It makes me mad when Rolling Stone gets on their high horse and dubs Public Enemy as one of the most influential bands, among the Beatles and Jimi Hendrix. Yes...The Beatles and Hendrix I can understand, but why the hell is Queen always ousted out by some no talent wonders such as Public Enemy? Why is Queen only known for their hits when all of their unheard songs and rareties are sheer brilliance? It does not make sense, but perhaps these critics only think of We will Rock you and Bohemian Rhapsody when they hear Queen. It drives me insane....
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I think only Queen fans realize just how underrated they are, because we know all the hidden gems that most of the general public isn't aware of. Most just think of Queen as the band that did Bohemian Rhapsody and We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions, but don't realize that a lot of their songs were just as great, maybe even better.
I think a reason for this is that the lifes of the Queen members is not so much in the press (well maybe in the UK, but not outside). The more you are 'the news of the world', the more influental you are to some people.
Hmm, I tend to agree..they weren't really scandalous.
Is Queen underrated?? I believe that that I more often hear Queen on the radio than the Stones.
In Holland they surely get the airplay they deserve
i don't think queen were underrated...and anyhow isn't RS a US mag? doesn't that tell you all you need to know? queen died in the US during the 80s
one other thing - when considering how influencial bands are, i think its fair to say that queen shouldn't be high up the list
1. queen cite loads of influences to them - beatles, hendrix, clapton etc
2. there aren't many band about now thta sound even vaguely queenlike - muse/dankness
3. the other bands mentioned - PE, beatles, stones, hendrix - they all have plenty of "shadows" about now
one other thing - when considering how influencial bands are, i think its fair to say that queen shouldn't be high up the list
1. queen cite loads of influences to them - beatles, hendrix, clapton etc
2. there aren't many band about now thta sound even vaguely queenlike - muse/dankness
3. the other bands mentioned - PE, beatles, stones, hendrix - they all have plenty of "shadows" about now
In terms of airplay, Queen does have a lot. I Want To Break Free and others, are very well known around the globe.
In terms of "respect", Queen is very under-rated. Part of it is the same "over"-play of certain hits, and the "over"-use in determinate circles. For example, many people like We Are The Champions or Bicycle Race, but very few realise the clever music behind them. Both songs - specially the latter - have tons of chords, modulations, unusual structure, etc, but Freddie managed to keep the song easy listeneable, which makes most the audience ignore the musical value of it and think of the track as just "pop".
By other side, simpler songs like CLTCL, IWTBF or Radio Ga Ga make many ocassional listeners think that Queen only made very basic music (except for Bo Rhap). That part of the band`s career is, unfortunately, much better known than Queen II or Sheer Heart Attack. Let alone the live material - relatively very few people have had the pleasure of hearing White Queen live versions, which are very musical. Most people know Queen for their "less musical more show" tours, like Magic Tour, in which Fred was more frontman than pianist and the songs were arranged more for entertainment, than music.
In terms of "respect", Queen is very under-rated. Part of it is the same "over"-play of certain hits, and the "over"-use in determinate circles. For example, many people like We Are The Champions or Bicycle Race, but very few realise the clever music behind them. Both songs - specially the latter - have tons of chords, modulations, unusual structure, etc, but Freddie managed to keep the song easy listeneable, which makes most the audience ignore the musical value of it and think of the track as just "pop".
By other side, simpler songs like CLTCL, IWTBF or Radio Ga Ga make many ocassional listeners think that Queen only made very basic music (except for Bo Rhap). That part of the band`s career is, unfortunately, much better known than Queen II or Sheer Heart Attack. Let alone the live material - relatively very few people have had the pleasure of hearing White Queen live versions, which are very musical. Most people know Queen for their "less musical more show" tours, like Magic Tour, in which Fred was more frontman than pianist and the songs were arranged more for entertainment, than music.
Isn't that the same for other famous bands Sebastian?? I only hear the real famous hit songs of the Rolling Stones either. Another example, Toto has made a of lot songs which are musical perfect, but we only hear Africa and Pamela.
Well, this kid at my school was telling me how he thought Queen were crap, and after reading my short Queen autobiography, he said 'Queen sung I Want To Break Free?', Queen sung 'Radio Ga Ga?' and it went on and on until the end of our lesson when he said 'Actually, Queen are really good'...
Its just ignorance I think...
Its just ignorance I think...
Sorry I meant biography, I'm half asleep lol
Isn't that the same for other famous bands Sebastian?? I only hear the real famous hit songs of the Rolling Stones either. Another example, Toto has made a of lot songs which are musical perfect, but we only hear Africa and Pamela.
Yes, of course. Look at Supertramp, great, awesome, indescribable musical gems in the early albums, but everybody knows the tracks of Breakfast. Not that I dislike that album, it`s perfect. But that`s it. "Just" perfect. The other albums are much more than perfect and nobody knows about them. Another example: Kansas (and the Point Of Known Return album)
In terms of "respect", Queen is very under-rated.
Yep...
Not to forget the old gay and aids thing that some people seem to associate with Queen rather than their 20 year input in rock history.
rant...
I simply think its becasue they always changed their musical style and wern't afraid to branch into different types of music.
Using the independent music scene as an example, its hard to find a band out there that doesn't break from one formula on one album. And even if they change their style moderately they still make the rest of the album sound that way, the songs really have no form of identity except lyrics.
One of the only bands I've seen do this (coheed & cambria) we're ridiculed as going soft or being too poppy, they covered genres from rock to salsa to hardcore to pop to progressive in one album, and it even told a story, imagine that, depth.
people are afraid of change, they want to be associted with one sound or one song, anything that threatens their identity (if a song sounds poppy or deep) they reject, this is why I believe Queen doesn't get the credit they deserve, beyond their hits (which are in fact are rather diverse themselves arn't they?)...
close minded people don't know what they're missing,i can listen to pop music and hardcore music all in one day, or 2 different era Queen albums and don't give a shit cause I'm honest with myself that I like it....
I simply think its becasue they always changed their musical style and wern't afraid to branch into different types of music.
Using the independent music scene as an example, its hard to find a band out there that doesn't break from one formula on one album. And even if they change their style moderately they still make the rest of the album sound that way, the songs really have no form of identity except lyrics.
One of the only bands I've seen do this (coheed & cambria) we're ridiculed as going soft or being too poppy, they covered genres from rock to salsa to hardcore to pop to progressive in one album, and it even told a story, imagine that, depth.
people are afraid of change, they want to be associted with one sound or one song, anything that threatens their identity (if a song sounds poppy or deep) they reject, this is why I believe Queen doesn't get the credit they deserve, beyond their hits (which are in fact are rather diverse themselves arn't they?)...
close minded people don't know what they're missing,i can listen to pop music and hardcore music all in one day, or 2 different era Queen albums and don't give a shit cause I'm honest with myself that I like it....
My hypothesis is: of all classic rock bands, they were touted as not being serious enough, or deep enough. Freddie said it best when he said that their performance was only pure escapism. Feel free to refute, add or elaborate.