Yes for me they were a rock band, but a lot of people don't like pigeonholing them. When they changed to a more pop orientation on their 80's albums they still rocked them up in a live setting which says to me they were a rock band you only have to listen the Hot Space material live
Russian Headlong · Member since
Unfortunately they did have a large pop output mainly after the Game. Personally, I prefer their Hard Rock sound and despise the poppy stuff they came up with later. they are by no means the only Rock band to lighten and make poppy tracks, Genesis, The Who are other examples. Then they would not have had the mass appeal today if they had just stayed as a hard rock band. I think the admission that Hot Space didnt work showed that most hard core fans saw them as Rock and fans of the light weight stuff in the 80's came to like them later in their career. Freddie embraced disco sound in the 80's but he still liked the more metal sounds just listen to Princes of the Universe or Seven Seas of Rhye. John was always a fan of motown and funkier sounds at odds with Roger and Brian who were more traditional Rockeras although Roger went through a phase in the 80's of using a lot of Synths in his compositions.
kruh · Member since
They played all kind of music. But they are definetly a rock band, jus listen to a live albums and you can see that the music is very powerfull on 90% of the tracks, for exsample Wembly 86, they are a rock band!
Over the Field · Member since
They are a rock band. Rock band with different eras f.e. heavy metal, pop rock, disco etc.
My favourite is the progressive rock era (the first two albums I think).
lifetimefanofqueen · Member since
Russian Headlong wrote: Unfortunately they did have a large pop output mainly after the Game. Personally, I prefer their Hard Rock sound and despise the poppy stuff they came up with later. they are by no means the only Rock band to lighten and make poppy tracks, Genesis, The Who are other examples. Then they would not have had the mass appeal today if they had just stayed as a hard rock band. I think the admission that Hot Space didnt work showed that most hard core fans saw them as Rock and fans of the light weight stuff in the 80's came to like them later in their career. Freddie embraced disco sound in the 80's but he still liked the more metal sounds just listen to Princes of the Universe or Seven Seas of Rhye. John was always a fan of motown and funkier sounds at odds with Roger and Brian who were more traditional Rockeras although Roger went through a phase in the 80's of using a lot of Synths in his compositions.
============================= aye, and there's Brian's solo albums, some of the songs in it were in a way a wee bit more Rock than what they made as Queen, Resurrection for example was more "heavy" than they could have made as Queen, and the music video is alot more heavy rock than their Queen videos, the fire etc, i personally love the video but can only find one on youtube and the sound quality is pretty shit. but princes of the universe is quite heavy and the video also quite heavy with the building crumbling and stuff smashing, but its not as "heavy" as resurrection.
lifetimefanofqueen · Member since
Over the Field wrote: They are a rock band. Rock band with different eras f.e. heavy metal, pop rock, disco etc.
My favourite is the progressive rock era (the first two albums I think).
==================================== same, i'm "studying" them for a project in literature (we have to write poems, or pretend to be a fan at a concert, or just write a mini story etc...) and me teacher said i could write about their rise to fame from the 70s to the 80s but personally i think their fame point was the early 70s, (well, its my favourite years so i'll say "fame") first 5 albums are my favourite, (which coincidently have been remastered for their 40th as you all know, (might put something about that in) i love their first album and sheer heart attack, my favourite, i also love the clothes they wore in the early days, very rock 'n' roll, you gotta admire them for that, so defiantly they were more of a Rock band in the early days,
No, they're not a "rock band"... They're a GREAT rock band!
brENsKi · Member since
Jazz 78 wrote: No, they're not a "rock band"... They're a GREAT rock band! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
correction: they were a great rock band
for example: Deep Purple minus Ritchie Blackmore = ordinary rock band queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band the who minus moon & entwhistle = ordinary rock band
kiss +/- ace & peter = ordinary rock band
Amazon · Member since
brENsKi wrote: "queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band"
I would say Queen minus Freddie= pretty good rock band (No-One But You IMO was fantastic), and Queen minus Freddie and John= aren't Queen.
qrock · Member since
Are Queen A Rock Band?
Well let's have a look at.
Queen I:
Keep Yourself Alive (Rock), Doing All Right (Rock), Great King Rat (Rock), My Fairy King (Rock), Liar (Rock), The Night Comes Down (Rock), Modern Times Rock n Roll (Rock), Son and Daughter (Rock), Jesus (Rock), Seven Seas of Rhye (Rock). All 10 songs are Rock.
Queen II: Procession (Rock), Father to Son (Rock), White Queen (Rock), Someday One Day (Rock), The Loser in the End (Rock), Ogre Battle (Rock), The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke (Rock), Nevermore (Rock), The March of the Black Queen (Rock), Funny How Love Is (Rock), Seven Seas of Rhye (Rock). All 11 songs are Rock.
Sheer Heart Attack: Brighton Rock (Rock), Killer Queen (Pop), Tenement Funster (Rock), Flick of the Wrist (Rock), Lily of the Valley (Rock), Now I'm Here (Rock), In the Lap of the Gods (Rock), Stone Cold Crazy (Rock), Dear Friends (Rock), Misfire (Pop), Bring Back that Leroy Brown (Rock), She Makes Me (Rock), In the Lap of the Gods Revisited (Rock). 11 songs out of 13 are Rock - Killer Queen and Misfire are Pop.
A Night at the Opera: Death on Two Legs (Rock), Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon (Rock), I'm in Love with my Car (Rock), You're My Best Friend (Pop), 39 (Rock), Sweet Lady (Rock), Seaside Rendzevous (Pop), The Prophet's Song (Rock), Love of My Life (Rock), Good Company (Rock), Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock), God Save the Queen (Rock). 10 songs out of 12 are Rock. You're My Best Friend and Seaside Rendezvous are Pop.
A Day at the Races: Tie Your Mother Down (Rock), You Take My Breath Away (Pop), Long Away (Rock), The Millionaire Waltz (Rock), You and I (Pop), Somebody to Love (Rock), White Man (Rock), Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Pop), Drowse (Rock), Teo Torriatte (Rock). 7 out of 10 songs are Rock. You Take My Breath Away, You and I and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy are Pop.
News of the World: We Will Rock You (Rock), We are the Champions (Rock), Sheer Heart Attack (Rock), All Dead, All Dead (Rock), Spread Your Wings (Rock), Fight From the Inside (Rock), Get Down Make Love (Rock), Sleeping on the Sidewalk (Rock), Who Needs You (Rock), It's Late (Rock), My Melancholy Blues (Pop). 10 out of 11 songs are Rock. My Melancholy Blues is Pop.
Jazz: Mustapha (Rock), Fat Bottomed Girls (Rock), Jealousy (Rock), Bicycle Race (Rock), If You Can't Beat Them (Rock), Let Me Entertain You (Rock), Dead on Time (Rock), In Only Seven Days (Rock), Dreamer's Ball (Rock), Leaving Home Ain't Easy (Rock) Fun It (Pop), Don't Stop Me Now (Rock), More of that Jazz (Rock). 12 out of 13 songs are Rock. Fun It is Pop.
The Game: Play the Game (Rock), Dragon Attack (Rock), Another One Bites the Dust (Rock), Need Your Loving Tonight (Rock), Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Rock), Rock It (Rock), Don't Try Suicide (Rock), Sail Away Sweet Sister (Rock), Coming Soon (Pop), Save Me (Rock). 9 out of 10 songs are Rock. Coming Soon is Pop.
Flash Gordon: Flash (Rock), The Hero (Rock), Football Fight (Rock)
Hot Space: Staying Power (Pop), Dancer (Pop), Back Chat (Pop), Body Language (Pop), Action this Day (Pop), Put Out the Fire (Rock), Life is Real (Rock), Calling All Girls (Rock), Las Palabras de Amor (Rock), Cool Cat (Pop), Under Pressure (Rock). 5 out of 11 songs are Rock. Staying Power, Dancer, Back Chat, Body Language, Action This Day and Cool Cat are Pop.
The Works: Radio Ga Ga (Pop), Tear it Up (Rock), It's a Hard Life (Rock), Man on the Prowl (Rock), Machines (Rock), I Want to Break Free (Pop), Keep Passing the Open Windows (Rock), Hammer to Fall (Rock), Is this the World We Created (Rock). 7 out of 9 songs are Rock. Radio Ga Ga and I Want to Break Free are Pop.
Thank God It's Christmas (Pop)
A Kind of Magic: One Vision (Rock), One Year of Love (Pop), A Kind of Magic (Pop), Pain is So Close to Pleasure (Pop), Friends Will Be Friends (Rock), Who Wants to Live Forever (Rock), Gimme the Prize (Rock), Don't Lose Your Head (Pop), Princes of the Universe (Rock). 5 out of 9 songs are Rock. One Year of Love, A Kind of Magic, Pain is So Close to Pleasure and Don't Lose Your Head are Pop.
The Miracle: Party (Rock), Khashoggi's Ship (Rock), The Miracle (Rock), I Want it All (Rock), The Invisible Man (Pop), Breakthru (Rock), Rain Must Fall (Pop), Scandal (Rock), My Baby Does Me (Pop), Was it All Worth it (Rock). 7 out of 10 songs are Rock. The Invisible Man, Rain Must Fall and My Baby Does Me are Pop.
Innuendo: Innuendo (Rock), I'm Going Slightly Mad (Rock), Headlong (Rock), I Can't Live with You (Rock), Don't Try So Hard (Rock), Ride the Wild Wind (Pop), All God's People (Rock), These are the Days of Our Lives (Rock), Delilah (Pop), The Hitman (Rock), Bijou (Rock), The Show Must Go On (Rock),. 10 out of 12 songs are Rock. Ride the Wild Wind and Delilah are Pop.
Made in Heaven: It's a Beautiful Day (Rock), Made in Heaven (Rock), Let Me Live (Rock), Mother Love (Rock), My Life Has Been Saved (Rock), I Was Born to Love You (Rock), Heaven for Everyone (Rock), Too Much Love Will Kill You (Rock), You Don't Fool Me (Rock), A Winter's Tale (Rock), It's a Beautiful Day (Rock). All 12 songs are Rock.
Amazon wrote: brENsKi wrote: "queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band"
I would say Queen minus Freddie= pretty good rock band (No-One But You IMO was fantastic), and Queen minus Freddie and John= aren't Queen.
===================== aye, to many rabbits gone, (been watching watership down and my obsession has returned) they can write stuff and make musicals and exhibitions but thats about it
rhyeking · Member since
Good post, Qrock. I agree with most of it. Some tracks I would argue rest on the border between Pop and Rock, such "Play The Game" and "Don't Stop Me Now" (among others).
You missed some of the Non-album tracks:
Mad The Swine (Rock) See What A Fool I've Been (Rock) A Human Body (Rock) Soul Brother (Rock) I Go Crazy (Rock) Rock In Rio Blues (Rock) Blurred Vision (Rock) Forever (Rock) A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling (Rock) A Kind Of 'A Kind Of Magic' (Pop) Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends (Rock) Hang On In There (Rock) Chinese Torture (Rock) Hijack My Heart (Rock) Stealin' (Rock) Lost Opportunity (Rock) Invincible Hope (Rock) The Call (Rock) Amandala (Pop)
The Cosmos Rocks: Cosmos Rockin' (Rock) Time To Shine (Rock) Still Burnin' (Rock) Small (Pop) Warboys (Rock) We Believe (Rock) Call Me (Pop) Voodoo (Rock) Some Things That Glitter (Pop) C-Lebrity (Rock) Through The Night (Rock) Say It's Not True (Rock) Surf's Up...School's Out (Rock)
And yes, these count (except maybe "Warboys," as that was a Paul Rodger's solo track before he recorded it with Queen). If we count "Doing All Right" and "See What A Fool I've Been" (both Smile tracks), we can through "Warboys" in there too.
And also yes, the Queen + Paul Rodgers material counts too. Not liking it and not considering it proper "Queen,' is a silly old argument. Brian and Roger are Queen, with Freddie and John's blessings, so thankfully popular votes don't count in that regard. No offense.
I also didn't include the covers in the list, like "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime," and "Runaway," nor did I include the alternate recordings of "Keep Yourself Alive" and "My Life Has Been Saved."
I also, arguably, include "A Kind Of 'A Kind Of Magic,'" "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends" and "Blurred Vision," because as the Complete Vision boxed set established for me, a track qualifies as unique and individual if granted a name of its own by the band, no matter the nature of the recording or remixing.
