[QUOTE]
[b]mike hunt wrote: [/b] Doesn't mean he wasn't satisfied with NOTW...[/QUOTE]
But the article states exactly that.
Oscar J
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mike hunt
In all honesty I didn't read the article. Maybe he was being over critical of his work. I think NOTW was really good, though not quite on the level of the previous 5 records. They really did peak on Opera/Races, but I remember an Interview with freddie In 1984, the Interviewer hinted that Queen Peaked On ANATO, freddie disagreed and said Queen surpassed Opera by far. Do you remember that Interview? So who knows what he really thought.
dysan
As a kid I couldn't really notice any difference between albums - apart from obviously the more 'synthetic' sounding early 80s ones. Song writing credits were much of a muchness for me, and complex backing vocals were present when required by the song like getting mad guitar on the songs that needed mad guitar. It's only as I grew older I realised that NOTW was very much 'full stop' and they wanted to branch out after pretty much mastering the 'Queen' sound, Jazz was made for live shows, The Game was almost a pastiche of 50s Americana, and Hot Space was - well, we know about that. What I'm saying is that Freddie was satisfied with NOTW for what it was - a 'raw' album that meant he'd make more coin, but it probably wasn't that close to his tastes - but you can imagine him sticking on, say, ADATR at home when he fancied listening to Queen.
Also, like many artists perhaps he felt creatively spent after 6/7 years of pouring all those ideas out. Perhaps he felt more distant from it as it wasn't 'his' like all the previous albums arguable could be considered and he wasn't driving it. I dunno. RT was moving into a solo career (slowly) and perhaps Freddie felt, not disenchanted, but certainly like Queen was at a crossroads and that worried him - so it wasn't a period / album he looked upon fondly.
Also, like many artists perhaps he felt creatively spent after 6/7 years of pouring all those ideas out. Perhaps he felt more distant from it as it wasn't 'his' like all the previous albums arguable could be considered and he wasn't driving it. I dunno. RT was moving into a solo career (slowly) and perhaps Freddie felt, not disenchanted, but certainly like Queen was at a crossroads and that worried him - so it wasn't a period / album he looked upon fondly.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]Panchgani wrote:[/b]
and after Jazz, they started using synths, and became mostly a singles machine with less use of piano, and less emphasis on Brian's unique guitar sound.[/QUOTE]
That was more the business calling the shots than anything. All the old 70s acts were left in the dust unless they adapted to both the new technology and the MTV age.
And in the UK there was an extra challenge - BBC radio had a "sound". If you didn't have it, they wouldn't play you.
Which would largely explain why Queen's singles soon were what they were. Brian almost left the band over his solo in Break Free being replaced with a keyboard. But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
Deacon was right - he saw the bigger picture. A sad one, but it's what it was.
and after Jazz, they started using synths, and became mostly a singles machine with less use of piano, and less emphasis on Brian's unique guitar sound.[/QUOTE]
That was more the business calling the shots than anything. All the old 70s acts were left in the dust unless they adapted to both the new technology and the MTV age.
And in the UK there was an extra challenge - BBC radio had a "sound". If you didn't have it, they wouldn't play you.
Which would largely explain why Queen's singles soon were what they were. Brian almost left the band over his solo in Break Free being replaced with a keyboard. But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
Deacon was right - he saw the bigger picture. A sad one, but it's what it was.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]mike hunt wrote:[/b]
I remember an Interview with freddie In 1984, the Interviewer hinted that Queen Peaked On ANATO, freddie disagreed and said Queen surpassed Opera by far.[/QUOTE]
That was probably more akin to him marketing a current product. Of course he won't readily admit that his latest album pales in comparison to what he wrote at his creative peak. Surely he knew the truth deep down. Man On The Prowl doesn't remotely compare to Death On Two Legs.
Not much different from Brian and Roger saying how their show with Adam Lambert is as good as it was in the old days. If they say it isn't, then who's going to come?
It's all PR.
I remember an Interview with freddie In 1984, the Interviewer hinted that Queen Peaked On ANATO, freddie disagreed and said Queen surpassed Opera by far.[/QUOTE]
That was probably more akin to him marketing a current product. Of course he won't readily admit that his latest album pales in comparison to what he wrote at his creative peak. Surely he knew the truth deep down. Man On The Prowl doesn't remotely compare to Death On Two Legs.
Not much different from Brian and Roger saying how their show with Adam Lambert is as good as it was in the old days. If they say it isn't, then who's going to come?
It's all PR.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]dysan wrote:[/b]
Also, like many artists perhaps he felt creatively spent after 6/7 years of pouring all those ideas out. Perhaps he felt more distant from it as it wasn't 'his' like all the previous albums arguable could be considered and he wasn't driving it. I dunno. RT was moving into a solo career (slowly) and perhaps Freddie felt, not disenchanted, but certainly like Queen was at a crossroads and that worried him - so it wasn't a period / album he looked upon fondly.[/QUOTE]
That's very astute.
It must be hard for any artist to recognize that their creative peak is behind them. But with business pressures (namely a record deal requiring four albums in the next four years) it's not like you can just take 2 or 3 years off to regroup. Few can get away with that. And even if you take your lumps and pay off the record company, you risk falling off the radar and being doomed commercially, which is a hell of a lot worse than churning out a couple below average discs.
So instead you just plug your nose and dive in, hoping for the best.
Some artists make creative comebacks of sorts, but most end up becoming nostalgia acts at best. Queen created Innuendo, which in all likelihood shouldn't have happened. Had Mercury remained healthy, who's to know what the band would've become in the 90s and beyond.
Also, like many artists perhaps he felt creatively spent after 6/7 years of pouring all those ideas out. Perhaps he felt more distant from it as it wasn't 'his' like all the previous albums arguable could be considered and he wasn't driving it. I dunno. RT was moving into a solo career (slowly) and perhaps Freddie felt, not disenchanted, but certainly like Queen was at a crossroads and that worried him - so it wasn't a period / album he looked upon fondly.[/QUOTE]
That's very astute.
It must be hard for any artist to recognize that their creative peak is behind them. But with business pressures (namely a record deal requiring four albums in the next four years) it's not like you can just take 2 or 3 years off to regroup. Few can get away with that. And even if you take your lumps and pay off the record company, you risk falling off the radar and being doomed commercially, which is a hell of a lot worse than churning out a couple below average discs.
So instead you just plug your nose and dive in, hoping for the best.
Some artists make creative comebacks of sorts, but most end up becoming nostalgia acts at best. Queen created Innuendo, which in all likelihood shouldn't have happened. Had Mercury remained healthy, who's to know what the band would've become in the 90s and beyond.
Sebastian
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
It's all PR.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Roger even said (at least twice) that Jazz was their best album. Soon afterwards, he openly disowned it.
It seems that 'Hot Space' was an exception: as soon as it was out, John was already panning it and Roger and Brian were clear it wasn't the way they would've liked it. Fred just said 'it's only a bloody record,' which can be translated as 'I've got no way to defend it so I'll just pretend I don't care and nobody else should either.'
It's all PR.
[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Roger even said (at least twice) that Jazz was their best album. Soon afterwards, he openly disowned it.
It seems that 'Hot Space' was an exception: as soon as it was out, John was already panning it and Roger and Brian were clear it wasn't the way they would've liked it. Fred just said 'it's only a bloody record,' which can be translated as 'I've got no way to defend it so I'll just pretend I don't care and nobody else should either.'
Dim
Jazz was and experiment album, with very clever ideas. Also music playing was very good by each member.
The album was very optimistic but it didn't live up, suffering from bad production. I wish it had The Game production.
The album was very optimistic but it didn't live up, suffering from bad production. I wish it had The Game production.
Sebastian
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
[/QUOTE]
There were some indeed. For instance, 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', 'Jump' and 'Let's Go Crazy', all of which have great guitar solos and all of which managed to top the Billboard charts in 1984.
But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
[/QUOTE]
There were some indeed. For instance, 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', 'Jump' and 'Let's Go Crazy', all of which have great guitar solos and all of which managed to top the Billboard charts in 1984.
The Real Wizard
[QUOTE] [b]Sebastian wrote:[/b]
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
[/QUOTE]
There were some indeed. For instance, 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', 'Jump' and 'Let's Go Crazy', all of which have great guitar solos and all of which managed to top the Billboard charts in 1984.[/QUOTE]
True - although I was talking about BBC radio, and only one of those tracks cracked the top 20 in the UK.
There was definitely a lot less heavy guitar on UK radio in the 80s, and I'm sure plenty of British folk here could attest to that. The heavier stuff (particularly hair metal) was a much bigger deal in the US.
[QUOTE] [b]The Real Wizard wrote:[/b]
But how many guitar solos were on the radio in 1984?
[/QUOTE]
There were some indeed. For instance, 'Owner of a Lonely Heart', 'Jump' and 'Let's Go Crazy', all of which have great guitar solos and all of which managed to top the Billboard charts in 1984.[/QUOTE]
True - although I was talking about BBC radio, and only one of those tracks cracked the top 20 in the UK.
There was definitely a lot less heavy guitar on UK radio in the 80s, and I'm sure plenty of British folk here could attest to that. The heavier stuff (particularly hair metal) was a much bigger deal in the US.
dysan
I was there man. I was there
*shivers*
*shivers*
Sebastian
America was the band's main target, especially after the HS fiasco. In that sense, having a synth solo on 'Break Free' rather than a killer May-estic guitar one was a really really really bad idea.
While Britain was home, they were mostly living in the States back then, so it made more sense to seek that market ... they even started recording the album there.
Moreover, since when was that a reason anyway? There were no songs 'like' Bo Rhap on the radio in 1975, and that didn't stop them.
While Britain was home, they were mostly living in the States back then, so it made more sense to seek that market ... they even started recording the album there.
Moreover, since when was that a reason anyway? There were no songs 'like' Bo Rhap on the radio in 1975, and that didn't stop them.
Sebastian
OTOH, a lead guitar part was recorded for 'Do They Know It's Christmas' and then taken out, probably for the same reason 'Break Free' lacked one. Hindsight is 20/20 anyway.
Dim
The Works was going very well in Billboard, they same for Radio Gaga Gaga.
Both were going up every week, until the record Payola. Also some bad PR by Queen team, load both album and single to go down.
When break free video came things went even worse. The no tour policy didn't help.
Break free is a great pop song! With Rock feel. That's the Queen genious. Still on Radio and with good sales. It keeps Queen to the wide public, and who knows? Maybe it brings few new fans to search deeper.
Both were going up every week, until the record Payola. Also some bad PR by Queen team, load both album and single to go down.
When break free video came things went even worse. The no tour policy didn't help.
Break free is a great pop song! With Rock feel. That's the Queen genious. Still on Radio and with good sales. It keeps Queen to the wide public, and who knows? Maybe it brings few new fans to search deeper.
Dim
The Works was going very well in Billboard, the same for Radio Gaga Gaga.
Both were going up every week, until the record Payola. Also some bad PR by Queen team, then both album and single to go down.
When break free video came things went even worse. The no tour policy didn't help.
Break free is a great pop song! With Rock feel. That's the Queen genious. Still on Radio and with good sales. It keeps Queen to the wide public, and who knows? Maybe it brings few new fans to search deeper.
Both were going up every week, until the record Payola. Also some bad PR by Queen team, then both album and single to go down.
When break free video came things went even worse. The no tour policy didn't help.
Break free is a great pop song! With Rock feel. That's the Queen genious. Still on Radio and with good sales. It keeps Queen to the wide public, and who knows? Maybe it brings few new fans to search deeper.