stark
Longest post in the world? Do I get a prize?
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Sebastian
Wonderful.
Rami
Great! Thank you!!
frank-nl
Many thanks for this.
Sebastian
Bumped, as it makes a very interesting read.
Sebastian
Bumped again.
dudeofqueen
......and what do we get from this? Brian May is a twat.
slithybill
Thanks for bumping this. I missed it the first time around.
It's interesting how Mack ended up being the co-producer on "The Game." The CLTCL single lists Queen as the only producer. Same thing with the Save Me 7", except the picture sleeve states "Engineered by Mack." I seem to recall an interview where Brian mentions having a new engineer in Munich. I don't remember if he mentioned Mack by name or not.
It's interesting how Mack ended up being the co-producer on "The Game." The CLTCL single lists Queen as the only producer. Same thing with the Save Me 7", except the picture sleeve states "Engineered by Mack." I seem to recall an interview where Brian mentions having a new engineer in Munich. I don't remember if he mentioned Mack by name or not.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]dudeofqueen wrote:[/b]
......and what do we get from this? Brian May is a twat.[/QUOTE]
Or maybe Mack was in over his head dealing with a huge band like Queen, trying to change one of the trademarks of their sound because he was so absorbed into 80s digital technology and was so obviously anti-guitar. Who has he worked with since? Nobody. That should tell you all you need to know about him.
"[Freddie] wouldn’t even listen to it or come in. Whereas Brian would stay until the bitter end."
And this is somehow meant to slag him off? Brian was a perfectionist, and he cared about what his music sounded like. This is to be condemned?
This anecdote from Mack reveals that Mercury didn't even care enough about his music to hang around during the final mixing stage. What kind of professional musician does that? The man who oversaw every last bit of Bohemian Rhapsody a few years earlier now just trusted the producer to make a decent enough final mix?
I think this tidbit about Mercury is far more revealing than anything said about Brian May. Around this time Mercury said his music was disposable. It's becoming clear that Mercury's work ethic tanked in the middle Queen years. His brain was in the gay bars and not in the studio where it used to be. And if we look at the songwriting credits, none of the big hits in the early-mid 80s were composed by Mercury. Deacon and Taylor picked up the slack.
Combine this with the recent revelations from The Great Pretender documentary. He became so full of himself that he thought he could make something as good as Thriller all on his own. He wrote about 15 songs and used the best 11 for his album, whereas MJ had a team of the best writers money could buy and out of dozens of songs they picked the best nine. The flop of Mr Bad Guy was a reawakening, and was probably the best thing that could've happened to Mercury at the time as it made him realize how important the band was. And then, bang - Live Aid happened.
......and what do we get from this? Brian May is a twat.[/QUOTE]
Or maybe Mack was in over his head dealing with a huge band like Queen, trying to change one of the trademarks of their sound because he was so absorbed into 80s digital technology and was so obviously anti-guitar. Who has he worked with since? Nobody. That should tell you all you need to know about him.
"[Freddie] wouldn’t even listen to it or come in. Whereas Brian would stay until the bitter end."
And this is somehow meant to slag him off? Brian was a perfectionist, and he cared about what his music sounded like. This is to be condemned?
This anecdote from Mack reveals that Mercury didn't even care enough about his music to hang around during the final mixing stage. What kind of professional musician does that? The man who oversaw every last bit of Bohemian Rhapsody a few years earlier now just trusted the producer to make a decent enough final mix?
I think this tidbit about Mercury is far more revealing than anything said about Brian May. Around this time Mercury said his music was disposable. It's becoming clear that Mercury's work ethic tanked in the middle Queen years. His brain was in the gay bars and not in the studio where it used to be. And if we look at the songwriting credits, none of the big hits in the early-mid 80s were composed by Mercury. Deacon and Taylor picked up the slack.
Combine this with the recent revelations from The Great Pretender documentary. He became so full of himself that he thought he could make something as good as Thriller all on his own. He wrote about 15 songs and used the best 11 for his album, whereas MJ had a team of the best writers money could buy and out of dozens of songs they picked the best nine. The flop of Mr Bad Guy was a reawakening, and was probably the best thing that could've happened to Mercury at the time as it made him realize how important the band was. And then, bang - Live Aid happened.
on my way up
Great post by The Real Wizard.
tcc
"[Freddie] wouldn’t even listen to it or come in. Whereas Brian would stay until the bitter end."
If we extrapolate from this statement, it means that Brian was finally "responsible" for the Hot Space album which a lot of fans do not like. I must say that I like it :-)
I am sure that if Freddie was interviewed and asked about this aspect, he would have a good explanation for it.
If we extrapolate from this statement, it means that Brian was finally "responsible" for the Hot Space album which a lot of fans do not like. I must say that I like it :-)
I am sure that if Freddie was interviewed and asked about this aspect, he would have a good explanation for it.
The Real Wizard
Let's not forget the compromise factor. Plus, Deacon was in the room too and he quite liked the direction the band was going in.
dudeofqueen
The Real Wizard, re:
>"[Freddie] wouldn’t even listen to it or come in. Whereas Brian would stay until the bitter end."
What I get from the whole interview is that Brian's need to lavish everything with overdubs and the search for the perfection he's so frequently lauded for stripped the band of any inspiration and excitement in the studio. No wonder Freddie couldn't be bothered; imagine sitting around whilst a guitarist tunes up and then spends hours in his own little world on one of your songs and still doesn't get it. The spark you had disappears very quickly and the spontanaity is lost.
Its just like overdubbing a studio solo on a live recording.......no need or point to it at all.
>"[Freddie] wouldn’t even listen to it or come in. Whereas Brian would stay until the bitter end."
What I get from the whole interview is that Brian's need to lavish everything with overdubs and the search for the perfection he's so frequently lauded for stripped the band of any inspiration and excitement in the studio. No wonder Freddie couldn't be bothered; imagine sitting around whilst a guitarist tunes up and then spends hours in his own little world on one of your songs and still doesn't get it. The spark you had disappears very quickly and the spontanaity is lost.
Its just like overdubbing a studio solo on a live recording.......no need or point to it at all.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]dudeofqueen wrote:[/b]
What I get from the whole interview is that Brian's need to lavish everything with overdubs and the search for the perfection he's so frequently lauded for stripped the band of any inspiration and excitement in the studio.
[/QUOTE]
It did them just fine from Queen II through Jazz. That perfectionism (from all four members, not just Brian) is what created classic records with a sound that was uniquely theirs.
What changed?
What I get from the whole interview is that Brian's need to lavish everything with overdubs and the search for the perfection he's so frequently lauded for stripped the band of any inspiration and excitement in the studio.
[/QUOTE]
It did them just fine from Queen II through Jazz. That perfectionism (from all four members, not just Brian) is what created classic records with a sound that was uniquely theirs.
What changed?
Sebastian
Not wanting to turn this into a(nother) Freddie vs Brian thread, it's important to consider that there are many sides to every story, and loads of stories have been told about all of this.
Brian once said (I think it was on International Musician... in '82) that they were ALL giving Mack a lot more freedom and would sometimes just leave him alone to mix and then the author of the song would suggest ideas and that was it. On the same interview, Brian confirmed that Freddie, Mack and David did the final mix of 'Under Pressure'.
So it wasn't like Freddie didn't give a fuck and Brian was the workaholic music genius ... they all had their moments, both good and bad.
Mack's a great producer and he's worked with people such as Extreme and Black Sabbath after his Queen years, so it's not like he's an utter failure... and it's not like he hates guitars. 'Play with Me' has loads of guitar work, and it's excellent both in performance and sound.
Brian once said (I think it was on International Musician... in '82) that they were ALL giving Mack a lot more freedom and would sometimes just leave him alone to mix and then the author of the song would suggest ideas and that was it. On the same interview, Brian confirmed that Freddie, Mack and David did the final mix of 'Under Pressure'.
So it wasn't like Freddie didn't give a fuck and Brian was the workaholic music genius ... they all had their moments, both good and bad.
Mack's a great producer and he's worked with people such as Extreme and Black Sabbath after his Queen years, so it's not like he's an utter failure... and it's not like he hates guitars. 'Play with Me' has loads of guitar work, and it's excellent both in performance and sound.