Joe Elliot: Brian was the big anchor of Queen

Joe Elliot as quoted in 'Brian May: The Definitive Biography" by Laura Jackson

"It is my personal belief that Brian was the big anchor of Queen. I don't take anything away from the other three, but had it not been for Brian then I think they would have become a pop band and not as big as they are.  Freddie, I feel, would have leaned more towards ballads and Roger to pop. 'Radio Ga Ga' is a terrific Queen number but very pop. The hard stuff is down to Brian.  I think he kept a crucial and unique balance in the band."

I think he meant "wig wanker".

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[b]GratefulFan wrote: [/b]

Joe Elliot as quoted in 'Brian May: The Definitive Biography" by Laura Jackson

"It is my personal belief that Brian was the big anchor of Queen. I don't take anything away from the other three, but had it not been for Brian then I think they would have become a pop band and not as big as they are.  Freddie, I feel, would have leaned more towards ballads and Roger to pop. 'Radio Ga Ga' is a terrific Queen number but very pop. The hard stuff is down to Brian.  I think he kept a crucial and unique balance in the band."[/QUOTE]


I fully agree

what a great discovery, Mr. Elliot.

no really?...of course brian was the rocker of the band,  but I can't see queen without songs like millianare waltz, the style that really set them apart from the basic rock bands.   let's face it,  a lot of bands were recording kick as stuff like stone cold crazy and tie your mother down.....name one band other than queen that were recording stuff like the millionare waltz?...It really was the balance of the freddie and brian songs that made queen who they were.

Depends on what you want to anchor to...

Sure, he played a major part in the rock hitsongs (I Want it All, Tie Your Mother Down, We Will Rock You etc) but John was the anchor when it came to black influences, and so on. I still like to think they all played a part in Queen (Perhaps John and Roger to a less extend than Brian and Freddie). But still, if Brian or Freddie would've been replaced in a crucial point in their carreer (74-'76) It would've been all so different.

I do not understand why people always try to divide a band into important or less important  members.

I think the sentence "the sum of a band is bigger than the sum of the individual members" says it all.
It's the chemistry of certain people getting together  that makes a band exciting.
Freddie and Brian definitely put their stamp on the Queen sound. But with Roger and John and their enormous stylistic variety they could work out all those ideas. 

Imagine the Beatles without Ringo...all their movies would have been quite boring as he was a brilliant actor and added so much to the visual image of the band. And yet people tend to say it was all Lennon and McCartney...

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[b]FriedChicken wrote: [/b]

Depends on what you want to anchor to...

Sure, he played a major part in the rock hitsongs (I Want it All, Tie Your Mother Down, We Will Rock You etc) but John was the anchor when it came to black influences, and so on. I still like to think they all played a part in Queen (Perhaps John and Roger to a less extend than Brian and Freddie). But still, if Brian or Freddie would've been replaced in a crucial point in their carreer (74-'76) It would've been all so different.
[/QUOTE]
That say's it all...In their prime...".the opera/races era "  No freddie, no Queen.  the same for brian of course.  you could never replace a singer like fred, also what most don't mention is the fact that his songwriting was by far the most original of the group, and one of the most original songwriters in rock history for that matter.   Of course his songs wouldn't have been the same without brian may....the sound of the guitar fit perfectly with freddie's style of songwriting.  "millionare waltz" say's it all.    No way does freddie get those results with a oridinary rock guitarist.  They needed each other big time.

I think Freddie had the biggest anchor.

Well, Freddie did write some of Queens heavy songs and riffs: Orgre Battle, Princes of the Universe, Bohemian Rhapsody, Great King Rat, Flick of the Wrist, Death on Two Legs, an so on.

I wish Queen had a drummer with one arm, I love freaks like that!

You know, I was actually going to reply that, if one was referring to Queen's later career, then the esteemed Mr. Elliott (whose music I do have a ton of respect for, actually) would be correct. Then I thought a little harder about it, and two things came to mind.

"Princes of the Universe"
"Was It All Worth It"

Sure, Freddie skewed towards ballads and three-chord pop later on, but even late in the band's career, he was still cranking out a (very) hard rocker or two per album. Roger's music skewed towards the abstract frequently, but he still wrote "I'm in Love with My Car" and "Rock It (Prime Jive)," both of which were definitely rock music. Really, about the only member who didn't contribute any songs to the string-breaking aspect of things was John.

I get what Joe's saying, and I know where he's going with it. No Brian = no Now I'm Here, no TYMD, no WWRY, no FBG, no Hammer to Fall, no IWIA. But before one pins Brian as the band's king of hard rock, let's not forget...

...this is also the guy who wrote "Save Me," "Las Palabras de Amor," "Who Wants to Live Forever" and most of the band's acoustic ballads.

For those who are just as puzzled as me...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Elliott

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[b]Rubbersuit wrote: [/b]

I think Freddie had the biggest anchor.[/QUOTE]



LOL

and let's not forget...some of queen's loudest and biggest rockers...were Freddie's songs

Liar
Great King Rat
Ogre Battle
March of the Black Queen
Seven Seas of Rhye
Death on Two Legs