Beatlesque Queen

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]Oberon wrote: [/QUOTENAME]I think it's a bit harsh to say it was all George Martin. That's like saying Roy Thomas Baker is responsible for Bohemian Rhapsody. Producers lend a lot, yes, but I think in the case of Queen and The Beatles, there's a lot to be said for the fact that they wrote their own material. And I think both bands produced themseleves at various points, but in the case of Queen we know that they went back to having producers.
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I don't claim to be a Beatles expert by any means, but I've always gotten the impression that George Martin was very important to the band, particularly in the way he brought the band members ideas together. I would be interested, however, in getting a better explanation of his contributions.

As for the reference to Roy Thomas Baker, it's an interesting point, but does it show a bias? I doubt a Queen fan would want to credit anyone but Freddie with creating BoRap. To me, this begs the legitimate question of what did Baker do or not do while the band recorded ANATO.

That's kinda my point really about Baker and Martin. From Brian's decomposition of Bo Rhap on GH1 DVD, you get the impression that it was very much Fred's creation, that he was indeed the main force behind it. But where did the boundaries lie? I think we can safely assume that musically, he had it all in his head. The same probably goes for the other three when they wrote (Brian definitely has intimated that when speaking about how he writes). So where does Baker come in? To pull it together and be able to mix it. Well, if so, then fine. That to me doesn't detract from Fred's achievement with Bo Rhap.

In the same manner, from the little I've heard of Martin and McCartney explaining how they work, it seemed very much that Lennon and Macca were the initial sources of ideas and they looked to Martin to help channel that into the right direction so it could be captured on the tape.

Therefore, I feel that the roles of Baker, Martin or any other producer these two bands worked with were probably significant, but not the core of what was produced. Therefore, I feel it's harsh to say that Martin was the force behind the Beatles.

the most beatles-esque song is leaving home aint easy. when brian sings "my love" it sounds so much like lennon

The Beatles were most likely better than Queen. Still, I like Queen better personally. But we wouldn't have had Queen (as least as we know them) without the Beatles (and probably Led Zeppelin).

I could see how someone MIGHT make an argument that the Beatles were just making pop tunes if they're talking about the early Beatles. But in the late '60s they were doing experimental work creating album-length works of art (rather than just singles), and pushing the technological limits of recorded sound (which Queen continued). "Revolution #9" is NOT a pop tune :) Plus they had such a dramatic influence on culture and other forms of art, which isn't easy to do.

But who knows...if Queen were in the Beatles' position in the '60s, Queen may have done a lot of the same things. That would have been a LOT to do, and would be quite a longshot for any band, but yeah I guess Queen would have been capable.

Excellent post.

Just noticed this, but In The Lap Of The Gods (Revisited) reminds me of Hey Jude, particularly because of the lengthy fade out at the end.

Someone mentioned A Day In The Life earlier in this thread, and a few of the piano chords sounded like the part in Bohemiman Rhapsody right before the operatic bit.