Sebastian
I think there is more than 21. 22, to be exact.
Thread
Posts in chronological order
mooghead
There is definitely between 22 and 24
Mr Mercury
[QUOTE]
[b]mooghead wrote: [/b]
"why they couldnt (or didnt want to) do the opera part live on stage."
One of the most intelligent things Queen ever did was not be tempted to do this on stage. It would have sounded utter shit. Talk about pissing on a picasso.... even if its picasso doing the pissing.. [/QUOTE]
Now that I definetely dont disagree with you. I once heard an act where I used to work years ago do that section of Bo Rhap live and it was piss. And you are right, for Queen to attempt this part live would have been folly in my opinion too.
[b]mooghead wrote: [/b]
"why they couldnt (or didnt want to) do the opera part live on stage."
One of the most intelligent things Queen ever did was not be tempted to do this on stage. It would have sounded utter shit. Talk about pissing on a picasso.... even if its picasso doing the pissing.. [/QUOTE]
Now that I definetely dont disagree with you. I once heard an act where I used to work years ago do that section of Bo Rhap live and it was piss. And you are right, for Queen to attempt this part live would have been folly in my opinion too.
vadenuez
This isn't music related, but there's another urban legend (I haven't seen another band immerse in so many urban legends as Queen) which claims that Bohemian Rhapsody was the first video ever. Apparently the person who said this didn't know that The Beatles were already doing video clips ten years before!
Must say BoRhap's video isn't THAT much of a videoclip (it's just the band on stage -a trademark for any band those days- and some goofy effects in the middle section), yet this myth can be found even in important Queen-related sources.
Must say BoRhap's video isn't THAT much of a videoclip (it's just the band on stage -a trademark for any band those days- and some goofy effects in the middle section), yet this myth can be found even in important Queen-related sources.
Mr Mercury
[QUOTE]
[b]vadenuez wrote: [/b]
This isn't music related, but there's another urban legend (I haven't seen another band immerse in so many urban legends as Queen) which claims that Bohemian Rhapsody was the first video ever. Apparently the person who said this didn't know that The Beatles were already doing video clips ten years before!
Must say BoRhap's video isn't THAT much of a videoclip (it's just the band on stage -a trademark for any band those days- and some goofy effects in the middle section), yet this myth can be found even in important Queen-related sources.
[/QUOTE]
Not quite right. They did make a video for Bohemian Rhapsody purely because they couldnt do shows like Top Of The Pops, etc, and to help sell the single. Yes the Beatles did do video before Queen, but that was in order to fulfill the demands of various TV shows around the world
[b]vadenuez wrote: [/b]
This isn't music related, but there's another urban legend (I haven't seen another band immerse in so many urban legends as Queen) which claims that Bohemian Rhapsody was the first video ever. Apparently the person who said this didn't know that The Beatles were already doing video clips ten years before!
Must say BoRhap's video isn't THAT much of a videoclip (it's just the band on stage -a trademark for any band those days- and some goofy effects in the middle section), yet this myth can be found even in important Queen-related sources.
[/QUOTE]
Not quite right. They did make a video for Bohemian Rhapsody purely because they couldnt do shows like Top Of The Pops, etc, and to help sell the single. Yes the Beatles did do video before Queen, but that was in order to fulfill the demands of various TV shows around the world
FriedChicken
I still wonder what the band means when they say '180 vocals'.
Do they really mean 180 vocals? Or another number to that extend?
Or do they use the number 180 to show it's a whole lot of vocals.
In folklore and legends numbers have been used as symbols a lot. eg. 1001 Nights, Abraham being 175 years old. Where the numbers mean "a lot of nights, and very old"
Like we use to say Queen have re-released We Will Rock You a million times.
Do they really mean 180 vocals? Or another number to that extend?
Or do they use the number 180 to show it's a whole lot of vocals.
In folklore and legends numbers have been used as symbols a lot. eg. 1001 Nights, Abraham being 175 years old. Where the numbers mean "a lot of nights, and very old"
Like we use to say Queen have re-released We Will Rock You a million times.
Sebastian
The thing is, the band didn't actually [i]say[/i] that. Fred only said, and I quote: 'we recreated a sort of 160- to 200-piece choir [i]effect[/i]'.
Now, RECREATING a 160- to 200-piece choir is NOT the same as ADDING 160 to 200 voices, just like RECREATING a clarinet with the Red Special isn't the same as having it grow a mouthpiece; just like having Roger RECREATING a brass section doesn't mean he had actual pistons.
It's the same as when Deaks, in the same interview, says they gave John Anthony the elbow... it's a figure of speech - of course they didn't provide him with a joint between the arm and the forearm.
So, Fred did NOT actually confirm or deny an exact or precise figure. It was all down to an imbecile journalist taking the quote too literally, calculating an average (180 in this case) and spreading a legend.
Now, RECREATING a 160- to 200-piece choir is NOT the same as ADDING 160 to 200 voices, just like RECREATING a clarinet with the Red Special isn't the same as having it grow a mouthpiece; just like having Roger RECREATING a brass section doesn't mean he had actual pistons.
It's the same as when Deaks, in the same interview, says they gave John Anthony the elbow... it's a figure of speech - of course they didn't provide him with a joint between the arm and the forearm.
So, Fred did NOT actually confirm or deny an exact or precise figure. It was all down to an imbecile journalist taking the quote too literally, calculating an average (180 in this case) and spreading a legend.
john bodega
I still reckon that, had they the time or technology to put 180 overdubs on there, it wouldn't have sounded much different anyway.
Sebastian
You're absolutely right about that.
Sebastian
An update: Roy does say '180 overdubs' on the book 'Rock Legends at Rockfield'. Of course, he also says [i]Bo Rhap[/i] was done on 16-track... I imagine it's a case of, quoting MJ, 'lies become the truth'.
rhyeking
Just a thought:
Let's take the "180" vocal number and do some math.
The following sections are "choral."
"Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango" 3 voices = 3 Freddies
"Thunderbolt and lighting, very, very frightening me" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Magnifico" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"He's just a poor boy, from a poor family. Spare him his live from this monstrousity." 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"No!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"We will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let him go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah! We will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah! Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let Me Go!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Never, never, never, never let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Mama-mia, let me go!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Beelzabub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
So, 9 voices on 19 seperate parts. 9 x 18 = 162 + 3 = 165.
Add to that the individual sung parts:
"I see a little silhoutto of a man."
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo" (Freddie)
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo" (Freddie)
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo Figaro" 2 voices = Freddie + Roger
"I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me"
"Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?"
"Oh, mamma-mia, mamma-mia!"
That's 9 right there.
165 + 11 = 176.
Now, that's a combination of vocal overdubs and individual sung parts (mostly Freddie, and some Roger). I also admit that there may be more or fewer overdubs in parts, but Brian described the general process of recording the low-end vocals, the mid-range vocals and the high end vocals of each lyric in order to create the harmonies (instead of Roger singing the high end, Brian the mid and Freddie the low end, which would be more common place). This point is from the "Making Of 'A Night At The Opera'" Classic Albums documentary.
So, without being able to count every single vocal multi-track, my best guess got me to 176 individual voices.
Now, to address the 7 minute long version of "Rhapsody," I've only ever heard that time tossed out by people like roadies, other artists, DJs and people floating around the Queen camp interviewed well after 1975. They were generally always saying vague things like, "Yeah, no one will play it because it's 7 (or "6 and a half" or "8 minutes") long." They were just grabbing a number off the top of their head because they know it was way longer than the standard 3 to 4 minutes long and 7 (or 6.5 or 8) minutes sounds impressive and just about right.
I've never heard any Queen member say, "Yeah, it was 7 minutes and we cut it down." If anything, I'm more willing to believe it was shorter and grew, based on RTB's statement on The Magic Years that it kept getting longer and longer the more they worked on it.
Let's take the "180" vocal number and do some math.
The following sections are "choral."
"Scaramouche, scaramouche, will you do the fandango" 3 voices = 3 Freddies
"Thunderbolt and lighting, very, very frightening me" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Magnifico" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"He's just a poor boy, from a poor family. Spare him his live from this monstrousity." 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"No!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"We will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let him go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah! We will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Bismilah! Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Let Me Go!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Will not let you go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Never, never, never, never let me go" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"No! No! No! No! No! No! No!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Mama-mia, let me go!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
"Beelzabub has a devil put aside for me, for me, for me!" 9 voices = 3 (high, mid & low) x 3 (Fred, Roger & Brian)
So, 9 voices on 19 seperate parts. 9 x 18 = 162 + 3 = 165.
Add to that the individual sung parts:
"I see a little silhoutto of a man."
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo" (Freddie)
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo" (Freddie)
"Galileo" (Roger)
"Galileo Figaro" 2 voices = Freddie + Roger
"I'm just a poor boy, nobody loves me"
"Easy come, easy go, will you let me go?"
"Oh, mamma-mia, mamma-mia!"
That's 9 right there.
165 + 11 = 176.
Now, that's a combination of vocal overdubs and individual sung parts (mostly Freddie, and some Roger). I also admit that there may be more or fewer overdubs in parts, but Brian described the general process of recording the low-end vocals, the mid-range vocals and the high end vocals of each lyric in order to create the harmonies (instead of Roger singing the high end, Brian the mid and Freddie the low end, which would be more common place). This point is from the "Making Of 'A Night At The Opera'" Classic Albums documentary.
So, without being able to count every single vocal multi-track, my best guess got me to 176 individual voices.
Now, to address the 7 minute long version of "Rhapsody," I've only ever heard that time tossed out by people like roadies, other artists, DJs and people floating around the Queen camp interviewed well after 1975. They were generally always saying vague things like, "Yeah, no one will play it because it's 7 (or "6 and a half" or "8 minutes") long." They were just grabbing a number off the top of their head because they know it was way longer than the standard 3 to 4 minutes long and 7 (or 6.5 or 8) minutes sounds impressive and just about right.
I've never heard any Queen member say, "Yeah, it was 7 minutes and we cut it down." If anything, I'm more willing to believe it was shorter and grew, based on RTB's statement on The Magic Years that it kept getting longer and longer the more they worked on it.
Sebastian
There are several mistakes on your counting, but I understand the spirit. It'd be nice to make a 'line by line' calculation for how many voices were there.
Indeed, 7 or 8 minutes can be just a random number. But so are 138, 160, 180 and 200.
Indeed, 7 or 8 minutes can be just a random number. But so are 138, 160, 180 and 200.
rhyeking
Like I said: "best guess," and that was while I was sitting at work, on my break, without the benefit of playing the song as I did it, so there's a margin of error. If it's closer to 200 or 150, I think that's still what they meant by having that many voices, even though there are only three (F,R & B), all overdubbed.
Good thread.
Good thread.
Yara
One of the great things about taking part in an internet forum is the chance to exercise my ignorance with relative impunity. This issue of the voices has been brought up many, many times by friends and I could never really understand what they meant by "voices". Reading this thread, I see I still don't get what's meant here by "voices". I'm not trying to be facitious, let me say that straightway - it's something which has been troubling me for some time, because it seems absolutely obvious to people, and to me it's certainly not. Sometimes I think people are simply referring to the amount of [i]vocals[/i]; sometimes it seems people are talking about the [i]different voicings[/i], which is more related to pitch and colour; sometimes I get the impression it's about how many times a certain vocal pattern is [i]overdubbed[/i].
Plenty of times it seems to me people are dealing with all that!
I would like help, really. I, hereby, humbly and honestly, ask for help: what are considered the best guesses and, most important, how do people get to a certain plausible final number - 16, 20, 21, 22, 180, 320, 495, 793, 1.293, you name it.
Rhyekin's post helped me understand a very important thing[i]: the method - the how to - for coming up with a certain number.
[/i]That's helpful because I begin to understand what people mean when they're talking about voices in the first place!
It is a great thread. One of the best I have seen on Queenzone. It's really a helpful thread which clears away some annoying doubts.
Way to go!
Love you all, and all that stuff you already know. ; -))
Plenty of times it seems to me people are dealing with all that!
I would like help, really. I, hereby, humbly and honestly, ask for help: what are considered the best guesses and, most important, how do people get to a certain plausible final number - 16, 20, 21, 22, 180, 320, 495, 793, 1.293, you name it.
Rhyekin's post helped me understand a very important thing[i]: the method - the how to - for coming up with a certain number.
[/i]That's helpful because I begin to understand what people mean when they're talking about voices in the first place!
It is a great thread. One of the best I have seen on Queenzone. It's really a helpful thread which clears away some annoying doubts.
Way to go!
Love you all, and all that stuff you already know. ; -))
mooghead
"It is a great thread. One of the best I have seen on Queenzone. It's really a helpful thread which clears away some annoying doubts."
But its just speculation, not fact... it has created more doubts. Too many people post opinion on this site and pass it off as fact (you know who you are) then lie back and take the plaudits.
Hope your ego's let you sleep well...
But its just speculation, not fact... it has created more doubts. Too many people post opinion on this site and pass it off as fact (you know who you are) then lie back and take the plaudits.
Hope your ego's let you sleep well...