Q: Are Queen a great band? A: Yes, by popular decree.

axisus

LPManic said:

Everyone should listen to News of the World. Skip the first two tracks and listen to the writing, riffs, guitar tones, drumming, and everything else on all the other album tracks. Sheer Heart Attack, Get Down Make Love, Fight from the Inside, Spread your Wings, and It's Late are AMAZING Queen songs. And all written and sung by the different members of the band. Incredible.

My fave Queen album. It's superb right through. I even love the fact that John plays some wrong notes on Sleeping on the sidewalk! It's a much more raw album than the excess of Roy Thomas Baker, and works so well for that.

EricTheWeary

axisus said:

LPManic said:

Everyone should listen to News of the World. Skip the first two tracks and listen to the writing, riffs, guitar tones, drumming, and everything else on all the other album tracks. Sheer Heart Attack, Get Down Make Love, Fight from the Inside, Spread your Wings, and It's Late are AMAZING Queen songs. And all written and sung by the different members of the band. Incredible.

My fave Queen album. It's superb right through. I even love the fact that John plays some wrong notes on Sleeping on the sidewalk! It's a much more raw album than the excess of Roy Thomas Baker, and works so well for that.

Was always my favourite Queen album. Less of the pomp but before the synths. I would probably have to skip the first two tracks as well now, just overly familiar. 

maw4neu

I'm 59 now, so as far as I'm concerned they were a great band . . . I remember one of my best mates raving about their first album "Queen" and I'd not really picked up on them at the time . . . I borrowed the Queen album of him ( Steve ) and played it for a couple of days and I loved it . . I wasn't as hooked as Steve was but I was 12 or possibly 13 years old at the time and very much into Prog Rock . . They made some good records early on :-)

ICBM

News Of The World is an amazing album. After that I’d pick Sheer Heart Attack (I think not coincidentally, as the intended title track ended up on NOTW) as the best of the rest, for similar reasons… incredibly varied, original and packed full of musical genius. Their range of influences and stylistic appropriation alone is amazing - there can’t be many other bands who incorporate both hard rock and music hall so overtly, let alone all the other bits.

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

Philly_Q

ICBM said:

News Of The World is an amazing album. After that I’d pick Sheer Heart Attack (I think not coincidentally, as the intended title track ended up on NOTW) as the best of the rest, for similar reasons… incredibly varied, original and packed full of musical genius. 

Those are the two my sister had - by luck rather than judgement, I think!  I tried to listen to Sheer Heart Attack a couple of times but wasn't keen on it (we are talking 45 years ago).  NOTW I liked better, including the cover art.  The comments on here today have convinced me to listen to it later.

stickyfiddle

darthed1981 said:

in conclusion, all people are different.

RocknRollDave

ICBM said:

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

This

Redlester

Calling this one early. Quite clearly the weight of opinion on TFB is to class Queen as great. 

Cheers and as you were. 

/ends. 

bertie

RocknRollDave said:

ICBM said:

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

This

that.

My question WRT the OP   is it ARE or is it WERE   ?  

Redlester

bertie said:

RocknRollDave said:

ICBM said:

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

This

that.

My question WRT the OP   is it ARE or is it WERE   ?  

ARE. So long as it can be electronically reproduced we can- for philosophical reasons- refer to the music in the present. 

If we want to get into a debate about post-Freddie iterations that’s a different thread! 

Sporky

I don't like their output in general (there are some exceptions), but I'm not daft enough to say they weren't one of the great rock bands.

bertie

Redlester said:

bertie said:

RocknRollDave said:

ICBM said:

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

This

that.

My question WRT the OP   is it ARE or is it WERE   ?  

ARE. So long as it can be electronically reproduced we can- for philosophical reasons- refer to the music in the present. 

If we want to get into a debate about post-Freddie iterations that’s a different thread! 

but its the band,  not the music  -  like you couldnt say "mozart is a great composer" 

but we'll knock it on the head there   

Redlester

bertie said:

Redlester said:

bertie said:

RocknRollDave said:

ICBM said:

I think I would dislike May’s guitar sound in isolation or to use myself, but it’s perfect in the context of their music. He uses it in the same way as his parts are written - always to serve the song and the arrangement, not for it’s own sake.

This

that.

My question WRT the OP   is it ARE or is it WERE   ?  

ARE. So long as it can be electronically reproduced we can- for philosophical reasons- refer to the music in the present. 

If we want to get into a debate about post-Freddie iterations that’s a different thread! 

but its the band,  not the music  -  like you couldnt say "mozart is a great composer" 

but we'll knock it on the head there 

Please do

Hootsmon

First few albums were as good as anything out there and a great band tae see in a pub I thought then they got silly