Most likely purchased at Record Bar or Camelot Music
I remember loving "Killer Queen", "Bohemian Rhapsody", of course "We Will Rock You / We Are the Champions" (which got me fired up for many a swim meet or little league game, let me tell you). Shit, the whole campy cheese of "Flash" went right over my head; I thought it was flat out awesome. I even memorized the drum dolo on "Keep Yourself Alive" and could beat it out on pillows using screwdrivers or somesuch. I also distinctly liking "Under Pressure", but wondering who David Bowie was and why he was important enough to sing with Queen and have his name on the title. In all actuality, I cut my Rock teeth on these guys, and I'll always love them for it.
Here's another trivial memory: third grade in Mrs. Smith's class. I brought in the single of "Another One Bites the Dust" (obviously before I got the album) and played it on her record player before school started as we were allowed to do. Someone much cooler than me told the group that if you spun it backwards, Freddie Mercury was saying "It's fun to smoke marijuana". Of couse we tried it and determined...True! Even better, the B side of that single was a song called "Don't Try Suicide" (OK, Queen has never been known for subtlety, right?) with the chorus that went "Nobody gives a damn". We thought it was incredibly scandalous to turn up the "damn" part as loud as it would go and then run away. Eight year olds are cretins.
As the years went on, I lost touch with Queen, save for the occasional single. I do remember hearing "Innuendo" in 1991 and thinking, "Damn - that's old school right there. Good stuff". It wasn't until recently (maybe five years ago?) that I remedied my dearth of Queen CDs and bought the three CD "Greatest Hits" set (one huge reason was because it included George Michael's phenomenal rendition of "Somebody to Love" at the Freddie Mercury tribute after his death.
This particular song wasn't on it, but I got a jonesing for a live version of it after seeing Dave Grohl tear that shit up when Queen got inducted in the Rock & Roll hall of fame in 2001.
This song is all Brian May. It's all about that riff from the first five seconds of the song. Brain May is in my all-underrated musicains band along with Dave Lombardo on drums and Klaus Flouride from the Dead Kennedys on bass. His guitar sound is probably the most distinctive out of any of the big bands that I listen to. The great thing about hearing this song live is also the crowd interaction. British fans are celebrated for their particpation in stadium shows by singing, chanting, ydancing, etc., and Queen has songs absolutely tailor made for that kind of show. The might be the best arena / stadium band of all time. Anyone got a problem with that?
By the way, my favorite part of the song - in the breakdown at the end, Mercury gives a short "Give it to me!" right before the last huge chord and the motherfucking fireworks (3:24). Yes, Freddie. Give it to you indeed.
5 comments:
It's amazing the difference four years can make. I never listened to or knew of Queen untill Vanilla Ice did Ice Ice Baby, and then Bryan played Under Pressure for me and it blew my mind. Even though my #1 music genre was rap, I never understood what sampling was until this comparison. I can appreciate the music now, not one of my favorites, but not bad. Come to think of it, I always pride myself on having a very eclectic music collection on my itunes and I don't think I have any Queen. Does this make me a bad person?
While I can understand where some might find Queen a remarkable band I cannot forgive them for opening the door for Richard Marx. In the words of Mr. Marx, "Should've known better, now I'm a prisoner to this pain". The horror.
Queen. Queenqueenqueen. I like Queen. I have the majority of their catalog in one form or another. I'm missing a few live albums, but those got a bit repetitive with nearly the same tracklistings, two versions of "We Will Rock You" and other standards.
I am no Queen elitist and have absolutely no disrespect for those who follow the hits, Vanilla-laced, Bowie-induced, or otherwise. Queen deserves the following they garnered with songs like "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Bicycle Race," "Another One Bites the Dust," and the many hits that followed. My loyalty to the Queen lies elsewhere.
The two albums no one ever talks about. Queen and Queen II. You have to listen to them together and you have to listen to each in its entirety. For me, no album or track after Queen II can compare to the power of "Procession," "March of the Black Queen," "Ogre Battle," "Father to Son," "Son & Daughter," "Keep Yourself Alive," "Funny How Love Is," (and all the other tracks I cannot think of off the top of my head).
On the other hand . . . what was up with Freddie's monster mustache and buck teeth?
B, go back and listen to the guitar solos midway through "Innuendo" and throughout The Miracle. "My Bijou" still give me chills.
D- you need Queen. You just do. Come raid my stuff next time you're here.
d-rail - Huh?
Y - It took me about :08 seconds to go and buy a Queen song called "Ogre Battle" on itunes as soon as I read that it existed. 'preciate that.
Seems like Queen deep cuts are worth a look see.
I just listened to "Ogre Battle" on youtube. Reminded me of "The Thing that Should Not Be" by Metallica.
I bet they jammed to some "Ogre Battle"
The actual battle at the3:00 minute mark is baddassss.
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