Paul: I actually love those two songs haha, but I like that album in general.
Who owns Freddie's royalties? I've heard two things: Mary and Kashmira and the band. Not sure what's true, but whoever is in charge of them is approving this as well.
I don't want to speak for Freddie, but I don't think he'd enjoy his songs being used for drug store lipstick. Tom Ford makeup, maybe haha
Sweetandtenderhooligan as far as I know Freddie's royalties go 50% to Mary and 50% to his family which is now just Kash.
I agree with the above: in the early days Queen were fiercely about the art. For me the really great albums are Queen, Queen II, Sheer Heart Attack, A Night at the Opera and A Day at the Races - the final one being the absolute epitome of what Queen are, though I love all of these albums completely.
The next few albums have a few really great tracks, but also some not great ones, but for me News of the World and Jazz are still very good.
Even by The Game, there are tracks I like, but this is the first album where for me there isn't one solitary absolutely amazing track. Not in the way there was on the early albums.
I don't listen to any of the other 80's albums. There's the odd track that's alright but in comparison to the early albums, for me it is just like they're not trying - not in the way they used to. It has nothing to do with the kind of music they made then. Even if it wasn't to my taste, I could appreciate if it was made well.
Then with Innuendo and Made in Heaven (And for Freddie with Barcelona) they were striving again, I suppose as they were all aware of how they were running out of time. So, artistically I feel like it was much better as there was the same urgency that usually a band only has at the start of their career, before they have reached where they want to be. And of course there is also added poignancy to these albums.
I'm not sure whether the motivation for things Brian and Roger put out now is money. They must all have SO much money. To me it feels more like it is ego. You've been the biggest band in the world and to just sit at home without people revering you must feel like your life is over a bit. There's some thing that's a bit contradictory in it as well. I sort of feel like they put Freddie out there, but really behind all they do lies the unspoken (and sometimes actually spoken) idea that "I'm as good or better than Freddie" especially with Brian. I've noticed in interviews when he speaks about songs Freddie wrote, he'll sometimes make a throwaway comment of "Oh but this part of the song I totally wrote myself." Why would he do that? He doesn't need to. I find it a curious aspect of Brian's personality that he's so willing to throw in "Oh but I did this bit!" about songs written by someone who is now dead!?! He is such a kind, polite, caring seeming man. But I guess all of the band all had to have big egos in order to have the belief in themselves to make it in the first place?!
Queen always were a "big" act.* Bigness was their thing - and still is. And that took finance. And that habit isn't going to get kicked.
* As opposed to "small time" or "punk" or whatever.
[QUOTE] [b]spiralstatic wrote:[/. . . . . . . but really behind all they do lies the unspoken (and sometimes actually spoken) idea that "I'm as good or better than Freddie" especially with Brian. I've noticed in interviews when he speaks about songs Freddie wrote, he'll sometimes make a throwaway comment of "Oh but this part of the song I totally wrote myself." Why would he do that? He doesn't need to. I find it a curious aspect of Brian's personality that he's so willing to throw in "Oh but I did this bit!" about songs written by someone who is now dead!?. . . . [/QUOTE]
The reason he says those things is because they are true, there are interview on documentaries and in magazines, when talking about songs where he says this is Freddie's riff or Freddie wrote this on piano so it's a challenge to play on guitar, Freddie was a brilliant pianist, or musician and singer or this was all Freddie's ideas.
There is a balanced view, if you look or listen for it. Roger in not such an obvious way said that someone brings an idea into the studio and everyone changes it, it kind of implies the same thing.
