brian's unique sound and playing, or Roger Taylors rock/funk drumming or John Deacons amazing BASS riffs that would make Larry Graham bow down, Queen had all the elements, OH and thats not even discussing harmonies and Vocals, could there be better harmonies EVER in a group, or a better lead vocalist than Freddie, i dont think so, they broke that mold.

lastdecember, I agree with all you have written.

Also all members of queen could write and composed. All members have at least a song that was a hit. Only on the laters album did they start to share writting credits. That happened in Innuendo.

Also their sense of friendship was amazing. If Freddie hadn't died, they would still be together, doing music.

I quite like some of the bass and drum sounds and how they work together on the older material. It's a surprisingly dirty, distorted sound. A DJ was playing "another one bites the dust" at a club I was the other night, right after "billie jean" and both stood out really well from the modern material.

MikeMatronik said:

One of the keys was that they were so different, they liked different things and wrote different kinds of songs too, which is great, because thats how bands should be, they should have creation friction, i think of all the great bands that i have loved and they all FIGHT nonstop creatively and they dont have that one member that dictates the trends of the band. Yeah they actually shared credits starting with The Miracle, which ironically was going to be the last, Freddie didnt think he would make it that long, and like Brian May said "you just never knew" but then they did Innuendo and by that time he really was not well but still went in to do videos, and then would do more work on the "Made in Heaven" record. The strange thing with that was that when Freddie worked with them on the album he put his vocals down and logged them in as Final Vocals, which really went thats what was going down on record, no overdubbing, mainly because he knew he couldnt have that chance, so he wanted them to be final so the band had something to work with when he was gone.

lastdecember said:

The entire Made in Heaven album always give me shivers. I believe that there are more vocal recordings of Freddie's on their vault.

The add an healthy relationship. They did their solo stuff, but always got back together.

And the tax evasion and master situation was brilliant.

MikeMatronik said:

Yeah i remember getting the import of "Made in Heaven" about 2 weeks before it was due in the states, and it was strange to listen too, since it was 4 years after his death. Some of the songs on the record were obviously not newly written but they were new vocals and instruments. "I was born to love you" and "Made in heaven" was from Freddies solo record, "Too much love will kill you" was a Brian May solo song "Heaven for Everyone" was a Roger Taylor solo track that was unreleased., and "My live has been Saved" which was an unreleased re-recorded Queen B-side, and than mixed in were new cuts. I think "Winters Tale" is one of the greatest songs ever, because the imagery of that song is amazing and coming from a man that knew he was going to die anyday, its amazing how "happy" he could still sound. He was never bitter at any point on any record, even the track "Mother Love" isnt bitter, its about him wanted to go back to his mother in the end, the baby crying on that end is scary. And of course the hidden 20+ minute "after life" track, very eerie.

lastdecember said:

yes, mate. Pure magic. As a Queen fan since I a toddler, I feel honored by their music.