Queen Extravaganza

Never argue with a true passive/agressive person, you will surely wind up placing the bucket over your own head and walk away.

My dear, you are being quite silly! Obvious as the nose on your face. Marc must have somehow rubbed you the wrong way (ah yes, even tho you say he is a great singer) He IS what some of us, if not ALL of us have waited for. This is repetitive...he can do the songs justice if only Brian and Roger will take him on.

Where's the bucket?

Unlurking...

Martel said in interviews that he does push his voice to do Freddie but he doesn't have to go far to get there, and also that in his own music he's trying to find his own voice and not sound like someone else. However, he also said that even when he tries not to sound like Freddie, he still gets people coming up to him after Downhere concerts with the "You sound like that guy from Queen" line.

I got sucked into buying some his band's music and I noticed that in their earlier songs, Martel tends to sound more Freddie-like. In their recent songs, he tends to sound (strangely enough) more like George Michael from the Wham! days. Since George Michael also sounds great singing Queen, it makes me think there's some underlying thread in the voices of Freddie, Martel and Michael that I'm not musically knowledgeable enough to pinpoint.

I think Martel's Freddie-voice has more to do with phrasing and intonation (e.g. sing with an English accent) than changing the timbre of his voice. On the QE tour, I think he is singing "Love of My Life" in his "natural" voice since the arrangement doesn't seem to match a version that Queen has done. It's also (to my ears) the song where he sounds the least like Freddie although I can still hear traces of Freddie-ness in parts.

Seal was crap. George Michael was good and tasteful, and the only reason that people have such fond memories of his performance is because they were expecting Wham fluff, and what they got was competence. They'd forgotten that he could sing a song decently, and the surprise has lingered ever since then.

Roger Daltrey was really the only guy who delivered a song as intended at the Tribute. He gave it a good kicking, and the only people who don't like that performance are the same poor nutjobs who just don't get The Who.

Now that we have all of that out of the way, please - stop smoking whatever it is that you're smoking. Paul Rodgers was crap. He impressed me on his first couple of outings because he sounded like he was trying, but he very quickly turned the Queen shows into cruisy, boring, risk-free ventures. When the album came around, his nauseating voice had really overstayed its welcome. "I wander threeeeuuuuhh the niiiight". Holy crap, anyone who could keep their food in their stomach during that song should work at the Ipecac Testing Ground.

The fact that Brian's "I Want It All" was better than Paul Rodgers' (who is supposed to be some kind of big name fuckin' singer) speaks volumes. PR couldn't remember the lyrics half of the time, and wasted his breath trying to be some kind of blues hero, with unnecessary and vomitous blues trills left right and center - all the while relying on Brian to save the day when it got to the tough bits. 'I want it NOOOOOWWWW' - that big B note? That was Brian.

Fact is that there's nothing really wrong with what Martel is doing, and you don't know how to handle it. You are genuinely ill if you think the idea of hiring the right man for the job equates to some kind of disrespect, after all these years of flawed collaborations, mismatches and plain bad decisions. Seek help, or at the very least get someone who knows the English language to help to understand what 'disrespect' actually means, because I suspect you haven't got a damned clue.

"and the only people with "similar" reputation and career should be put into position of lead singer with Brian and Roger. How many singers in the world have the similar reputation as Freddie? Very very few.... "

I can't get over how absolutely stupid this is... Do you suggest they hire someone who's crap because they've got a 'reputation', and what - ignore capable performers because they don't??

Help me to understand this, because you make absolutely no sense.

[QUOTE] [b]AdamMethos wrote:[/b]
Unlurking...

I think Martel's Freddie-voice has more to do with phrasing and intonation (e.g. sing with an English accent) than changing the timbre of his voice. On the QE tour, I think he is singing "Love of My Life" in his "natural" voice since the arrangement doesn't seem to match a version that Queen has done. It's also (to my ears) the song where he sounds the least like Freddie although I can still hear traces of Freddie-ness in parts.[/QUOTE]

Hello, recently unlurked too. I agree. I like his rendition of LOML, yet, wasn't expecting the lack of Freddie-ness. I'm having a tough time accepting the girl even though I understand why she's there. I think to Roger it was mostly about sound, quality and of course entertainment. Did you see QE or are you going to?

Zebonka12:
We will never agree in this. Case closed. :)

Its legitimate - you probably still want to find 2nd Freddie (I mean vocally), once you would probably agree with Gary Mullen, now Marc Martel was "discovered"... In 2013-2014 its maybe going to be another guy from European version of Queen Extravaganza? My opinion is that admiting that "he sounds similarly enough as Freddie that he cooperate with Brian and Roger and they should make a charade almost like that we are back in 1980s" is dehonesting of Freddie´s and Queen´s name. Freddie was unique. Period. Sorry, but thats how I see that.

My opinion is that Brian&Roger should cooperate with people on their own level = music legends. My opinion is that "closest to the original" and "highest quality" is not the same, because you can never achieve that original, so why even "try"? Is that so hard to understand? :)

[QUOTE] [b]ptr wrote:[/b]
Zebonka12:
We will never agree in this. Case closed. :)
Its legitimate - you probably still want to find 2nd Freddie (I mean vocally), once you would probably agree with Gary Mullen, now Marc Martel was "discovered"... In 2013-2014 its maybe going to be another guy from European version of Queen Extravaganza? My opinion is that admiting that "he sounds similarly enough as Freddie that he cooperate with Brian and Roger and they should make a charade almost like that we are back in 1980s" is dehonesting of Freddie´s and Queen´s name. Freddie was unique. Period. Sorry, but thats how I see that.
My opinion is that Brian&Roger should cooperate with people on their own level = music legends. My opinion is that "closest to the original" and "highest quality" is not the same, because you can never achieve that original, so why even "try"? Is that so hard to understand? :)[/QUOTE]

Gary Mullen? Nice guy but how to place him and Martel in the same basket? Please, don't answer this because the way I see it, that is disrespectful to remaining Queen. It was put this way, its a feeling, along with talent and a lot of other things that make it jive. MM is the first I've seen that could have what it takes all around. He wont upstage Bri and Rog (PR and AL) and he just has "it". That is if the chemistry is right and of course that's up to remaining Queen.

Well, my young friend, you have been entertaining, sort of.

I'm no expert. I only know what I enjoy. BTW, this is a great site for learning. Thanks to all of you who contribute so much to this site, much appreciated. The humor can make my otherwise mundane day.

"once you would probably agree with Gary Mullen"

I'm peering through the murk of your Pidgin English to try and understand what it is you're saying here. I don't care for Gary Mullen. He was once very good. The last time I heard him he'd lost his voice. In any case, I wouldn't like to see him performing with Queen.

It's not about an impersonation, it's about doing the music a service. Martel does that, consistently.

You are being wildly illogical, here. What is your assertion - that they shouldn't be playing with anyone because nobody is Freddie? If that were your opinion then you wouldn't be singing the praises of Paul "Hey Who Am I Singing For Again?" Rodgers.

Maybe you're having a hard time getting your opinion across because I only care about the music, and you've got some other asinine considerations at the forefront of your thinking. I think that's probably it.

And, it really needs to be said - Freddie doesn't need respect. He's dead. Dead people don't care. You have the records there if you want to reminisce. Some of us are more interested in fucking living.

Are we getting to the phase that you ask me the names, that I would love to see with Brian and Roger on stage? There are not many singers in their league, but I mentioned one of them - I would love to see them touring with John Farnham (he already did WWRY with them):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lIY1UQSTxuo

Then comes "return" of Paul Rodgers. We have absolutely different opinion about him. Another singer who I can imagine on stage with Queen would be Glenn Hughes (I know how controversial his singing style is - his other Queen cover of Killer Queen is terrible):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4ejFiJPS98

Sadly that´s just my imagination and fiction after May 2010 - I would love to know how would Queen sound with RJD, because he was awesome singing improviser on stage - he sang songs different each night and thats what I like to hear (Rodgers does similar thing, but he´s not that kind of "master" in that as Ronnie was).

For my two cents: Having Marc Martel sing Queen songs is far from disrespectful. I saw that man live in Detroit, and he was amazing. He didn't copy Freddie's moves, and he sang with his own style. The only way to disrespect Freddie's memory is to have a Freddie clone (that copies the stage moves, etc), sing with Brian/Roger and then slap the Queen name on it. Gary Mullen is a fantastic Freddie impersonator, but it will be illogical to have him work with Brian/Roger (and Gary himself admits that he's just a fan that wants to pay tribute to Freddie's legacy).

Marc Martel has a voice that "fits" with Queen's music, and he delivers the songs very well. I talked to many people after the Detroit show, and everybody was praising Marc for his delivery of the songs. Nobody complained about "he's not Freddie" or anything. There was also younger kids that were talking to their parents about "that amazing Marc guy" and stuff.

As for his TSMGO rendition, Marc does have a few rough moments--but considering how difficult that song is to sing, he did a good job. I'll take him singing that song over Adam Lambert any day of the week. He did perform that song in the original key!

[QUOTE] [b]Fone Bone wrote:[/b]
For GregSynth : Does Martel sing TSMGO in the original key ? It sounds as if he does, and suffers for it a bit.
Is Jennifer Espinoza really the seriously pitch-challenged singer we see and hear on YouTube ?
[/QUOTE]
Indeed, TSMGO is in the same key as the original, B minor.

It looks like Espinoza just had opening night jitters in Montreal. She was most excellent in Toronto when I saw it.

Zebonka is bang on.

Perhaps he's a bit hard on Paul Rodgers, but his assessment of the bigger picture is absolutely spot on.

Mercury is dead, and people need to get over it. QE is all about being true the music and bringing it to the next generation in the finest way possible. They are the first band since Queen to do justice to the Queen back catalog. If anyone is within 100 miles of a QE show and chooses to give it a pass for whatever reason, you are truly missing out.

"I would love to know how would Queen sound with RJD, because he was awesome singing improviser on stage - he sang songs different each night and thats what I like to hear "

You'd get no argument from me there - Ronnie was absolutely the most glaring omission from the Tribute. I have never understood why he wasn't there for a song. Anyone who's ever heard "Feelings, Feelings" and then listened to some Elf records has to know that there was definitely room for a Dio guest spot at the Tribute. I really reckon he had the right sensibility as a performer to do Queen material some justice, even if it was only as a one-off.

It's the sensibility that is hard to nail down. I remember listening to the last time the guy from The Darkness sang Tie Your Mother Down. And it's the weirdest thing. Despite the fact that he sounded tired and not really like someone who was putting any effort in, he still sounded sort of right for the song. It's hard to really pin down what I mean, there. I would never suggest him for guesting with Queen, but he's in that branch of the rock tree (on a good day).

It really isn't just about range (Farnham) or reputation (Rodgers). Marc's just putting his head down and his tail up and doing the job the right way - trial by fire and all of that. It'd be one thing if he'd had a great Youtube audition but wasn't all that great live (like the guy that Jason Bonham discovered on Youtube and was touring with for a while there). Martel is proving himself in the most real way possible - gigging!

"Perhaps he's a bit hard on Paul Rodgers"

Oh, I know I am.. if I'm harsh with PR it's because I still feel a little let down. When Q+PR were cooking, you knew about it. To see when they started coasting has always been a bit of a sucker punch for me, and maybe PR isn't the one to blame - I'm not a mindreader, it might've just been the group dynamic sort of collapsing. It might've been an interesting experiment but I think it was destined to be a short lived one.

Zebonka12: Even though we disagree with ptr we should speak nicely to him. He has been very calm and tackled on the ball so far. We can disagree with him without insulting him ;)

.