I think MIH was a great album but the album was somewhat ignored here in the US when it was released despite the fact it went Gold. The album peaked at a dismal #51. However, in other countries, MIH hit #1 and was the band's best selling original material studio album. In the US, those honors go to NOTW and The Game each at 4 million a piece. Americans at the time of MIH's release(not counting myself and some real music purists) were big into faux rap like Cypress Hill, the Adult rock of Hootie and the Blowfish, and the angst-ridden grunge alt-rock of crap like Alanis Morissette, Alice in Chains and The Smashing Pumpkins, AAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGH! I played some tracks of MIH when I did college radio like Mother Love, It's a Beautiful Day(Reprise), Too Much Love, the title cut and others. I think MIH was ignored as my fellow Americans were too angry and bowing down at the shrine of the loser Kurt Cobain and the rest of those loser grunge freaks!
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Yes, Yes it was. Atleast I didn't overlook it. ;)
heh, too true. Smashing Pumpkins is teh suxxor.
Think that Hollywood Records must share some of the blame as they are respnsible for distribution and marketing of Queen product within the USA. Can't recall if May or Taylor did promo work for the LP in the states as they did for Innuendo.
Umm, because it sucked?
Umm, because it sucked?
or because Americans suck ;-)
Anyway, Queen hasn't been an American top selling band since 1980 (with the exclusion of BoRhap in 1992), so it's no surprise that MiH didn't really top the charts.
Exactly.
MIH did manage to go Gold in February of 1996(three months after its release). Hollywood may have been Disney owned but had distribution by first Elektra then PolyGram then Universal. VH1 did some promotion for MIH by showing an edited version of then new documentary Champions Of the World plus edited versions of Live in Rio and Milton Keynes in December of 1995 so that helped sales somewhat. Other than that, my fellow Americans like what is the latest thing(I say hogwash). MIH was a great album but Americans were busy being force fed grunge, gangsta rap and those has beens Hootie and the Blowfish and Alanis Morissette whom both fell from grace!
Think that Hollywood Records must share some of the blame as they are respnsible for distribution and marketing of Queen product within the USA. Can't recall if May or Taylor did promo work for the LP in the states as they did for Innuendo.
Hollywood is the US and Canada. Even with Universal backing Hollywood, kids don't want Queen they want crap like Good Charlotte and what not!
Hollywood is the US and Canada. Even with Universal backing Hollywood, kids don't want Queen they want crap like Good Charlotte and what not!
Sad, ain't it? One of my 11-year-old students is completely convinced that the guys in Good Charlotte, Blink 182, and Sum 41 are some of the best rock musicians ever. When he told me that, I didn't know where to begin.
I do! Take his guitar away. ;)
I think the USA never understood completely what Queen were/are.
Hollywood is the US and Canada. Even with Universal backing Hollywood, kids don't want Queen they want crap like Good Charlotte and what not!
Sad, ain't it? One of my 11-year-old students is completely convinced that the guys in Good Charlotte, Blink 182, and Sum 41 are some of the best rock musicians ever. When he told me that, I didn't know where to begin.
Jeez. Sum 41 are the worst Canadian act since Avril Lavigne and like her are poseur punks. Good Charlotte's lead singer who is 25 is dating a 17 year old actress/singer Hilary Duff whom coincidentally shares the same record label as Queen in the US and Canada. Blink 182 is pop punk. I am 28 years old and have loved Queen since I stole a copy of the Elektra version of Greatest Hits from my older sister's friend in December of 1990. The first album I got was A Night at the Opera in March of 1992 when my dad bought me the CD. Since then, I have loved Queen and regretted not ever seeing them as I was only 6 when they did their last US tour.
"Why do you think it sucked?"
Well...
Brian said that the process involved the remaining members passing the material back and forth and making changes independently. Call me crazy but that's what the album sounds like, a recording made without a band dynamic.
Second, the songs are incomplete or rehashed. Track 1 and 13 are unfinished. Mother Love was unfinished. Piece of my heart was unfinished.
Three, the songwriting was weak. Everybody's opinion is different, but these songs sounded like throwaways dug up for the purpose of releasing product.
Four, and most importantly for the US market, it was flat and boring. Queen was a rock band in the US, period. They were liked by the masses for AOBTD, but their creative and popular peak was when they were rockers. There is nothing resembling a rock song on the album, and don't say IWBTLY is a rock song. It's a synth tune with guitars (which sound contrived.) There are no amazing "Queen" moments.
Five, it's beyond maudlin. Other than Mother Love for emotion, it's in Celine Dion cornball territory. If they had ended with the honesty of Innuendo, I think it would have been a perfect goodbye, but it reeks of a manipulative goodbye.
Six, the covers are inferior to all of the others. And IWBTLY was unknown in the US, so who cared if was covered.
To each his own, and I'm sure people on this board feel the same as ANATO, which is my favourite album. But I remember a station which supported (and still supports Queen) in Canada saying that the album was a nice tribute, too bad they couldn't have given him a farewell with some decent songs. My sentiments exactly.
Well...
Brian said that the process involved the remaining members passing the material back and forth and making changes independently. Call me crazy but that's what the album sounds like, a recording made without a band dynamic.
Second, the songs are incomplete or rehashed. Track 1 and 13 are unfinished. Mother Love was unfinished. Piece of my heart was unfinished.
Three, the songwriting was weak. Everybody's opinion is different, but these songs sounded like throwaways dug up for the purpose of releasing product.
Four, and most importantly for the US market, it was flat and boring. Queen was a rock band in the US, period. They were liked by the masses for AOBTD, but their creative and popular peak was when they were rockers. There is nothing resembling a rock song on the album, and don't say IWBTLY is a rock song. It's a synth tune with guitars (which sound contrived.) There are no amazing "Queen" moments.
Five, it's beyond maudlin. Other than Mother Love for emotion, it's in Celine Dion cornball territory. If they had ended with the honesty of Innuendo, I think it would have been a perfect goodbye, but it reeks of a manipulative goodbye.
Six, the covers are inferior to all of the others. And IWBTLY was unknown in the US, so who cared if was covered.
To each his own, and I'm sure people on this board feel the same as ANATO, which is my favourite album. But I remember a station which supported (and still supports Queen) in Canada saying that the album was a nice tribute, too bad they couldn't have given him a farewell with some decent songs. My sentiments exactly.
Yes, As sir GH said and many other,
It really tears me up when people says that sum 41 and other wannabe band are the best muisc available. When I tells them about queen, they say that you must love the music of today, and so on.
That made in heaven didn't hit that high in the states is boring. Maybe they didn't like the softer side of queen. Everybody knows that the artists that have sold the most records are those who can change there style of music without lose there roots.
That the music industy is in panic is not hard to see. Just look on what kind of shit they give the audience. For myself, I'm waiting for something new from Brian.
It really tears me up when people says that sum 41 and other wannabe band are the best muisc available. When I tells them about queen, they say that you must love the music of today, and so on.
That made in heaven didn't hit that high in the states is boring. Maybe they didn't like the softer side of queen. Everybody knows that the artists that have sold the most records are those who can change there style of music without lose there roots.
That the music industy is in panic is not hard to see. Just look on what kind of shit they give the audience. For myself, I'm waiting for something new from Brian.