American Idol Increasing Sales of Queen albums?

No that's not the comment I remember reading, but yes that one was another quote.

I have to admit YV that I can't point you towards the quote I am referring to, however I know I read it somewhere. Lets be honest, it is unlikely Freddie didn't want to be big in the States again it wouldn't be in his nature, he wanted Queen to be a big and successful as possible, so whilst I don't have the quote to hand, I am confident that he would not have turned his nose up at the idea.

I personally do feel that the part with Ace was edited to make it into something that it was not. If you watch the entire thing you hear Brian compliment Ace. I'm agree with Brian that they were both misrepresented on the show.

I also think that they made the correct decission not to actually play on the show. In total Brian and Roger were probably on AI for around 8 - 10 minutes. Not really a big deal IMO.

Togg, I also believe that Freddie would have loved to be successful in the USA, I think that is undisputed - but would he have admitted it? And the quote fairydandy provided is really far away from the originally quoted statement. Roger later complained that even Freddie's death did not give them a no. 1 hit in the USA, it needed a movie...

As to the question if would Freddie have done A.I. - this is all speculation. He loved to have the biggest audience but he hated to be in situations when he was not in control, so it's really hard to tell and pointless, anyway.

Pieter, I think that they caught Brian when he lost patience a bit. He really tried to be friendly and encouraging and said something nice about all the contestants but it was obvious that he did not like the attitude of this guy who treated them like a house band. Surely, it was unneccessary to pick this moment and put it on air but this happens when you are not in control.

[QUOTE][QUOTENAME]YourValentine wrote: [/QUOTENAME]Surely, it was unneccessary to pick this moment and put it on air but this happens when you are not in control. [/QUOTE]

As much as I can't stand Ace I feel that this moment was something that unfare to both Brian and Ace. There was no need to show it other than to create some drama for the show.

Excellent points YV. Everyone always uses the "Freddie would have wanted" the tour, the musical, the American Idol show, the Pepsi commercial to happen. I've seen countless Freddie quotes where he said he got bored easily and wanted to do new things, so I'm surprised everyone thinks he'd thin those projects were great. It's simply rehashing old ground for sales. When you say "somehow I have a feeling Freddie was thinking of a NEW hit, not Bohemian Rhapsody re-charting for some reason", that's the crux of a lot of people's bewilderment over the Idol stuff. If Bohemian Rhapsody goes to number 1 next week based on television exposure, it doesn't make it a better or worse song, and Queen's catalogue didn't improve a lick by being on American Idol. People who see sales as the be all and end all are missing the boat. Queen were once the greatest creative band in the world. They don't need a new generation of people watching a karaoke style show to validate them.

Agreed, they don't need it to validate them that's a given, but they do need it to create awareness in the states, younger record buyers know little of them in the states, and if they are to move forward they have to attract new fans in the US.

That must have been a major factor in touring there.

This is a PR exercise nothing more

And reading Brian's latest Soapbox message backs up the idea that the video edit for Ace was done badly. He sticks up for ace - http://www.brianmay.com/brian/brianssb/brianssb.html

Peace,
Adam.

I think that, of all possible outcomes, they really achieved the best, most positive exposure.

I was so happy that American Idol included Killer Queen in the group medley (my fav. Queen song)!!! That made my night!

I think that 29 million watched on Tuesday night.

After seeing a notice of this coming out on a blackboard in a book store...

"In commemoration of Queen Week on American Idol (April 11 and 12, 2006), Hollywood Records is releasing Stone Cold Classics. The disc features 12 original studio hits featuring Freddie Mercury--including "Bohemian Rhapsody," "We Will Rock You," "We Are the Champions," "Another One Bites the Dust," and "Crazy Little Thing Called Love"--plus two live bonus tracks with Paul Rodgers from Return of the Champions: "All Right Now" and "Feel Like Makin' Love." "

Huh.

The tracks, I have to say, are "Safe Choices", for the most part.

I wish someone had branched out slightly.

True, "Stone Cold Crazy" is probably 'new' to America... I guess...

If it's about getting "new fans", why not entice them with something they've not heard a million times before? Many of Queen's earlier albums have great "flow" - something you can't re-produce on Greatest Hits compilations. I think there are many Queen songs that could do really well today if let into the light. :/ Heck, I'm betting a good percentage of the boys at my school would love "Queen II"... "fantasy rock" is very popular around here.

Great questions Kelley! Unfortunately, risk is a four letter word in the world of QP.

People are enticed to buy what they already know and like. If they like it enough, then they branch out into less well known material. "Queen II" is a classic, absolutely, but its very dense and probably a bit intimidating for someone who probably only knows a handful of Queen's hits. You can't put "The Fairy-Feller's Masterstroke" and "Great King Rat" on a 'Best of' compilation aimed at a mass market that is either re-discovering Queen's catalogue or discovering it for the first time. "Queen II" was certainly not MY first Queen album purchase 15 years ago. I got "Innuendo" because it was new at the time, then "News of the World" because it had a couple of songs I already knew and liked, then "Classic Queen", a compilation, which really sent me off in search of more and more obscure Queen stuff. If the first thing I had heard was "Lily of the Valley" or "Ogre Battle", I'm not sure I would have been as enthusiastic about getting into Queen, because I frankly wasn't ready for music that was that subtle and/or dense.

And there's the rub Mr. Faron Hite! While understanding that it's not the mid 70s, at that time, Queen didn't care about their fans in a good sense. They made music for themselves. Their make or break album opened with a song which contained a 3 minute guitar solo. Their seventh album opened with an Arabic sounding number with virtually no Englsih lyrics. Their singles from their heyday included pop, rockabilly, Euro pop, mock opera, rock, stomping on boards, waltzes, a bicycle bell solo, weird time signatures galore and enough styles to sink any ship. Now, it's the same old, same old. Of course no one expects them to release Queen II as an intro. But the beauty of Queen is their diversity. I'm not saying I'm right, but maybe exposing a new audience to songs like White Queen, Leroy Brown, Mustapha or Staying Power would show people the real Queen, not the Queen who appear to have 10 songs.

I certainly see your point of view, but let me throw it back to you thusly: WE all found out how great Queen's diverse body of work is (and I absolutely agree that their diversity and willingness to explore any style is one of the band's major strengths), many or perhaps even most of us by picking up a greatest hits/best of style compilation, and then pursuing their less well-known work because of our like of their more mainstream stuff. Why is it now after 30 years incumbent on the band to release compilations that do that for new listeners? Why can't new fans get into the band's back catalogue the same way the rest of us did? Why is it *now* a crime that the record companies continue to hawk The Hits as opposed to when they were doing the same thing 10, 15 or 20 years ago? The Amazon sales listings Pieter posted show that people are obviously buying BOTH the compilations and the individual albums in greater numbers in the wake of the A.I. appearance, so where's the problem?

Of course, I'm not suggesting an "Introduction to Queen" type album have anything too "weird" in it. But there are some that I think could easily bridge into the "music of today".

- "Flick of the Wrist", I made people listen to this once at drama, and a lot of people liked it, and had no idea that it wasn't an 'all new' something that I had nicked from the Indie market.

- "White Queen (As it Began)". I digress, it's a little like Zepplin. And the Zep's VERY popular here. That nonsense aside, it's a GREAT song.

- 'Things that Roger Sang'. Right... specific! "Sheer Heart Attack" or "Drowse".

- "Get Down, Make Love". Alright. Most people (my brother included) are closet fans of this song. It would be much easier for these people to love in the open if they didn't have to answer to "Wasn't that written by a gay guy?" Plus, sex sells! Or not.

- I propose there's a "God Save the Queen" WITH THE FUCKING LYRICS. Not in the song, of course, but in the little booklet thing. I had people singing that "America the Beautiful" song at me. "Why would a band from Ingle-Land play that?!" Horrible.

- "Sweet Lady".

- "Teo Torriate". Okay, I like this song, and the reason I would pick it is because half the nutters in my school are obsessed with Japan. Oh my goodness! Freddie in a kimono! EEE! Manga!

- "Tie Your Mother Down" and "Sheer Heart Attack" were great choices.

- "Heaven for Everyone". Okay. Maybe this is me demonstrating pissy-ness at all the crap I hear on my bus-ride, and all the death and beatings in those songs... Good song, too!

Yeah. That's just a short list. Not from all albums, I know. But it's off the top o' my head.

One reason I wouldn't have so much from "Innuendo" on a "Beginner's Queen" album is because, well, "Innuendo" was very mature and grown-up. Not bad, in any way - but I don't think a lot of "kids" (no one here!) would necessarily "get" a song like "These are the Days of Our Lives". Which, by the way, is on "Stone Cold Classics". I'm not knocking the song, but it's not kiddie stuff.

I don't think "Greatest Hits" are bad, but there are plenty of people that are too reluctant to go and sample the actual albums. They're worried about their money - just look at "albums" today! Some have only one decent song! People might think the only worthwile thing on "A Night at the Opera" is "Bohemian Rhapsody" simply because they've not heard anything else.

Also, buying, say... "Sheer Heart Attack" requires a certain commitment these days. You have to order the sucker, since no one around here stocks it. Here, they didn't even have "Innuendo". I had (and am still) going up to the order counter every few weeks. You can't just pick it up and walk away. And some of the ordering prices are slightly steep if you cuy at the wrong place.

People have to be allured, and "Stone Cold Crazy" and "Tie Your Mother Down" are a good step. But I don't know if I would go through all the go-getting trouble if my mom hadn't already had "A Night at the Opera" and "A Kind of Magic". Plus, "casual people" aren't as likely to spend $30 on ye olde Platinum Collection, which my mom did for me and helped spark a riot.

Also, since it takes such effort to get your hands on one, there aren't any for cheap at the "used" stores. Only the "Greatest Hits" are at the used stores, that I've seen.

It's not a crime to hawk the hits, but recently Brian said upon his visit to the Rock Hall of Fame in Cleveland that "it was a bit of an eye-opener to see how odd some of the perception is in these halls...I'm kinda spoilt, I guess...all over the world, we're used to Bo Rap being regarded (rightly or wrongly) as the No. 1 song of all time, and Rock You/ Champions as a pivotal point in rock and roll history...and a lot more besides...Suddenly to be shown around this huge building filled with dusty artefacts, and realise that we had effectively been written out of Rock History in this part of Cleveland, was strangely sobering!!!" It's because Brian's perception of Queen (which is correct) is totally out of whack with America's. In the US, critics, and the overwhelming record buying public, know or knew Queen as a singles band. Again, Queen has no where near as many tracks as artists like Tom Petty, CCR, Van Halen or Zeppelin on American rock radio. Queen is known for its hits. And if you come to the States and play the songs people know, it perpetuates the myth that you're a singles band doesn't it? I'm not saying this is wrong as they're not appealing to the hardcore fan, but this was not a very ambitious tour from a risk POV.