crazy duck
why did the 1st line up of the bri may band change? I know bri was quoted as saying he felt the band" didn't gel" but got to thinking if there was a bit more to it?
Thread
Posts in chronological order
vince73
Saw that first lineup here in Buenos Aires back in 1992. He shared vocals with Chris Thompson... Was fine.
I think the second lineup was more attractive visually.
Younger (i guess) backup singers and al the limelight for a Brian singing all the vocals without Chris help.
Sometimes the markenting guys tells the stars some ideas.
I think the second lineup was more attractive visually.
Younger (i guess) backup singers and al the limelight for a Brian singing all the vocals without Chris help.
Sometimes the markenting guys tells the stars some ideas.
cmsdrums
I think the first guitarist (Mike Caswell) only lasted one tour until he was replaced with Jamie Moses; turned out to be a great move for Jamie!!
tomchristie22
I think the band would've done better to make less use of those female backing vocalists - sure, they fit in on some songs, particularly those where they also performed on the studio versions, but they're completely out of place on other tracks like Resurrection. I guess I'm just biased in that I prefer male voices on Brian's Queen-esque tracks.
Also, their dancing was atrocious and inexplicable.
Also, their dancing was atrocious and inexplicable.
dudeofqueen
Yep - the "exchange" between Brian and that Cathy Porter in 'Love Token' was cringeworthy.
Having said that though, Shelley Preston looked great. Then he went and employed those "Fabba" girls with the enormous asses and rubbish voices for the AW shows........
Having said that though, Shelley Preston looked great. Then he went and employed those "Fabba" girls with the enormous asses and rubbish voices for the AW shows........
matt z
[QUOTE] [b]dudeofqueen wrote:[/b]
Yep - the "exchange" between Brian and that Cathy Porter in 'Love Token' was cringeworthy.
Having said that though, Shelley Preston looked great. Then he went and employed those "Fabba" girls with the enormous asses and rubbish voices for the AW shows........[/QUOTE]
Well. . Just think of the "PERKS" u nitwit
Think he's with uhh. .. what's her. ... um what's her ... that girl who was the witch..... pretty hot. Wide hips salivating aPpearance?
(Snaps fingers)
They
They just put out a live album. .. Brian and some .... chick. ... parry.... party?
Terri pelvis?
Oh right. ...
*think he's with her because she's unappreciated talent?
Yep - the "exchange" between Brian and that Cathy Porter in 'Love Token' was cringeworthy.
Having said that though, Shelley Preston looked great. Then he went and employed those "Fabba" girls with the enormous asses and rubbish voices for the AW shows........[/QUOTE]
Well. . Just think of the "PERKS" u nitwit
Think he's with uhh. .. what's her. ... um what's her ... that girl who was the witch..... pretty hot. Wide hips salivating aPpearance?
(Snaps fingers)
They
They just put out a live album. .. Brian and some .... chick. ... parry.... party?
Terri pelvis?
Oh right. ...
*think he's with her because she's unappreciated talent?
dudeofqueen
.....and his "life partner" looks like she's been pulled sideways and backwards through a barbed wire fence then along a gravel road.
Sort of no contest really.
Sort of no contest really.
brian-harold-may 26643
Mike Casswell was sacked pretty much because he was too good...yep...even rock Gods like Brian have an ego ;)
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason.
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason.
Vocal harmony
If BM didn't want to be blown off stage by Mike Casswells solo's he wouldn't have given him any solos to play. And if you're talking about the harmony guitar parts he would have had to pay what was rehersed or it would sound crap.
Caswell wasn't sacked, together with the rest of the band he was hired to play only that first tour.
That first line up didn't gel to BM's liking. Chris Thomson was only on that first tour to supply support to BM's vocals as he wasn't sure if his voice could cope with singing a full show night after night.
Caswell wasn't sacked, together with the rest of the band he was hired to play only that first tour.
That first line up didn't gel to BM's liking. Chris Thomson was only on that first tour to supply support to BM's vocals as he wasn't sure if his voice could cope with singing a full show night after night.
cmsdrums
[QUOTE] [b]brian-harold-may 26643 wrote:[/b]
Mike Casswell was sacked pretty much because he was too good...yep...even rock Gods like Brian have an ego ;)
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason. [/QUOTE]
Yes, Mike Caswell likes to tell the story that Brian dispensed with services after that first tour because he didn't like Mike 'showing off' and playing killer solos when he was given one, but that's just bitterness if you ask me.
Brian is unanimously said to be one of the nicest guys in the music business, regulalrly guests with players that he admits to being fantastic and he deems better than him, and I simply don't believe that he would 'sack' someone for supposedly playing too well. (Brioan did a solo project and asked Eddie Van Halen to do it with him for christ's sake!!) Sack him for not playing what he was paid to, playing for the benefits of the band, or just a personality clash maybe, but not for 'being too good'.
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
Jamie Moses is an incredible player and Brian has happily had him by his side for 20 years - the difference being that Jamie doesn't need to shred or do anything fancy for the sake of his ego. His solo on the Back To The Light Tour on Let Your Heart Rule Your Head is incredible, and Brian even let him take the Crazy Little Thing Called Love end improvisation solo on the Cosmos Rocks Tour.
Mike Casswell was sacked pretty much because he was too good...yep...even rock Gods like Brian have an ego ;)
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason. [/QUOTE]
Yes, Mike Caswell likes to tell the story that Brian dispensed with services after that first tour because he didn't like Mike 'showing off' and playing killer solos when he was given one, but that's just bitterness if you ask me.
Brian is unanimously said to be one of the nicest guys in the music business, regulalrly guests with players that he admits to being fantastic and he deems better than him, and I simply don't believe that he would 'sack' someone for supposedly playing too well. (Brioan did a solo project and asked Eddie Van Halen to do it with him for christ's sake!!) Sack him for not playing what he was paid to, playing for the benefits of the band, or just a personality clash maybe, but not for 'being too good'.
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
Jamie Moses is an incredible player and Brian has happily had him by his side for 20 years - the difference being that Jamie doesn't need to shred or do anything fancy for the sake of his ego. His solo on the Back To The Light Tour on Let Your Heart Rule Your Head is incredible, and Brian even let him take the Crazy Little Thing Called Love end improvisation solo on the Cosmos Rocks Tour.
cmsdrums
[QUOTE] [b]cmsdrums wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]brian-harold-may 26643 wrote:[/b]
Mike Casswell was sacked pretty much because he was too good...yep...even rock Gods like Brian have an ego ;)
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason. [/QUOTE]
Yes, Mike Caswell likes to tell the story that Brian dispensed with services after that first tour because he didn't like Mike 'showing off' and playing killer solos when he was given one, but that's just bitterness if you ask me.
Brian is unanimously said to be one of the nicest guys in the music business, regularly guests with players that he admits to being fantastic and he deems better than him, and I simply don't believe that he would 'sack' someone for supposedly playing too well. (Brioan did a solo project and asked Eddie Van Halen to do it with him for christ's sake!!) Sack him for not playing what he was paid to, not playing for the benefit of the band, or just a personality clash maybe, but not for 'being too good'.
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
Jamie Moses is an incredible player and Brian has happily had him by his side for 20 years - the difference being that Jamie doesn't need to shred or do anything fancy for the sake of his ego. His solo on the Back To The Light Tour on Let Your Heart Rule Your Head is incredible, and Brian even let him take the Crazy Little Thing Called Love end improvisation solo on the Cosmos Rocks Tour.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE] [b]brian-harold-may 26643 wrote:[/b]
Mike Casswell was sacked pretty much because he was too good...yep...even rock Gods like Brian have an ego ;)
Brian needed somebody who wasn't going to do guitar solos which blew his away.
It probably didn't help that Casswell is a total arrogant dick either but that is the reason. [/QUOTE]
Yes, Mike Caswell likes to tell the story that Brian dispensed with services after that first tour because he didn't like Mike 'showing off' and playing killer solos when he was given one, but that's just bitterness if you ask me.
Brian is unanimously said to be one of the nicest guys in the music business, regularly guests with players that he admits to being fantastic and he deems better than him, and I simply don't believe that he would 'sack' someone for supposedly playing too well. (Brioan did a solo project and asked Eddie Van Halen to do it with him for christ's sake!!) Sack him for not playing what he was paid to, not playing for the benefit of the band, or just a personality clash maybe, but not for 'being too good'.
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
Jamie Moses is an incredible player and Brian has happily had him by his side for 20 years - the difference being that Jamie doesn't need to shred or do anything fancy for the sake of his ego. His solo on the Back To The Light Tour on Let Your Heart Rule Your Head is incredible, and Brian even let him take the Crazy Little Thing Called Love end improvisation solo on the Cosmos Rocks Tour.[/QUOTE]
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]cmsdrums wrote:[/b]
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
[/QUOTE]
Bingo.
He was a Satriani clone who got a gig that was outside of his comfort zone. Like most guys whose chops are through the roof, he didn't know how to serve the song. His solos in Resurrection were so out of place, so if Brian did indeed let him go, good on him. Jamie Moses was a far better fit, as he read the job description and stuck to it.
He was hired by Brian to do a job, and if his ego couldn't stop him reigning it in and sticking to what he should have been doing, then more fool him as a pforessional musician. (It was the Brian May Band, NOT The Mike Caswell Band!)
[/QUOTE]
Bingo.
He was a Satriani clone who got a gig that was outside of his comfort zone. Like most guys whose chops are through the roof, he didn't know how to serve the song. His solos in Resurrection were so out of place, so if Brian did indeed let him go, good on him. Jamie Moses was a far better fit, as he read the job description and stuck to it.
Sebastian
When I saw Satriani live, people responded better to Stu than they did to him. Not to say he was bad (he was brill, as expected, and even better), but Stu connected with the audience and his solo gathered more applause and cheering than any bit of Joe's set.
Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but IMO his reaction to Stu overshadowing him (at least that particular night), judging by what he told the audience and judging by their body language, went from 'I'm glad I picked a great player for my backing band' to 'woah, this guy's getting more attention than I'd expected' to 'fucking hell, he's stealing the limelight!', and at the end he was definitely not impressed. In fact, a lot of the people in the audience kept talking about how the star'd been wonderful, but 'did you see what the bassist could do?'.
My point is both sides could have some truth: Mike earned the chance of accompanying an outstanding musician at the height of his solo popularity, and to visit new countries and play new audiences thanks to that, but he pushed his luck. It's like a substitute on a football team being given ten minutes on the field and misusing them to try to upstage everyone in a desperate attempt to gain a starting position; or an unknown thespian being given a small part somewhere and overacting.
In that sense, people like Cozy Powell and Nuno Bettencourt knew how to play the game, and shine without trying too hard. In fact, there were probably some people who went to Brian’s concerts to see Cozy, just like there are some people going to Rihanna’s gigs to see Nuno (I almost did). Somehow a big name like that brings more credibility to the act. Brian and Rihanna, each in their own scale, would’ve easily filled venues nearly as big as they did without Cozy and Nuno, respectively, but they chose wisely.
We’ll never know, but would’ve the Brian May Band worked with Rick Wakeman? On the one hand, he’s much much much much much much better than Spike (even amputating his eight fingers and one of his thumb he’d still be better, by far) and he’s been a sideman in the past and done a great job at it, but perhaps in that case he’s too much of a big name, and his style’s way too distinctive.
Hindsight is 20/20 of course, but IMO his reaction to Stu overshadowing him (at least that particular night), judging by what he told the audience and judging by their body language, went from 'I'm glad I picked a great player for my backing band' to 'woah, this guy's getting more attention than I'd expected' to 'fucking hell, he's stealing the limelight!', and at the end he was definitely not impressed. In fact, a lot of the people in the audience kept talking about how the star'd been wonderful, but 'did you see what the bassist could do?'.
My point is both sides could have some truth: Mike earned the chance of accompanying an outstanding musician at the height of his solo popularity, and to visit new countries and play new audiences thanks to that, but he pushed his luck. It's like a substitute on a football team being given ten minutes on the field and misusing them to try to upstage everyone in a desperate attempt to gain a starting position; or an unknown thespian being given a small part somewhere and overacting.
In that sense, people like Cozy Powell and Nuno Bettencourt knew how to play the game, and shine without trying too hard. In fact, there were probably some people who went to Brian’s concerts to see Cozy, just like there are some people going to Rihanna’s gigs to see Nuno (I almost did). Somehow a big name like that brings more credibility to the act. Brian and Rihanna, each in their own scale, would’ve easily filled venues nearly as big as they did without Cozy and Nuno, respectively, but they chose wisely.
We’ll never know, but would’ve the Brian May Band worked with Rick Wakeman? On the one hand, he’s much much much much much much better than Spike (even amputating his eight fingers and one of his thumb he’d still be better, by far) and he’s been a sideman in the past and done a great job at it, but perhaps in that case he’s too much of a big name, and his style’s way too distinctive.
Sheer Brass Neck
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
He was a Satriani clone who got a gig that was outside of his comfort zone. Like most guys whose chops are through the roof, he didn't know how to serve the song. Jamie Moses was a far better fit, as he read the job description and stuck to it.[/QUOTE]
So Brian loves Adam Lambert's "one in a billion" technical voice and you think that's good, but Mike Caswell and his technical chops were a bad fit. What's the difference? If there's one constant criticism I've read and heard about AL is that he has a fabulous voice but doesn't know how to serve the song. So if Caswell whammy bar-red and two hand tapped his way through Resurrection, how is that any different than AL over vibrato-ing and over emoting on many tunes?
He was a Satriani clone who got a gig that was outside of his comfort zone. Like most guys whose chops are through the roof, he didn't know how to serve the song. Jamie Moses was a far better fit, as he read the job description and stuck to it.[/QUOTE]
So Brian loves Adam Lambert's "one in a billion" technical voice and you think that's good, but Mike Caswell and his technical chops were a bad fit. What's the difference? If there's one constant criticism I've read and heard about AL is that he has a fabulous voice but doesn't know how to serve the song. So if Caswell whammy bar-red and two hand tapped his way through Resurrection, how is that any different than AL over vibrato-ing and over emoting on many tunes?
Wiley
[QUOTE] [b]Sheer Brass Neck wrote:[/b]
So Brian loves Adam Lambert's "one in a billion" technical voice and you think that's good, but Mike Caswell and his technical chops were a bad fit. What's the difference? If there's one constant criticism I've read and heard about AL is that he has a fabulous voice but doesn't know how to serve the song. So if Caswell whammy bar-red and two hand tapped his way through Resurrection, how is that any different than AL over vibrato-ing and over emoting on many tunes? [/QUOTE]
Interesting angle. I guess this would apply if Adam had been brought in as Backing Vocalist and he were stealing the show with his vocal antics. Adam was invited to sing LEAD on Queen songs, after all.
Having this other guy be THE LEAD GUITARIST for the BRIAN -FRICKIN'- MAY BAND would surely bother the Doctor way more than the AL scenario.
On the other hand, it's been 20 years.
So Brian loves Adam Lambert's "one in a billion" technical voice and you think that's good, but Mike Caswell and his technical chops were a bad fit. What's the difference? If there's one constant criticism I've read and heard about AL is that he has a fabulous voice but doesn't know how to serve the song. So if Caswell whammy bar-red and two hand tapped his way through Resurrection, how is that any different than AL over vibrato-ing and over emoting on many tunes? [/QUOTE]
Interesting angle. I guess this would apply if Adam had been brought in as Backing Vocalist and he were stealing the show with his vocal antics. Adam was invited to sing LEAD on Queen songs, after all.
Having this other guy be THE LEAD GUITARIST for the BRIAN -FRICKIN'- MAY BAND would surely bother the Doctor way more than the AL scenario.
On the other hand, it's been 20 years.