QUEEN

"I have spent all my years in believing you 
But I just can't get no relief, Lord! 
Somebody, somebody 
Can anybody find me somebody to love?"

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

​

​

​

 

​

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

​

“C+”

Main Decade: 70's

Main Eras:

The Great Transition (1970-1980+)

​

Main Members:

Freddie Mercury, Vocalist

Brian May, Guitar

Roger Taylor, Drums

John Deacon, Bass

​

Main Songs:

Bohemian Rhapsody, Another One Bites The Dust, Killer Queen, Fat Bottomed Girls, Fat Bottomed Girls, You’re My Best Friend, Don’t Stop Me Now, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Somebody To Love, Now I’m Here, Play The Game, Seven Seas of Rhye, We will Rock You, We Are the Champions, Keep Yuorself Alive, Son And Daughter, Ogre Battle, Under Pressure, Kind of Magic, I Want To Break Free, I Want It All, Innuendo, Show Must Go On, Made In Heaven, Bycycle Race, A Kind Of Magic, Who Wants To Live Forever, Save Me, Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy, Friends Will Be Friends, These Are The Days Of Our Lives

​​

​

One could say that Queen should be considered among what I call "Pillars," alongside the Beatles, the Stones, the Doors, Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd. That they have tremendous songs and were an overwhelming force live. That, like no other band, they completely define the pretentious rock of the 70s, sometimes rocking even harder than Zeppelin or AC/DC, and on the other hand, seeking that artistic rock of Pink Floyd, Genesis, or Crimson without reaching the complex structure of Progressive Rock; and if that weren't enough, with hints of Bowie-esque Glam. Or one could argue that they have absolute anthems that are still heard on every corner, radio station, and at every event that warrants playing "We Are The Champions" or "We Will Rock You," including infamous soda commercials with the even more infamous Britney Spears. Yeah, Queen rules! So why don't I give the band a B? Why? WHYYYYYY?????

​

Okay. I'm going to tell you a secret... Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. But first, hold on to your seats and cross yourselves three times. Ready? Here goes: Queen is the most overrated band in history. There. I said it. (Boos, shouts, tomatoes thrown, spitting, the audience rips up chairs and hurls them at Corvan).

​

If you're a die-hard, close-minded fan of Mercury and company, you probably don't want to read any further. Or maybe your curiosity will get the better of you. Why does Corvan give a giant like Queen a C grade? The truth is quite simple. Queen isn't an album band, it's a song band. WHAT??? Let me explain: very few of their albums even reach a 9 or 10, and the rest contain an immense amount of filler. Many times, they're really tedious albums to listen to in one sitting, let alone try to listen to their entire discography at once. Seriously. Queen has forged its legend thanks to the incredible songs that appear throughout its 15 studio albums, and above all, thanks to the release of three of the best "Greatest Hits" albums in history. Those three collections are enormous, or at least the first two are, and perhaps we could stretch the scope to include a fourth disc with the other great songs that didn't make the cut, but beyond that, we're not missing much from the band.

​

And many people are really fooled; they've never listened to "Hot Space" all the way through, for example, but they think that because "Under Pressure" is on it, it must be a landmark album. It isn't. Most albums have one or three good songs, but the rest of the material could easily be used in CIA torture chambers. And this is the mistake made by the vast majority of people who only listen to the best songs and who at some point voted Queen as the greatest British band in history. Perhaps they would be if they had only released those four albums with their best material, but they didn't.

​

Now, I'm not going to say they're utter garbage and that you should run from anything to do with Queen's music, nor am I going to say that "Bohemian Rhapsody" is awful; on the contrary, I firmly believe it should be one of the 10 best songs in history. No. I think it can contend for THE BEST song in history. As I said, this is a band of great songs, and when they set their minds to it, they knew how to create a unique, colossal sound, with one of the most refined and gifted voices (ah, one could write a poem about Mercury's voice) that redefined the parameters for a frontman in any band; a virtuoso, fast, and intelligent guitarist who could deliver incredible solos, making the guitar weep with that three-finger technique, enormous riffs, and beautiful multi-part melodies far above the average hard rock band of the time; oh, and they also had an outstanding rhythm section. Furthermore, the interplay of vocal harmonies is simply exquisite, even creating rock opera (which is not the same as rock opera, don't ask me the difference, ask The Who) and incorporating other genres like music hall, progressive rock, and hard rock. When Queen combined all of that with their tremendous ambition, they came up with those mythical songs that we all know and praise. And when it wasn't, well, it just remained that: an ambitious, overproduced glam or synth-rock band (who can stand "Radio Ga Ga"? Who? WHO????)

​

The lyrics, let's not forget the lyrics! I already mentioned that Led Zeppelin was among the bands with the most awful lyrics ever written. Well, Queen takes them by a mile and has truly horrendous, atrocious, spurious, and abysmal lyrics. Enough to make you want to cry. The purpose of lyrics is supposed to be to mean something or at least sound "cool," and Queen achieves neither, making their lyrics sound senseless and directionless. They're also full of clichés and sound like random phrases ripped from a teenage gothic poetry collection. If Plant looks like an idiot making Tolkien references, Mercury takes it to another level by inventing his own fantasy world: "Rhye." There's really nothing in their favor at this point, and to say they're worse than Led Zeppelin's... let's just avoid talking about the lyrics. Like Zeppelin, Queen is great DESPITE their lyrics.

​

Besides, I don't understand Roger Taylor. I assure you that everyone who says Queen is the greatest band in history hasn't even bothered to listen to the songs where the drummer sings. I understand he wants to show off his "qualities," but with none other than Freddie Mercury, the best vocalist in history, right next to him? I'm sure that if Mercury had had the chance to sing with the Beatles, Harrison, Lennon, and McCartney would have stepped back, saying, "Sir, the microphone is yours, we'll focus on the music." And if we add to that the fact that Taylor sings worse than a dog that's just been hit by a car, well, even worse. What a waste and what egocentrism from Roger, but on the other hand, eventually giving up the microphone speaks volumes about Freddie. There you go. Wasn't it so terrible, was it? I'm not saying Queen is the worst band in the universe, I'm simply saying they're not the best by a long shot. They're overrated, that's for sure, but that doesn't take away from their status as a great, virtuosic, and inventive band, with fantastic albums and, above all, a ton of immortal songs.

​

The points in their favor are numerous. They are an incredibly diverse band, who started out playing Hard Rock and Progressive Rock. In fact, I would categorize their first two albums as Prog. Then they shifted towards Rock Opera and Art Rock during their best period, managing to create two truly impressive albums, with a collection of songs that basically fill their Greatest Hits I compilation. Later, with fame and having become one of the most powerful groups on the planet towards the end of the 70s, their albums gradually declined, even though they still had good songs, which became increasingly sporadic. Freddie became a masterclass in how a frontman should be on stage. Queen became a juggernaut that filled and dominated entire stadiums, taking the baton that Zeppelin had thrown down as the best band on the planet. Duets with Bowie, number one singles. The 80s weren't kind to them, but they still managed to produce decent songs on less-than-decent albums. That's more than many 70s bands who failed to master synth-pop like Queen did. And from the 80s, we can at least salvage some remarkable works like "I Want To Break Free" and "A Kind Of Magic." They were the stars of Live Aid in '85, demonstrating that Mercury's charisma still held them above earlier bands like a briefly reunited Led Zeppelin, or newer, trendy bands like U2.

​

Then came the news of Mercury's homosexuality, which was already an open secret, but above all, the news that he was suffering from AIDS. And the long farewell, with the 90s albums serving as a requiem, featuring tracks that recaptured that grand and spectacular sound, such as "Innuendo," "The Show Must Go On," and the posthumous "Made in Heaven."

​

Freddie's death only enhanced the legend of Queen. The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert was one of the most spectacular and emotional I've ever seen, with an immense variety of bands and musicians paying homage to Mercury.

​

The Queen is dead. Long live the Queen, Queen!!!

​

​

By Corvan 

Jan/6/2009

​

​

​

​

​