• The move to the new server is done. There are some software and database maintenance updates in process. This has us passing the hat around to help out. We appreciate any donations. Seriously, even a dollar helps. The payment page may be found here - https://www.audiokarma.org/support.html

Queen: A Musical Journey

My first experience with Queen was as a college freshman. My dorm roommate had Sheer Heart Attack (and ELPs Trilogy, which is another story). I was blown away. Needless to say I bought the LP later. I don't have all of their LPs, but I'm about to gain knowledge on this thread and soon, I will have them. :rockon:
 
Great thread!

These first two albums have always been my favorite from Queen. I got into them in about '90 or '91 after I started playing guitar. One of the hot new players on the scene was Nuno Bettencourt of Extreme, and I loved reading interviews with him as he would often seem more prone to talking about artists like Queen, Prince, or Tower Of Power than Van Halen or Led Zep. It really was a great path of discovery for a teen in the days before internet. Queen and Queen II contained such creative, but sensible songwriting, and wild musicianship. It was hard not to get hooked. I had a hard time getting into anything after about The Game. Maybe this thread will encourage me to delve into their 80's material a bit more.

Looking forward to watching this unfold!
 
Not sure the reason, but the mastering of the original classic seemed a little murky and rolled off to me. At the time it just added to the mystery and heaviness of the proceedings.
Queen II was always my favorite of their first 5 releases.
But, has anyone compared the original to the 2011 remastered version (preferably the vinyl version)?
Is it an improvement?
 
I was so pleased to hear Dream Theater pay tribute to Queen (along with several of my other favorite bands, Rainbow, King Crimson and the Dixie Dregs) on this album bonus disc.
I love it that they picked one, actually three of the "deep tracks" off Sheer Heart Attack. Some hard rock or metal band needs to cover Ogre Battle from Queen II.
I love Queen. It would be a tough choice to pick my favorite album between Queen, II, Sheer Heart Atttack or A Night at the Opera.
 
Brian May is (literally) a freakin' genius. He took a hiatus from his PhD in Astrophysics in 1974 to be in a band. Took it back up in 2006 and finished in a year. Oh, and he got to analyze new research and data that has been collected in the 33 years since his absence! He even has an asteroid named after him.

He also MADE his own guitar, the Red Special, with his Dad, carving the neck from wood from an old fireplace mantle. He filled the wormholes in the wood in with matchsticks and made the inlays out of mother-of-pearl buttons. The body of the guitar made from the wood of an oak table. Heck, he even hand rewound and modded his own pickups. The tremolo was made from a modded knife-edge and valve springs. This guy makes Chet Atkins and Les Paul look uncreative and lazy. :) I felt accomplished when I broke a bike down, repacked and greased everything and put it back together. :(
 
noisefreq said:
Not sure the reason, but the mastering of the original classic seemed a little murky and rolled off to me. At the time it just added to the mystery and heaviness of the proceedings.
Queen II was always my favorite of their first 5 releases.
But, has anyone compared the original to the 2011 remastered version (preferably the vinyl version)?
Is it an improvement?
Click to expand...
The only 2011 remaster I bought on vinyl was the second album (because it's also my favorite :)). Listened to it once, and put it in a frame to hang on the wall. I didn't care for it. The pressings were taken from the digital files, and it just didn't translate for me. I also have the remastered first two albums, and News Of The World on CD. The mastering was done by Bob Ludwig, who did the 2005 anniversary edition of A Night At The Opera - which I liked very much. But I think the expectations were piled on a bit thicker with the 2011 job. They were definitely made with the iPod generation in mind. He did manage to coax some much needed warmth out of them vs the Hollywood CDs from the early 1990's. But the low end, especially, was a bit much. It's much more tolerable on News Of The World than on the first two recordings. But I imagine he had a cleaner slate to work with there. I've managed to find an EMI disc and a Japanese 24 bit version of the first Greatest Hits on CD. I prefer those to even the Hollywood discs.

As far as vinyl goes though, I stick with my Electra pressings :music:
 
Sheer Heart Attack

IMG_8941.JPG

Track List:

1. Brighton Rock (May)
2. Killer Queen (Mercury)
3. Tenement Funster (Taylor)
4. Flick Of The Wrist (Mercury)
5. Lily Of The Valley (Mercury)
6. Now I'm here (May)
7. In The Lap Of The Gods (Mercury)
8. Stone Cold Crazy (Queen)
9. Dear Friends (May)
10. Misfire (Deacon)
11. Bring Back That Leroy Brown (Mercury)
12. She Makes Me (Stormtrooper In Stilettos) (May)
13. In The Lap Of The Gods…Revisited (Mercury)

Queen's third studio album consolidated their position as rising stars in the British, and worldwide, rock scene. Killer Queen was released as a single, and hit number 2 in the British charts, and number 12 in the Billboard singles chart.

All 4 members took a turn with vocals, including John Deacon who sang his own composition, Misfire.

It has been noted that Sheer Heart Attack marked the beginning of the "classic" Queen sound. Listening to it a few days ago, I was struck above all by the crystal clarity of Mercury's vocals. It has also stood up to the test of time. Although it was released in 1974, it has a timeless quality to it.

As mentioned by @KankRat above, several songs from the album have been covered competently by other bands, including Metallica (Stone Cold Crazy) and Def Leppard (Dear Friends).
 
Queen Live At The Golders Green Hippodrome

Or

Queen Will be Crowned

IMG_8947.JPG

Track List:

  1. Introduction/Procession (May)
  2. Father to Son (May)
  3. Son and Daughter (May)
  4. See What a Fool I've been (May)
  5. Ogre Battle (Mercury)
  6. Band Introduction
  7. Liar (Mercury)
  8. Jailhouse Rock/Shake, Rattle and Roll/Stupid Cupid/Be-Bop-A-Lula/Jailhouse Rock (Reprise) (Jerry Lieberman, Mike Stoller, Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka, Gene Vincent, Donald Graves, Jesse Stone)
  9. Big Spender/Bama Lama Bama Loo (Cy Coleman, Dorothy Fields, Richard Penniman)
I have to admit that I know nothing about this recording. It's a bootleg from 1973, and was apparently featured on the BBC's "In Concert" series.

I'm including it here since it may be of interest to Queen fans.
 
dodog said:
Brian May is (literally) a freakin' genius. He took a hiatus from his PhD in Astrophysics in 1974 to be in a band. Took it back up in 2006 and finished in a year. Oh, and he got to analyze new research and data that has been collected in the 33 years since his absence! He even has an asteroid named after him.

He also MADE his own guitar, the Red Special, with his Dad, carving the neck from wood from an old fireplace mantle. He filled the wormholes in the wood in with matchsticks and made the inlays out of mother-of-pearl buttons. The body of the guitar made from the wood of an oak table. Heck, he even hand rewound and modded his own pickups. The tremolo was made from a modded knife-edge and valve springs. This guy makes Chet Atkins and Les Paul look uncreative and lazy. :) I felt accomplished when I broke a bike down, repacked and greased everything and put it back together. :(
Click to expand...

"Star Licks" were video cassettes they used to sell- instructional stuff for guitar players. If you haven't already check out how May does the echo thing like on Brighton Rock. He 'splains how it's done, roughly at 35:15

 
Wow... Not much love for Sheer Heart Attack, huh? I'll chime in with a few thoughts...

This was very much a transitional album for Queen. Weather it was due to the attention they'd received from Seven Seas Of Rye on their previous album, or simply changing with the times - the writing is much more focused. And they managed this while still diversifying their pallet. Great rock tunes like Brighton Rock and Now I'm Here are balanced by fun quirky tracks like Killer Queen and Bring Back That Leroy Brown. And, as stated, they certainly took a monumental leap toward the classic sound they became known for. Someone finally got the reverb right for Mercury's vocals. We get to hear so much more nuance in his work, and he pops out in the mix where he was previously very often in danger of being buried by Brian May's lush guitar work. And May himself had obviously been at the drawing board with his sound. He maintains his characteristically dry tone, but gives it a razor's edge that lets everyone know he's not taking a back seat to their powerful front man. My time line could be a bit off here, but this may have been when he started experimenting more with the chorus effect. Obviously it was a big part of his sound prior to this album, but at some point he became known for running the effect with the rate and depth dialed down such that he achieved the "chime" without the "shimmer".

What I really enjoy about this album are all the wonderful glimpses we get into A Night At the Opera. From loosely parallel songs like Flick Of The Wrist and Death On Two Legs, or Bring Back That Leroy Brown and Lazing On A Sunday Afternoon, to Mercury's use of the echoplex effect (though the taste we got on Now I'm Here could not have prepared us for what he delivered in The Prophet's Song). For me, listening to this album is like watching the band carefully load and aim a cannon - which they would fire off in their next recording session. Queen became known for many things over the course of their long career. But this third album, more than any other, set the stage for nearly everything that came after. :thumbsup:

On a side note - I stopped by the used CD store today and stumbled upon EMI discs of the first three albums and A Day At The Races. Best score I've had in quite a while!
 
botrytis said:
It was interesting watching a show 'A Night at the Opera' and how it was made on Axis TV. It really shows Queen was ahead of their time. Too bad they also made 'Radio GaGa'.
Click to expand...

Botrytis, I watched that also....comes on every week, the shows called Classic Albums. Last week was Rush 2112, prior was Fleetwood Rumors, and next week is The Doors.
 
Hajidub said:
Botrytis, I watched that also....comes on every week, the shows called Classic Albums. Last week was Rush 2112, prior was Fleetwood Rumors, and next week is The Doors.
Click to expand...
I was a little disappointed that they didn't talk at all about The Prophet's Song. That's always been one of the most interesting tracks on that album in my opinion. I noticed that Amazon Video has what appears to be the same show available. I wonder if it has any additional content? Perhaps the one Axis aired was edited for time?
 
~Maxx said:
I was a little disappointed that they didn't talk at all about The Prophet's Song. That's always been one of the most interesting tracks on that album in my opinion. I noticed that Amazon Video has what appears to be the same show available. I wonder if it has any additional content? Perhaps the one Axis aired was edited for time?
Click to expand...

Dunno, but I've be discovering a myriad of great musical content on Axis lately (this Sunday is Dan Rathers interview w/ Greg Allman, with musical content).
 
"A Night at the Opera" is such a complete album. It excels on so many levels. Great songs, great vocals, great playing, and great production.

A few ago I was listening to NPR on my way to work when they did a piece on Freddie Mercury on the anniversary of his death. They interviewed a professor at an Italian music college who worked with vocalists. He said something that I never forgot. He said "He had a way of squeezing a note. I don't mean vibrato. What he did was quite unique." Unique that pretty much sums it up. I've seen/read interviews with Brian May where he talks about Freddie being a little insecure about his musical abilities. He didn't really grasp how gifted he was.

-Dave
 
This is an excellent thread. Another huge fan checking in. In regard to their discography, News of the World is my overall favorite followed by A Day at the Races, A Night at the Opera, Queen II, Hot Space, and the quirky Innuendo. I also love the sequencing of the tracks on Sheer Heart Attack which I (like millions of others...) happen to have on vinyl. :music:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom