Relationship can refer to romantic relationship, business relationship, or friendship. Any kind of situation where two people have to interact can be referred to as a relationship where I am from.
Of course, if you say you're 'In a relationship with' someone, then that usually always refers to a romantic situation, or marriage (hey, marriage and life-partner situations are not always romantic situations..... sometimes far from it!)
Freddie is grossly underated as a songwriter, he gets his props as a singer and performer though. let's face it, Brian and Roger havn't lit the world on fire over the last 25 years without Freddie. All those classics they wrote over the last quarter of a century is impressive, lol.
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
Freddie is grossly underated as a songwriter, he gets his props as a singer and performer though. let's face it, Brian and Roger havn't lit the world on fire over the last 25 years without Freddie. All those classics they wrote over the last quarter of a century is impressive, lol.[/QUOTE]
I think you were a bit unfair to Brian and Roger there. Freddie didn't lit the world on fire with his solos either. Though he had less than 25 years of it, but no material in his solo vault points to a global flame. Within Queen, Brian and Roger's contribution to songwriting is anything as big as Freddie's. Freddie might have written more hits but then he got the credit for it.
Let's say that the 4 of them work better in Queen combination than by themselves.
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
Freddie is grossly underated as a songwriter, he gets his props as a singer and performer though. let's face it, Brian and Roger havn't lit the world on fire over the last 25 years without Freddie. All those classics they wrote over the last quarter of a century is impressive, lol.[/QUOTE]
I just finished watching the The Nation's Favourite 70s Number One, on ITV. It was fairly obvious which song was going to top it, which it did - just like pretty much every other Nations favourite song show (Bohemian Rhapsody of course). Even aside from the other superb material Freddie wrote, for that reason alone he'll never be considered an underrated songwriter.
[QUOTE] [b]hobbit-in-Rhye wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
Freddie is grossly underated as a songwriter, he gets his props as a singer and performer though. let's face it, Brian and Roger havn't lit the world on fire over the last 25 years without Freddie. All those classics they wrote over the last quarter of a century is impressive, lol.[/QUOTE]
I think you were a bit unfair to Brian and Roger there. Freddie didn't lit the world on fire with his solos either. Though he had less than 25 years of it, but no material in his solo vault points to a global flame. Within Queen, Brian and Roger's contribution to songwriting is anything as big as Freddie's. Freddie might have written more hits but then he got the credit for it.
Let's say that the 4 of them work better in Queen combination than by themselves.
[/QUOTE]
Living On My Own eventually got to number one (albeit, a slight reworking of it). I Was Born To Love You is well known, especially in Japan. Then there's the Barcelona track, of course (alright, not strictly solo, but still...)
I think that track alone was more successful and well known than anything Roger or Brian pulled out of the bag (in terms of solo material).
The only shame is, that Freddie didn't have more time to do solo stuff.
Generally, I agree with your last sentence, although there are exceptions to the rule, of course (a few solo numbers are better than some Queen tracks - although some of those eventually did become so on Made In Heaven).
^ While I like all the songs that you mentioned, I would hardly call them "lit the world on fire". Would you?
There are several interesting tracks in Brian's solo stuffs in the early years that is not any bit lesser than Freddie's, quality wise. They are just less well-known, for many reasons (one reason is that a guitarist's work wouldn't be easier to the mass' ear than a singer's work). It's always the die-young star to take all the glory with him and the ones who stay to look trivial.
[QUOTE] [b]Day dop wrote:[/b]
a few solo numbers are better than some Queen tracks [/QUOTE]
Are you really applying the "China horse race trick" here to me: pit the best of this person agains the mediocre of the other? Anybody can be better than Queen on their down day. If I have to compare, I would compare his solo's best to Queen's best, because those are the things that remain when time goes by. In that spirit, none of his solos (or Brian's, or Roger's) come a mile near Queen's summit. Queen just brings out the best in them.
By the way, I mean the China horse trick as a joke, don't get offended ^^
I'm glad someone pointed out that Freddie did not have much time to really pursue his solo career. Having said that, his ears clearly failed him in the early, mid eighties when he gave in to the cheesy mainstream sound and produced a batch of pretty lame songs to match it. Mr Bad Guy a moderate hit? Come on. It was obvious his first solo venture would chart fairly high in the first weeks of sales, just because of the hype of a debut FM solo album, but it was a steep decline afterwards. Born to Love You did not perform very well either. No. 11 for first single of one of the world's most prolific singers is really not an achievement. The success of LOMO in 1993 is a completely different story. Still, I do wonder how his career would develop, once he chucked all that 80s plastic. The Great Pretender single did very well and Barcelona was an intriguing and in my opinion an accomplished piece of work. What a shame.
The early to mid 80s were the years when Freddie was trying to cater to a specific market - he was trying to be current and mix it with his own blend of pop/rock sensibilities. It's absolutely true he came up with some good songs, and that he sang them beautifully, but nothing he did really fit in with the current trends of the time. Perhaps, in hindsight, he should have stuck to keeping Queen as Queen, but it's always easy to say things in hindsight.
OK Bad Guy wasn't a TOTAL flop - no.6 is respectable, but it's only because he was who he was that it charted that high. Living on my own came charted in '93 because it really did sound current to the time because of the remix, and of course people wanted Freddie product in the aftermath of his death.
I was born to love you did well as a Queen song in certain parts of the world, and had a respectable chart position here, but it's hardly rock megastar success.
But then, neither Roger's nor Brian's solo careers ever did that well either. Brian had a larger scale tour than Roger did, in '92, and 'Driven By You' was a successful single due to the Ford advert.
All of the musicians in Queen worked best as Queen between 73 and 91, and although there were some nice songs written between '91 and '98 in solo projects, it's true there has been very little that reflects the achievements of the band at their pinnacle.
We'll see what happens with Q + AL - it might just have all the right ingredients for a good record, it might not!
[QUOTE]
[b]hobbit-in-Rhye wrote: [/b] ^ While I like all the songs that you mentioned, I would hardly call them "lit the world on fire". Would you?
There are several interesting tracks in Brian's solo stuffs in the early years that is not any bit lesser than Freddie's, quality wise. They are just less well-known, for many reasons (one reason is that a guitarist's work wouldn't be easier to the mass' ear than a singer's work). It's always the die-young star to take all the glory with him and the ones who stay to look trivial.
[QUOTE] [b]Day dop wrote:[/b]
a few solo numbers are better than some Queen tracks [/QUOTE]
Are you really applying the "China horse race trick" here to me: pit the best of this person agains the mediocre of the other? Anybody can be better than Queen on their down day. If I have to compare, I would compare his solo's best to Queen's best, because those are the things that remain when time goes by. In that spirit, none of his solos (or Brian's, or Roger's) come a mile near Queen's summit. Queen just brings out the best in them.
By the way, I mean the China horse trick as a joke, don't get offended ^^
[/QUOTE]
"Lit the world on fire" isn't a term I'd really apply to any individual Queen numbers, let alone their solo material. Perhaps Bohemian Rhapsody, or Another One Bites the Dust... maybe, they might be the closest fit to that term... in the loosest sense.
The only thing I'd really apply that term to (music-wise) is Beatlemania.
[QUOTE] [b]Day dop wrote:[/b]
"Lit the world on fire" isn't a term I'd really apply to any individual Queen numbers, let alone their solo material. Perhaps Bohemian Rhapsody, or Another One Bites the Dust... maybe, they might be the closest fit to that term... in the loosest sense.
The only thing I'd really apply that term to (music-wise) is Beatlemania.[/QUOTE]
Okay then, I was just replying to mike hunt who said that Brian and Roger didn't lit the world on fire to emphasis the "underratedness" of Freddie. I don't really see how the 2 things connect.
I'm a fan of all four members of Queen, but it's silly to call out Freddie for one solo album that was recorded between The Works and Magic, but not call out Roger and Brian for 25 years of forgettable music. Bacelona was a work of art, almost on par with Queens best IMO.
I agree! Barcelona is a pretty special album. The Fallen Priest, La Japponaise, How Can I Go On etc. Brian did some pretty special solo tracks in my opinion too like Resurrection, but it wasn't as consistent as Freddie's effort with Montserrat Caballe. Some Queen albums also don't reach the Barcelona standard in my opinion.
[QUOTE] [b]BETA215 wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE]
[b]AlexRocks wrote: [/b] Why were Brian and Paul having difficulties with their relationship?[/QUOTE]
I don't know from where you are, but relationship is something between girlfriend-girlfriend, girlfriend-boyfriend, or boyfriend-boyfriend, you know?
Friendship is something between friend-friend.[/QUOTE]
He's probably from somewhere where English is used correctly then, as it is perfectly acceptable to refer to a friendship between 2 people as "their relationship".
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
I'm a fan of all four members of Queen, but it's silly to call out Freddie for one solo album that was recorded between The Works and Magic, but not call out Roger and Brian for 25 years of forgettable music. Bacelona was a work of art, almost on par with Queens best IMO. [/QUOTE]
I didn't call out Freddie, neither miraclesteinway nor k-m did. Good songs are good, and mediocre songs are mediocre. I already said that I liked several of his solo tracks. Now if you want to call out Brian and Roger for "forgettable music", fine, it's your taste. The thing I didn't agree in your old post is that you compare them to emphasis that Freddie is underrated as a songwriter. The two cases just can't be compared, for many reason.
First, Barcelona is a nice album but it's hardly Freddie's solo. It is co-written by him, Mike Moran and other people. It became critical acclaimed because of the duo between him and Montserrat Caballe. I wouldn't say he lit the world on fire on his own (as you criticized that B & R didn't).
Secondly, Brian had some decent solo stuffs back in the 90s too, and many people enjoyed them. I sure enjoy them as much as I enjoy Freddie's work. You may say it depends on personal preference, but quality wise it's not like Freddie's work are 3 times better than Brian's.
Thirdly, while Brian was in his creative mood, on 1998 Cozy Powell, his drummer mate in Brian May's band, suddenly died of motocar accident. It disrupted his upcoming tour and was surely a heavy blow for Brian on emotional level and professional level. He'd just got out of the depression caused by Freddie's death and his father's, then came Cozy's. Imagine a soft fellow who was so broken in "All dead, all dead" just because of his pet cat, now what these 2 friends and colleagues' death would mean to him. It's a miracle that he picked up the guitar and played again after those events, we couldn't ask anymore from him. It's unfair to judge his songwriting ability post 1998.
Fourthly, there's no evidence that if Freddie lives today he would fare better then B & R. All of them have given their best years to Queen, they have earned their rights to retire and do fluffy things.
Freddie was a great songwriter and performer. No need to pitch him against B& R. I think Queen's strength lies in the balance between 4 members, any attempt to break that balance will not give a good result. Freddie himself had realized it since 1985. Now, I also have my favorite member of the band, but I don't think he is any higher than the rest 3 ;)
[QUOTE] [b]hobbit-in-Rhye wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
I'm a fan of all four members of Queen, but it's silly to call out Freddie for one solo album that was recorded between The Works and Magic, but not call out Roger and Brian for 25 years of forgettable music. Bacelona was a work of art, almost on par with Queens best IMO. [/QUOTE]
I didn't call out Freddie, neither miraclesteinway nor k-m did. Good songs are good, and mediocre songs are mediocre. I already said that I liked several of his solo tracks. Now if you want to call our Brian and Roger for "forgettable music", fine, it's your taste. The thing I didn't agree in your old post is that you compare them to emphasis that Freddie is underrated as a songwriter. The two cases just can't be compared, for many reason.
First, Barcelona is a nice album but it's hardly Freddie's solo. It is co-written by him, Mike Moran and other people. It became critical acclaimed because of the duo between him and Montserrat Caballe. I wouldn't say he lit the world on fire on his own (as you criticized that B & R didn't).
Secondly, Brian had some decent solo stuffs back in the 90s too, and many people enjoyed them. I sure enjoy them as much as I enjoy Freddie's work. You may say it depends on personal preference, but quality wise it's not like Freddie's work are 3 times better than Brian's.
Thirdly, while Brian was in his creative mood, on 1998 Cozy Powell, his drummer mate in Brian May's band, suddenly died of motocar accident. It disrupted his upcoming tour and was surely a heavy blow for Brian on emotional level and professional level. He'd just got out of the depression caused by Freddie's death and his father's, then came Cozy's. Imagine a soft fellow who was so broken in "All dead, all dead" just because of his pet cat, now what these 2 friends and colleagues' death would mean to him. It's a miracle that he picked up the guitar and played again after those events, we couldn't ask anymore from him. It's unfair to judge his songwriting ability post 1998.
Fourthly, there's no evidence that if Freddie lives today he would fare better then B & R. All of them have given their best years to Queen, they have earned their rights to retire and do fluffy things.
Freddie was a great songwriter and performer. No need to pitch him against B& R. I think Queen's strength lies in the balance between 4 members, any attempt to break that balance will not give a good result. Freddie himself had realized it since 1985. Now, I also have my favorite member of the band, but I don't think he is any higher than the rest 3 ;)
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