Queen Deep Dive

You know how you've know someone forever and they’re awesome, and then one day, out of nowhere, you realize just how much you’ve fallen in love with them? That’s it. That’s how I feel about Queen.

My love for Queen eclipses pretty much every other artist or band. Since childhood, I'd known of their hits and knew they were significant. My parents had Queen on vinyl. But the band's brilliance eluded me for years; until I fell so hard and fast into the massive depths of their catalog, there was no turning back. I am officially, and happily, a Queenie.

 

Before I go any further, allow me to elaborate a bit about why I appreciate these guys so much. It’s not just their innate and incredible talent, or that they played together for literally years before they achieved massive success or earned any money (they were broke until the success of their fourth album). It’s not just because each of the guys penned more than one number one hit for the band, and they’re all in the songwriter’s hall of fame (still the only band to achieve this feat). It’s not just that their chemistry created something magical in the studio and on stage. It’s not just the overwhelmingly jovial spirit of their catalog (their music is certainly some of the happiest and most celebratory I’ve heard). It’s all of it. Queen would have never been Queen without each of these guys' talents and contributions. The whole was greater than the sum of the parts, and they always knew that they owed their enduring success to sticking together.

These four guys, as different as they were with unique tastes, contrasting personalities, sound preferences and styles, came together with all the passion and hunger imaginable, and innovated, experimented and created a sound only they could make. And with this sound came various genre tangents; first with glam rock, hints of vaudeville, blues and psychedelic, later sprinkled with folk, opera, gospel, speed metal, punk, funk, pop, jazz, disco, and more. They dove into so many genre pools, the music press had no idea what to do with them. So they often hated them (not fair). But the public? Oh, how we loved them.

If I’d been around in the ‘70s, I’d likely love to write and create as much as I do now. I can only imagine I’d not only be following the guys around the US during their tours, I probably would have written columns full of reviews giving the guys heaping amounts of biased praise (while claiming to be totally unbiased). But let’s face it; when you love a band like this, it’s impossible to avoid expressing the emotional effects of the music. Emotional connection is always deeply personal.

To celebrate my immense love for the boys and their work, I’m starting a deep dive into their albums to pick apart and analyze the songs. I may throw a few b-sides in there, and a live performance or two. There’s no way I’m not mentioning their fabulous performance of “Dragon Attack” in Montreal, and of course, Live Aid probably deserves its own entire series of posts. This is an ambitious goal. But it will certainly keep me busy!

Be forewarned, I have no intention of trying to make unbiased remarks. My analysis will be highly musical, but as previously mentioned, my love runs deep and my enthusiasm will not be squelched. I’ll start at the beginning and work my way through songs on every album (sans Flash Gordon). It will likely take months, but in the wake of recent events that have kept me/us indoors, I’m looking forward to the sonic breakdowns.

But really? It’s just another excuse to constantly listen to Queen.

If Queen to you is “Freddie Mercury’s band” (which is how I perceived them for quite some time), here’s a little breakdown to help you as we dive in. All four of the boys wrote for the band and played a crucial role, so here’s their lineup with some noteworthy details.

Freddie Mercury: Vocals, piano, (occasional) guitar. Massive stage presence and dramatic, but more poised and reserved (even shy) offstage. Freddie was born Farrokh Bulsara in Zanzibar before his family moved to the UK. He studied graphic art and design (he created Queen’s famous coat of arms), got his degree and sang with various bands before becoming the lead vocalist of Brian and Roger’s band Smile, which evolved into Queen. Freddie’s voice is strong and expressive with a wide range.

Brian May: Vocals, guitar, piano. Thoughtful, introspective, passionate and poetic, he’s well-spoken and honest. Brian built his guitar, his beloved Red Special, in the ‘60s with his father’s help. He is an astrophysicist, worked with NASA on the New Horizons Pluto mission, and was recently voted Best Guitarist of All Time. Brian’s voice is deeper, softer and rounder, providing a great foundation for the band’s harmonies.

Roger Taylor: Vocals, drums, (occasional) guitar. Expressive faces, friendly, candid and easily the most “rock and roll” of the bunch. Roger played guitar as a kid before taking on the drums. He’s a multi-instrumentalist (he single-handedly wrote, performed and produced his solo debut), has a degree in biology and is my favorite member of the band. Roger’s voice is edgy and raspy, and his high range gives fabulous and memorable punch to many Queen tracks.

John Deacon: Bass (and triangle). Quieter, reserved and relaxed, John doesn’t say (or write) much but he makes the most of it when he does. John performed in bands from a young age, and later got a degree in electrical engineering (he created the iconic Deacy Amp). The youngest of the group, he was the last to join Queen and in the early days occasionally contributed live vocal harmonies. For most of Queen’s heyday, he never sang, but his compositions became some of their biggest hits.

There you have it; a little background on the boys. But enough of that, let’s get to the good stuff... 

I'm already regretting committing to this. Bring it on.