Are Queen just greedy bastards?

matt z wrote:

Wizard ya left off

Queen Rocks
Stone Cold Classics
Absolute Greatest
Re releases of what was then WWRY (eagle, image plus recent version titled Rock Montreal)
singles collections 1, 2,
Deep tracks 1-3
greatest hits iii
and. . Well... what else was there?

But you are missing something very important:

With the possible exception of Rocks and Montreal, all those releases you mention were not for the fans but for the people who buys compilations. The most important tracks in Rocks were No One and the rerecording of ICLWY. One of them (NOBY) released as single.

As for Montreal, it was rereleased for different companies for contractual reasons, not for greed.

The Real Wizard wrote:

pittrek wrote:

I think Queen are ALSO greedy bastards, not JUST greedy bastards. They're mainly talented musicians :) But yes, 99% of their releases in the last 20 years are not worth buying, and even if they do release something good, they waste the opportunity to make it GREAT.

Nahh, that's an overstatement. Many are pointless compilations, of course - but that's the record companies just wanting more product. Let's review this list:

2001 - Freddie box
2002 - Greatest Video Hits 1
2003 - Greatest Video Hits 2
2003 - Wembley DVD (complete show for the first time)
2004 - Live At The Bowl DVD
2006 - ANATO documentary
2007 - Rock Montreal CD/DVD
2011 - albums remastered, great bonus tracks
2011 - Days Of Our Lives documentary, extras
2011 - Wembley DVD (complete first night)
2012 - Budapest CD/DVD/blu-ray
2013 - Roger Taylor box
2014 - Live At The Rainbow box
2014 - Queen Forever

Plus Q+PR stuff and Roger's solo album.

^ we can nitpick at the details, but ever one of these releases contained something that hadn't been previously seen/heard.

This is more than can be said about most of the old bands.

Sure, Pink Floyd and Springsteen have released delicious box sets that no individual Queen release can compare to. But let's not lose perspective. Queen have released a ton of excellent stuff in the past 15 years.

There is no way we can argue that QPL don't give a fuck about the fans. That's just plain not true. They didn't have to do the complete Budapest show on CD or the March disc of the Rainbow release.

If they release some kind of box with a compilation of 1976-79 live footage, then we can safely say they've run the gamut.

The Real Wizard wrote:
Nahh, that's an overstatement. Many are pointless compilations, of course - but that's the record companies just wanting more product. Let's review this list:

2001 - Freddie box
2002 - Greatest Video Hits 1
2003 - Greatest Video Hits 2
2003 - Wembley DVD (complete show for the first time)
2004 - Live At The Bowl DVD
2006 - ANATO documentary
2007 - Rock Montreal CD/DVD
2011 - albums remastered, great bonus tracks
2011 - Days Of Our Lives documentary, extras
2011 - Wembley DVD (complete first night)
2012 - Budapest CD/DVD/blu-ray
2013 - Roger Taylor box
2014 - Live At The Rainbow box
2014 - Queen Forever

Plus Q+PR stuff and Roger's solo album.

^ we can nitpick at the details, but ever one of these releases contained something that hadn't been previously seen/heard.

This is more than can be said about most of the old bands.

Sure, Pink Floyd and Springsteen have released delicious box sets that no individual Queen release can compare to. But let's not lose perspective. Queen have released a ton of excellent stuff in the past 15 years.

There is no way we can argue that QPL don't give a fuck about the fans. That's just plain not true. They didn't have to do the complete Budapest show on CD or the March disc of the Rainbow release.

If they release some kind of box with a compilation of 1976-79 live footage, then we can safely say they've run the gamut.

I'll try to remember what they release - if I forget something please let me know.

"Wasted opportunity" = a product, which is quite good, but it could be much MUCH better if they actually cared about pleasing the fans and not only to get as much money as possible with investing as little as possible

1991/92 - the Hollywood Records singles and promos - crap
1992 - Wembley CD - edited - wasted opportunity
1992 - Box of Trix - great
1992 - Queen Talks - crap
1993 - Five Live - OK
1993 - Freddie Tribute VHS - OK
1995 - Made In Heaven - great
1997 - Queen Rocks - OK
1998 - Fugees - AOBTD - crap
1999 - Basic Bootlegs - a combination of great and crap
2001 - WATC with Robbie Wililams - OK
2001 - Freddie boxset - wasted opportunity
2002 - Greatest Video Hits 1 - wasted opportunity
2002 - Freddie Tribute DVD - crap
2003 - WWRY with John Farnham - OK
2003 - AOBTD with Annie Crummer(?) - crap
2003 - Wembley CD/DVD - OK
2003 - Greatest Video Hits 2 - wasted opportunity
2004 - Live at the Bowl CD/DVD - great
2004 - Solo Por Ti - crap
2004/2005 - Jewels 1&2 - OK
2005 - ANATO documentary - great
2007 - Montreal - great CD, crap DVD/BD
2008 - Singles collection - wasted opportunity
2009 - Bohemian Rhapsody with Muppets - ehm, how to say it politely?
2009 - Absolute Greatest - the standard editions are crap, the "collectors edition" is a wasted opportunity
2011 - the remasters - I don't like the remasters at all, and the bonus "EPs" are a wasted opportunity
2011 - Deep Cuts - can't decide if crap or a wasted opportunity
2011 - Days of Our Lives - great
2011 - Wembley CD/DVD - wasted opportunity
2012 - Hungarian Rhapsody - wasted opportunity
2013 - Icon - crap
2013 - Roger Taylor box - I'm not REALLY interested that much in Roger's solo work, I still didn't buy it or listened to a downloaded version
2014 - Rainbow - can't decide between "great" and "wasted opportunity"
2014 - Forever - crap ( the "new" songs are OK)

^ we can nitpick at the details, but ever one of these releases contained something that hadn't been previously seen/heard.

Yes, that's for me the main problem (at least for me). That these releases contain stuff we bought 20 times before AND a tiny little bit of new material. It's like they're afraid to take any risks. They could release a full album of unreleased demos and alternate takes, and it could be a bestseller, but no, they throw a few interesting songs to bonus "EPs", and 3 of them to a new compilation. They could give us the first Wembley night, but no, they have to add it as a bonus to a 50th release of the second night (and of course they have to throw out the bonus features of the previous releases).

That's the problem. They're strategy. Instead of giving the fans something new they give us the same stuff again and again and again just with a little interesting extra

Ftr: I wasn't bitching, I had thought those were the only releases at the time. But I guess not.

I know the Saul swimmer wwry was re"interpreted" after queen recovered the copyright. No complaint there. I even have an eagle vhs from that.

The releases DID get better subsequently. Even though some complain about the stage gel colors (absurd... those colors WERE THERE ON STAGE)

ANYWAYS.

Just saying. Yeah. I understand that most releases were just contractually bound.

I only bought things after "the platinum collection" in bargain sales. .. calling the FM boxed set a missed opportunity is bad. Although there's the ensueño mistake it's pretty damn comprehensive.

Those years I anticipated each new queen release.

Unfortunately I bought a POS (*comparatively) called THE CROWN JEWELS which touted new photographs a new booklet and (GASP! ) a new essay!



Ftr nothing was new in it. In fact it withheld reasonable replications of inner sleeves. I believe NOTW was even in a single sleeve without the center painting. (I may be wrong. I used it for a year then quickly retired it since the sleeves scratched the cds with each removal.

No new tracks. No extra 12" collection like the lp collection. Just the first 8 in a flimsy case. Even CLASSIC QUEEN had the interview extra plus TGIC.

Can't say I'm NOT disappointed by releases but eh. This is me. I'm waiting till Christmas to play LIVE AT THE RAINBOW ... cause I need something to be joyous about.

In Vienna every second billboard is advertising WWRY

argh!

pittrek wrote:

I think Queen are ALSO greedy bastards, not JUST greedy bastards. They're mainly talented musicians :) But yes, 99% of their releases in the last 20 years are not worth buying, and even if they do release something good, they waste the opportunity to make it GREAT.

This is it. Great rock band but definitely always liked the money, and have always been on the line between art and commerce.

If you think the last 20 years are bad then wait till Queen release an album with Madam Lambert! lol

^^^ as predictably asinine as usual

AlbaNo1 wrote:

pittrek wrote:

I think Queen are ALSO greedy bastards, not JUST greedy bastards. They're mainly talented musicians :) But yes, 99% of their releases in the last 20 years are not worth buying, and even if they do release something good, they waste the opportunity to make it GREAT.

This is it. Great rock band but definitely always liked the money, and have always been on the line between art and commerce.

Interesting take. I think that until Jazz, Queen did what they wanted and made their audience come to them and that's when they were great. Starting with The Game, the chased after what they think their audience wanted and that's when their writing suffered.

That Madam Lambert thing is gonna probably become his new moniker. Once Cher croaks, the seat of queermania is going to be open.

Bump

All Legacy-Acts have become „greedy bastards“ - all of them. Why would they have done the movie, had it not been for their money-hunger? An artistic statement it is not. Neither have been the countless repackaging and re-compiling of existing material. The value of music is going down, year by year, and if a band still has vault-material, now is the right time to release it. In fact, the big labels make more money with "catalogue“-stuff than with new releases by contemporary acts, with the exception of Adele, Sheeran and Coldplay. Also the core-audience of many bands like Pink Floyd, Queen, Beatles and the Stones is moving towards its retirement age. It's not going to purchase box-sets etc forever! On thing that is not correct is the assumption that record companies decide on the pricing of box-sets. Quite to the contrary, it's the band's managers who dictate the pricing of their clients products. Beatles-CDs have never ever been found in the nice price-racks of record shops. No record company has any right to release anything by any legacy act without the consent of the respective managers. So, yes, Queen are greedy bastards. There are examples of repackaging/adding new material to existing albums in affordable/tasteful ways... see the excellent media-books by Jethro Tull...

I'm very disappointed in them licensing Don't Stop Me Now for a cheap lipstick commercial...and that was not the only ad with a queen song aired during the Golden Globes.

It's clear what Brian and Roger's motivations are, and yes, Mary and John too.

Sweetandtenderhooligan wrote:

I'm very disappointed in them licensing Don't Stop Me Now for a cheap lipstick commercial...and that was not the only ad with a queen song aired during the Golden Globes.

It's clear what Brian and Roger's motivations are, and yes, Mary and John too.

Maylor would even sell Freddies ashes for a quick buck if they owned them - they have become the STanley and SImmons from Queen

+1 for Sheer Brass Neck and runner_70
Artistically it went down after The Game and the last 20 years Maylor have become a disgraceful money grabbing machine.
They’ve turned Freddie into a caricature and I blane them for it.

Now darlings...back to the nicer things in life...can someone play me a disco track? Something like Cool Cat or Back Chat...gotta love WHOEHAHAHAHA