Topics for "veteran" QZers

Hi, it's nice to see so many new faces here at QZ and the boards are starting to get less silly topics being started in favour of some decent chat.

BUT...

to those of you who have been here for a LONG time and contributed so much too, it''s clear that debates have either been "done to death" or that you haven't the time or interest (not to sound critical of your love of Queen) to discuss the band like you once did?

What topics are still of interest to the "big posters"? You guys have so much to offer and it's difficult searching back and reigniting old topics to make them sound interesting, so are their any Queen related debates/topics that would still hold your interest? The only time the boards really light up is when Q_Archivist makes his routine visits.

It'd be great though if folk like SirGH, Pittrek, YV, Scully, Penetration_G, John S Stuart, Joxer etc etc share their knowledge (even if they have made a similar point before in an older topic) and thoughts. Their are loads from the Announce section who take little to do with the General/Serious sections whom I'd love to see contribute too... even if it's just to discuss the bootlegs that kindly have been shared. So much debate can be started with just this one area alone. The South Africa gig thread was really interesting some months back after the first half of Sun City was shared for example.

Please don't take me as niave, I'm aware that some things get more important the older you get. I'm 30, but I enjoy this place to unwind from work/life, and like to contribute, even in a small way, to as many topics as possible.

I don't think it is a case of every topic being 'done to death', but, rather, there is not a lot of new stuff to talk about.

As a once 'serious' collector, I have lost all interest in repurchasing the same old material in 'new boxes' or re-packaging, as it just doesn't seem genuine any more.
To explain, when Freddie was alive and Queen were in their hay-day, then a contemporary new single, red vinyl or picture disc was indeed something special. Something worth tracking down and owning.

Now-a-days these new re-issues are deliberately printed as collector's items for the sake of it - and it is just not the same thing.
I guess it is like a stamp collector who owns a genuine 'Penny Black'. Once they have that in their collection, a 'Penny Black Commemorative' issue is not the same. In other words, why settle for the substitute if you can have the real thing?

Now, I am not knocking that type of collector - each to their own, but for me, it was always about the music.
Sure I have other memorabilla, books, mags etc, but that was always secondary to the music.

Perhaps if Queen were to provide a few teasers - whether an anthology box set, special CD's with bonus tracks, or even the odd internet download - then perhaps my zeal may be reignited.

Until then, I guess it's just trying to recapture former glories, and that seems more difficult with each new crap product released.

But for every bad rehash there has been a good release in the past 10 years.  For starters, the Freddie boxed set was superb.

People slam the ANATO 30th anniversary as being a missed opportunity, but there were a few great bits in that documentary.  For one thing, Brian isolated the guitars at the end of Good Company.  That was worth the price of admission alone.

The live DVDs from 81, 82, and 86 are excellent.  There were complaints about Queen Rock Montreal because it's been out many times before, but that's not really the band's fault (unless you want to blame them for not being great businessmen when they were at their peak).  The earlier VHS and DVD releases were done without any input from the band.  After the director died, they bought the rights back, and were able to put out a version up to their standards.  The end result is the best-sounding recording of the band live.

It seems they're making their way backwards through the years, and that something from the 70s will be next... Hammersmith 75, according to Brian.  For us collectors it may not be the biggest deal, but at least there will then be some 70s Queen other than Live Killers in stores, so the public will be able to discover this era of the band.

Instead of griping about what hasn't been released, I just listen to the ones that have been released, or I listen to other artists.  And when something comes out worth buying, I'll buy it.  If not, I'll pass.  It's not like Queen are the only band doing the greatest hits thing over and over again...

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[b]Sir GH wrote: [/b]



But for every bad rehash there has been a good release in the past 10 years.  For starters, the Freddie boxed set was superb.

People slam the ANATO 30th anniversary as being a missed opportunity, but there were a few great bits in that documentary.  For one thing, Brian isolated the guitars at the end of Good Company.  That was worth the price of admission alone.

The live DVDs from 81, 82, and 86 are excellent.  There were complaints about Queen Rock Montreal because it's been out many times before, but that's not really the band's fault (unless you want to blame them for not being great businessmen when they were at their peak).  The earlier VHS and DVD releases were done without any input from the band.  After the director died, they bought the rights back, and were able to put out a version up to their standards.  The end result is the best-sounding recording of the band live.

It seems they're making their way backwards through the years, and that something from the 70s will be next... Hammersmith 75, according to Brian.  For us collectors it may not be the biggest deal, but at least there will then be some 70s Queen other than Live Killers in stores, so the public will be able to discover this era of the band.

Instead of griping about what hasn't been released, I just listen to the ones that have been released, or I listen to other artists.  And when something comes out worth buying, I'll buy it.  If not, I'll pass.  It's not like Queen are the only band doing the greatest hits thing over and over again...

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I agree.

I think that all the products mentioned above have been superb releases, and if Hammy '75  was to be released, that too would be a big deal.

It would be nice to see 'Live in Budapest' on Blu-Ray - especially as it did not make an official UK DVD release.
(I know all the arguments against another mid 80's release, but I think the visual quality of Blu-ray would be worth it).

I also recall seeing the Rainbow gig at the cinema in 1974.
If a film master still exists (as opposed to video master) that too could make a fantastic Blu-ray.

A set of offical live televised DVD's would be nice. Rio, Wembley, Argentina, Japan. (And yes - even if it did mean Milton Keynes again!) - and that's just the stuff that has been officially available at some time on VHS.
Unreleased stuff: Earl's Court, Paris, Houston etc could be added as bonus DVD discs.

So I am not knocking re-releases per se, just (IMO) some older VHS' could be dusted down and released as some sort of priority digital format - before yet another re-re-re-release of 'Now That's What I Call Queen 17!"

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[b]John S Stuart wrote: [/b]



A set of offical live televised DVD's would be nice. Rio, Wembley, Argentina, Japan. (And yes - even if it did mean Milton Keynes again!) - and that's just the stuff that has been officially available at some time on VHS.

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Yeah, kind of like the Rush boxed set 'Replay'.  Although Argentina and Milton Keynes were never released on VHS...

John.

I've a feeling that a master must exist of the Rainbow gig.What do you think?Possibly with QPL.

Yea,you would have saw the Rainbow gig in the cinemas if you went to see Saturday Night Fever.I'd keep that quiet if i were you(only joking).It was the support film to that flick.At least it was in Glasgow.Although i seem to remember there was a cinema in Glasgow who specialised in showing Rock films on a Saturday night in the mid seventies.It was there i saw Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same film.

I think I joined Queenzone around 2000, and before that I was a member of Queenrocker (A similar notice board that crashed, and a lot of the users moved to this place).

Now, about 10 years later I still listen to Queen, (I've seen them 8 times on their previous tour) although I don't eat, breathe and live Queen as I used to. I've grown older and with my age also my musical taste and interest changed. I'm still a big admirer (I really hate the word fan) of Queen and now, as a music student and a composer, I still can be moved to tears by the sheer brilliance of Queen music, and the tremendous eye for detail these guys had, and still have.

Well, being 49 in a  few days, life moves on. I am and always will be a huge Queen fan but I really just enjoy listening to a cd or catching them on the radio these days. I don't rush out an buy all things Queen anymore and probably won't. I did offer to buy my son the rock band songs if he wanted......maybe even play the game with him too! Even though I've been a member of this board forever, I hardly post anymore because I'm not as "up" on Queen as I used to be. Time marches on........good to be here though!

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[b]Bo Rhap wrote: [/b]

John.

I've a feeling that a master must exist of the Rainbow gig.What do you think?Possibly with QPL.

Yea,you would have saw the Rainbow gig in the cinemas if you went to see Saturday Night Fever.I'd keep that quiet if i were you(only joking).It was the support film to that flick.At least it was in Glasgow.Although i seem to remember there was a cinema in Glasgow who specialised in showing Rock films on a Saturday night in the mid seventies.It was there i saw Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same film.[/QUOTE]
That's interesting BR, can you remember what Glasgow film house it was? Also, to JSS, is BR right and is this how you got to see it?

I never knew cinemas showed concert footage before feature films back in the 70s. Imagine going to see a film and as support to it, some rare Queen footage is shown... great promo

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[b]Van Basten 9 wrote: [/b]

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[b]Bo Rhap wrote: [/b]



John.

I've a feeling that a master must exist of the Rainbow gig.What do you think?Possibly with QPL.

Yea,you would have saw the Rainbow gig in the cinemas if you went to see Saturday Night Fever.I'd keep that quiet if i were you(only joking).It was the support film to that flick.At least it was in Glasgow.Although i seem to remember there was a cinema in Glasgow who specialised in showing Rock films on a Saturday night in the mid seventies.It was there i saw Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains The Same film.

[/QUOTE]
That's interesting BR, can you remember what Glasgow film house it was? Also, to JSS, is BR right and is this how you got to see it?

I never knew cinemas showed concert footage before feature films back in the 70s. Imagine going to see a film and as support to it, some rare Queen footage is shown... great promo





[/QUOTE]

BR is exactly 100% correct, and that too is how I got to see the film version.

My story differs in that - at that time there were also a lot more 'independant' cinemas as opposed to the giant cinema chains we have today. Most of these smaller 'alternative' cinemas have long closed down.

One of my favourites was the 'Capital' cinema in Aberdeen.
They screened the Rainbow gig not as the support to 'Saturday Night Fever' (it was the large chains which tied those two films together), rather, I saw the Rainbow concert as support to 'Enter The Dragon' - much more masculine.
(Incidently, Queen actually performed live at the Capitol Cinema in Aberdeen, earlier in the same year).

However, I am confused about the footage.
Was it shot on film - and later released on video?
Or
Was it shot on video - but later redited/ upscaled for cinema?

I have heard rumours of both - and even famous directors such as David Lynch has used video footage as a cinematic technique.
So was it really shot on film after all?

I think there's also a bit of normal natural 'honeymoon effect' being worn down after a while. You could say QueenZone already underwent its 'A Night at the Opera' some years ago, and now it's in a more 'The Works' period.

Things have also switched to other kinds of research: I remember seven years ago when I said [i]My Life Has Been Saved[/i] was John's, and how people thought it was an idiotic remark from a newbie. Now it's sort of common knowledge and is included in many websites. Of course, very little (if any) of the credit belongs to me (hadn't I written it here, one or two weeks later somebody else would've), but it's a good example: the songwriters' debate was big back then, as well as other things (e.g. what was played, who played what, who sang what, vocal ranges... oh I [b][i]loved[/i] [/b]that one) that are now more 'quotidian', and as such they lose some of their previous momentum.

I beg to differ with John, there [i]are[/i] loads of things yet to be discussed in depth, both in journalistic and musicological areas. For instance:

* Intervals used for harmony vocals, which could make a great database and offer loads of things if we analysed their recurrence both by creator, style and effect. Something similar could be done about piano parts, piano/bass interplay, guitar/bass interplay, drumming patterns, guitar ensembles, synth orchestras, etc.

* Origin and evolution of certain trends, labels and legends (e.g. exactly where was the '180 voices' myth first published, who was the first one to call Brian's guitar the Red Special, which was the first paper to mention Fred's disease or roots, etc).

* 'Reconstruction' videos: today I watched a bloke playing [i]Best Friend[/i] using an actual Wurlitzer piano. It was great to see him get the exact same sound and play the exact same notes. If that could be made by more people with more songs and bits it'd be ace! Imagine some of our QZ experts recording [i]Millionaire Waltz[/i] bit by bit and then mixing it to recreate the original, thus showing the next-best-thing until we can get hold of an actual 'Making of...' for the 'Races' album.

Let's put it this way: JS Bach died 259 years and 3 months ago, and there are still research groups, new books, debates, etc... finding new ways to analyse his oeuvre, new ways to interpret his cadences, new cross-references documented, new magic found behind each bar...

Sure, Queen were no Bach, their work didn't spawn that amount of pieces in that amount of styles, etc, etc... but still their music is interesting enough, good enough and still unresearched enough (not only for and by professional musicians BTW) to entertain us for 30+ years at least, [b]EVEN IF[/b] there were no support from the actual artists, no new products, etc.

If only...

I'd love to me more active in the forum. I love reading and talking about this amazing band, and I think there's still a good deal of interesting things to be discussed and, hey, listened to as well, for those who check the announce board regularly.

I've been studying a lot for my final exams and the end of the year is always a quite busy period.

So it's nothing personal. I don't have anything against the forum and I love the band, the music and the discussions.

I hope I can soon check out the website as often as I did and take part in it. : -))) 

Take care. Lots of love.

Nonsense!  There's plenty of topics to come - just think of the "Thank You" topic we can get started once Hangman finds it's way out there ...

I totally agree with Sebastian, There´s still so much to discuss, but I think most people here rather talk about Brian´s hair or if Freddie was bisexual or not... A shame really, since both aspects didn´t make them good composers.


As for me, I´m still thinkin about writing a book on Queen´s productional side. A shame that so little is known about a band so well known of their productional skills....