Queen's probably the only band where the Greatest Hits album is worth mentioning in its own right. That thing is and was ubiquitous in a way that no other Greatest Hits has ever been. As Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote in Good Omens, "All tapes left in a car for more than about a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums."
The thing I've always been most impressed by with Queen, is how they always felt like a complete band, even with a frontman like Freddie Mercury. You'd imagine they would feel like Freddie Mercury and some randos but the efforts of May, Deacon and Taylor are clear and important in their discography.
They where also all very well educated. Freddie has an art degree and designed their crest logo Brian has a doctorate in astrophysics and worked with nasa for those new pluto pics from a while back. John is a trained electronics engineer and made a special amp for a unique guitar sound on their sophomore album Roger, the drummer; dentistry. Although he did not finish cause some other job came up. Queen movie spoilers So it really pisses me off when in that scene where freddie gets mad at the band. "where would you be without me".....they would be a dentist, an electrical engineer and an astrophysicist. Not too shabby
@@joaquinlezcano2372 And Genesis. Proggier bands tend to have a big focus on everyone being worth mentioning in their own right because it's kinda necessary for that sort of music. A song like Bohemian Rhapsody or Don't Stop Me Now requires a band functioning as a full unit. If you're the clash, you really only need Strummer and Jones, everyone else can be randos.
Innuendo is honestly my favorite Queen album, and it’s very disappointing to see that The Show Must Go On wasn’t even mentioned. It’s an extremely powerful song, and I like to see it as Freddie’s goodbye to the world, saying that even after he passes, the show must go on.
And can we just mention that supposedly Freddie recorded the song in like, one take? Probably on his deathbed? His voice sounds thin but he still has power. Videos like this make me feel like they just read a wikipedia and are just going through the wickets. If you're gonna make a 45 minute video, why not just make it that 5 minutes longer and cover everything?
Innuendo is my favourite Queen album after A Night At The Opera. This one is both a real joy and a bittersweet one to listen to, knowing what would happen to Freddie. Interestingly, I’m surprised that Bijou, Delilah and I Can’t Live With You weren’t mentioned. The first and the last one are really awesome, while Delilah is more or less amusing, but also kinda cute..
As someone who isn't a huge Queen fan, I had no idea their biggest hits were so spread apart. I thought they all came from one or two albums, but damn they have at least one banger on every release
I'm surprised you didn't touch on The Show Must Go On off Innuendo. Incredibly powerful song, especially given what Freddie was going through. The story goes that Brian May told him he wasn't sure if it would be possible for him to sing the song, but then Freddie just put his vodka down, said "I'll fucking do it, darling", and nailed it in one take.
Fun fact: This song is in terms of a normal male voice, and in terms of Freddies range the hardest Queen song to sing, especially considering Freddie was a baritone and not a tenor, therefore a huge part of the song is played exactly on the breaking point of the male baritone voice, making it insanely hard to sing while still keeping up the needed volume to make it sound good.
It was just quickly mentioned in the beginning, but Brian May went back and got his PhD in Astrophysics. In addition to music work, he continues to do scientific work.
Yup. They were really heavy on those first three albums too. Songs like Stone Cold Crazy are a precursor to heavy and thrash metal. Metallica covered it and it didn't sound out of place at all
I get what you say (especially with their 70s stuff), but let's get real, most of Queen's 80s albums are only worth because of the hits, example The Works or A Kind of Magic.
Okay, so this video revealed something particularly interesting to me. In the film Bohemian Rhapsody, the low point of Freddie's life and career ('cause you have to have one of those in a music biopic) centers around his manager/maybe lover coercing him into signing on for a solo album and ripping his bandmates' hearts out in the process. It's simple, obvious film writing, but I can see why it'd be effective with a lot of the audience. But while watching this video, I learned something interesting. That solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, came out in 1985. The year before that, Roger Taylor released his *second* solo album. He already had two of 'em! The movie doesn't mention that at all, and that's understandable given how it'd completely break the narrative structure of the film, but the more I learn about Queen, the more fascinated I am by just how much of the movie feels like a complete fabrication. It's not quite out of whole cloth, but it's consistently deceptive about so much of the history of the band and Freddie. I also really don't like the film for a host of other reasons but I've gone on long enough already. Lovely video as always!
Yeah, the movie just creates a lot of stuff for the sake of the movie. I mentioned in another comment how I understand that to cram 15+ years of a band's history into a 2-hour long Hollywood movie you have to make some changes and take some liberties, but this one just invents too many stuff, some of them really contradicting some of their history, and I don't know why Brian May and Roger Taylor gave their consent to some of that stuff. I don't know if you liked or knew about Queen before the movie, but I think it's great seeing other people interested in their story and music. Have you seen Days Of Our Lives, the 2-part documentary about them from 2011?
@@Alfonso162008 I've been aware of Queen for a long time, like I knew most if not all of the big hits, and I knew at least a bit of the history going in. Haven't seen that doc, perhaps I'll have to look into it.
I think the movie works great as a teaser / introduction to people who know very little about Queen, but for those who are Queen fans and has been Queen "experts" for decades, it causes nothing but frustration. Any of the documentaries or books telling stories of either Queen as a band, or Freddie alone are way better than the movie.
Talking Heads is interesting as (apart from the gap between the first and second albums) they didn't really evolve but shift. MSaBaF was a better version of the debut, Fear of Music was darker and Eno-y, then Remain in Light jumps genres and they keep doing that until Little Creatures. Then it's diminishing returns.
@@vinceeager8553 Razör did a more emotional take on Queen while putting their music in the context of its time. MtS is more technical in his approach, I think these two compliment eachother really nicely.
Eh, both good songs- or at least songs I personally like. Not putting them on the same pedestal- BoRhap, for as overrated (in terms of Queen's discography, there are better Queen songs) as it is, is better than I'm Ready imo- but I have too many personal memories to even dislike "I'm Ready".
@@DTheAustralian Despite your opinion, _Bohemian Rhapsody,_ like _Stairway to Heaven,_ is a masterpiece. We'd never heard anything quite like it before. Both songs annoy me now because they're the songs played most in Classic Rock, but I can still marvel at their creativity. AJR, however, are the *Twilight* of music. I haven't heard anything in their music that hasn't been done better. Nevertheless, I understand AJR'a audience would challenge my assertion.
Fun fact: I’m in Bohemian Rhapsody. They ran this thing where you could record your voice singing We Are The Champions / Some other song, and they would use it in the film.
I didn't particularly like the Bohemian Rhapsody movie either, but I watched it in the cinema with my friends and I just started crying at the Live Aid recreation. I know it's just a pantomime, but the music blaring out of the speakers and literally shaking me to my core really dislodged something in me and the tears just kept coming.
i watched the film in cinemas and one of my friends was CRYING at the end. I watched it again at home and didnt feel moved. The power of the big screeen, I guess
Glad to see one of my favorite bands covered on the DDD. A suggestion for an artist/band to cover for the future is Electric Light Orchestra (ELO for short). They have been dubbed by John Lennon as “sons of the Beatles,” taking into consideration they have a Beatlesesque influence to them. Their history is also interesting to get into.
So cool that John said that, because I've long opined that if the Beatles had continued into the 1970s with the same studio experimenting spirit from the late '60s, they would've just sounded like ELO.
@@alejandrovasquez8527 I’ve seen a lot of people say this about ELO. I haven’t really gotten too much into the Beatles outside of their hits, but I’m considering getting into their discography (gotta thank Mic for contributing to it)!
@@AKawasaki well, I'll join presumably many others in recommending that you check out more of their work! Jeff Lynne is himself a big fan, of course. While I'm here, I second your suggestion for an ELO DDD. I recently heard "From Out of Nowhere" and thought it must've been a deep cut from their heyday, but it's apparently only a few years old?! What's the story there?!
@@alejandrovasquez8527 long story short: modern day ELO is under the moniker Jeff Lynne’s ELO, due to copyright issues with a former band member starting in the late 80’s-early 90’s. Lynne eventually won the lawsuit against said member, and this is the second album under the new name. The first, which marked the official comeback of the band, came out in 2015, titled Alone in the Universe.
I remember freddie once said that he never wanted his songs to be something you think about or dwell over. He said he wanted his music to be heard, enjoyed and then forgotten about the next second. And in a weird way it's true. After hearing a queen song you do quickly move on. But there's never a bad time for a queen song, and you can always count on a queen song to make you feel better, to pump you up. To just appreciate music at its loudest, most outrageous, most cocky and confident, heck even overconfident. Their melodies are so insanely complex, and in my opinion you can't sing queen songs, cause you are always comparing yourself to freddie and you know no one in this galaxy will ever hold a candle to him. But at the same time they are remarkably easy to sing along to. And that is my favourite thing about queen. Are they the best band ever? In my opinion yes, but I know people will rightfully disagree. But the way a queen song makes you feel is something no other band can emulate. And the amount of hits that they made that broke into the mainstream and can still be heard on the radio today is probably the greatest compliment that queen can get. Queen truly is timeless.
Had it not been for live aid, Queen would've had their last show in Japan a few months earlier. They were ready to quit, a lot of problems backstage between the members of the band and individual problems. Listening to brian's speech right before love of my life at that concert is a bit telling. But luckily live aid happened, which gave new energy to the members and caused them to stzy together. Yes, they were planning on splitting the band and quitting with it, but luckily the timeline worked in our favor
@@finnjacobs Not really tho? The movie depicts the tension in the band, but it shows it as being a result of Freddie ditching Queen to party and do solo work (Roger already had two solo albums at that point!!) They even have a scene of him apologizing. That movie is oddly cruel to Freddie for no reason.
I've always been a big fan of '39, which is weird considering it was sung by Brian May; there's something great about Queen recording a sci-fi rock opera.
I know there's a jukebox musical called 'We Will Rock You' that uses Queen's music, but as a theater person, the fact that we never got and will never get a musical with music/lyrics written by Freddie.......devastating.
Trust me, you'll never wanna see that Queen musical. I saw it expecting the worst it would be is some Queen karaoke a la Jersey Boys. It's middle school creative writing assignment-level trash with a "story" crafted around the most surface-level interpretation of their songs' lyrics. A cash grab by any other name. Even the Queen movie is better.
Freddie wasn't really interested in music theatre, that tends to surprise people. The theatre that Freddie loved was opera, he should have composed an opera.
Young man, you have done your homework! I have been a fan of Queen since I first heard "Killer Queen" back in '74. The first time I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody", it was on my tinny little AM radio (because Top-40 radio was on AM in those days), and it sounded different from everything else I'd heard to that point. Then, I went to the library, discovered their record bin (because they had records then, albeit in mediocre shape at best), and listened to the entire A Night at the Opera album, end to end. I. Was. Hooked! I went on to collect every Queen album I could. I still enjoy their music today, and I thank the gods (of whom I am in their lap) I was alive during the span of this band's career. My biggest regret is that I never saw them live in their classic lineup. In 1982, I was a senior in high school, and Queen were touring in support of Hot Space. I wanted to go to their concert, but no money, no job, no license, no cool parents, you get the idea. "Oh, well," I thought. "I'll catch them the next tour." This brings me to the one thing you did not mention in your video: Freddie famously refused to tour the USA again after Hot Space. Ask any musician, and they will tell you that touring across the United States is a logistical nightmare. Not enough cities, you piss off your fan base. Too many cities, you get exhausted. The American leg of Queen's Hot Space Tour was 29 concerts, at 25 venues, in 54 days, plus a live performance on Saturday Night Live ten days later. This, combined with the poor reception of their new material, upset Freddie. A lot. I know there's a quote somewhere, but I could not track it down. In essence, the adversarial reception of American audiences during that tour led Freddie to declare that he would never tour the USA again. Sadly, he ended up being right, and I never got to see Freddie Mercury sing live, in person. I did, however, watch Live Aid, and it was spectacular! In more recent years, I did see Queen + Adam Lambert live three times. The first was a pre-tour warm-up show in 2014, at the iHeartRadio Theater, in Burbank, CA (Intimate setting bonus!). The next time was at Hollywood Bowl in 2017 (Iconic venue bonus!). And the third time was July 20, 2019, at the Forum in Inglewood (Brian May birthday bonus! Okay, it was the day after, but still...). Adam Lambert is an excellent fit with Brian and Roger, and I hope they continue on together in the years to come. About that crest... I did some digging, and I can tell you that yes, all four band members are represented via Zodiac symbols. Brian May is the "duh" as the crab, as his birthday is July 19 (Cancer). Roger Taylor (July 26) and John Deacon (August 19) are both Leos, and the lions represent them, but in the original crest, each lion is unique. the left lion had fish scales, while the right had wings. Roger is from Cornwall, which is known for its fishing, and John is from Leicester, which had a Royal Air Force training base during World War II. The fairies represent Freddie's sign, Virgo (September 5). They are Molpadia and Rhoio, the sisters of Parthenos. Their father, Staphylos, had a mean streak, and when Parthenos became pregnant by Apollo, he shoved her into a box and cast her into a river. One night, he went out, trusting a cask of wine to his remaining daughters. A swine wandered in, knocked the wine over, and it spilled everywhere. Rather than face their father's wrath, they threw themselves off a cliff. Apollo intervened at the last minute, and sent them to faraway villages, where they were local goddesses. Today, the word "παρθένα" ("parthena") is Greek for "virgin". Anyway, thought I'd share my $.02. Again, a really good job on this video. Even the jokes worked, and that could only happen if you understand the material, which you very obviously did. Excellent work! (A-, Liked and Subscribed)
Queen's sound is timeless. When I first heard their hits, like We Will Rock You and Bohemian, I couldn't tell that they were 70s tunes. That takes an unimaginable amount of talent and skill.
For the last few years I've been trying to delve into Queen's deep cuts a lot more, and it granted some amazing findings. Exploring its bootleg/live recording scene also helped a lot in appreciating more of their discography as well as different takes of their popular songs. And it's quite easy to look up various Queen live recordings here on RUclips nowadays. Shootouts to "Hangman" though, an early and unreleased song that currently only exists in Live recording form. The one from April 1st, 1976 at the Nippon Budokan might be the best performance of it to look up.
Love these dives on older rock artists, especially giving context to the changes in sound and style over the years. Would kill to see an Aerosmith or Genesis deep dive!!
hi ! just wanted to add about Freddie's real name : Farrokh Bulsara and his stage name during smile which was Larry Lurex. The song titled "going back" on smile's album queen in nuce is one of my fav hidden gems!
“Cool Cat” on Hot Space being glossed over reaaaally genuinely peeved me! The bassline is funky, and most notably Freddie’s vocals in that high head voice register is sooooo good.
Way to make me cry about it all over again. I was raised on Queen. A Night at the Opera came out the same year I did, and I used to play it on the 8 track whilst lying on a pallet on the floor my mom made for me to lie on the floor before I could walk or talk. It was ingrained into me. When Freddie died, this queer teenager cried for a week. No shit. I couldn’t console myself and nobody else could either. Seeing Tabitha Soren announcing it on the clip you showed here hit me deep down. But, like, thank you. That was awesome. You did good.
Queen has been my favorite band and enormous part of my life since the seventh grade. Finding out that Mercury also suffered from severe anxiety caused me to cry because for the first time in my life, I felt capable of doing something fabulous despite my fear of pretty much everything. The deprivations of Rhye across the first three albums also inspired me in my creation of a homebrew D&D world named for it. Across every creative facet in my life and personal moment, there is a bit of Queen, either getting me through it, or inspiring me to create.
LMAO i'm glad you mentioned the Dave Mars Rolling Stone review of Jazz when you got to that section, I remember reading that infamous line and laughing my ass off for a solid 5 minutes. What a truly bizarre review, like he was trying to be Robert Christgau there
In the UK it was quite difficult to judge how good Queen actually were due to the varying quality of their singles. Even songs like Somebody To Love was lukewarm at best as it followed Bohemian Rhapsody and was viewed as a copy of the former. However when QGH was released and the tracks were sequenced in the way that they were people were able to stand back and see just how good they were as songwriters. It probably the best greatest hits album ever put together. Hits II is none too shabby either. Everybody had a copy of Queens Greatest Hits growing up.
Curious how people claim earlier times were better and yet most of them seemed to be as STUPID as ever. Somebody to love is WIDELY DIFFERENT than Bohemian Rhapsody
Now that you've done Queen, you should absolutely do Elton John! It would be quite the undertaking with over 30 studio albums, but there is so much to talk about and especially the first couple of albums are masterpieces.
one of my first records I ever bought was the Queen’s Greatest Hits album. I fell in love with music because of Queen. The sheer theatrics, the variety of instruments, Freddie’s incredible range. One of the few artists almost everyone can agree is one of the greats.
same , it is the 1st record i bought, lots of memories in it, when first time hearing the whole songs in the album, it just like take me to other dimension
I recently finished my own Queen DDD, after being raised on their music and been a fan my whole life. For me A Night at the Opera is undoubtedly their magnum opus, but it's nice to see someone giving News of the World the time of day! It blows me away that Spread Your Wings was never a bigger hit, its one of my favourite Queen songs and an incredible performance from all members
my fairy kings gotta be one of my queen favs, im so happy youve made this, i LOVE queens discography, especially their younger 5 albums! i just cannot get over their fantasy rock genre, though everytime i get the itch to listen to the first album, i CANT not listen to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th…
I first listened to Queen (properly) in 2012. Up until then I only knew We are the Champions, We Will Rock You and I Want to Break Free. I liked this band called fun.(famous for We Are Young), and listening to their albums online, i always saw comments saying that he sounds a bit similar to Freddie Mercury. So I googled Freddie to check out his songs and found out that oh...its that We Will Rock You band. Listened to Bohemian Rhapsody halfway through, then listened to the whole song and was surprised by the "changes". Wanted to see how they would pull this off live, and instead of clicking the live version, I clicked on a video of the Prophet's Song. I wanted to go back, but my computer screen froze and i could only hear the audio. And I stayed for the entire 8 mins of that song, stunned by them. The Prophet's Song made me a Queen fan, even though i was a beginner in listening to rock songs. A proper introduction to the band's sound was thanks to their Greatest Hits album (found out about my soon-to-be fave song, Save Me). After that, i listened to each album and fell in love with them. Queen 2, Sheer Heart Attack, News of the World, Innuendo and their live album, Rock Montreal are my favs.
I am one of those people Queen II is their best album for me Although A Night At The Opera and Innuendo are not far behind Also,shame on you for not mentioning Back Chat,that song is stellar
To add to this, "Cool Cat" is another bop from that album as "Back Chat" not Queen's usual sound, no, but Freddie's vocals are stellar 👏🏽👏🏽 wish he had mentioned it, even if to flash it on the screen
My dad grew up loving disco and funk in the late 70s and early 80s, so although he loves Queen, his favorite albums of theirs are The Game and Hot Space, and I’ve come to love them too It’s funny and interesting how approaching music from a different perspective/background will influence your opinions
Mr. The Snare, I know this sounds like a terrible idea but I would love to see you dive into the discog of Imagine Dragons. I know you didn’t care for Origins or Mercury, but I’m curious to see what you’d think of the rest of their albums.
Queen is an all time favorite of mine and Freddie is one of my biggest inspirations as a vocalist; much respect. I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider putting BRANDY on your voting list DDD or to be the next one. She's one of the most influential figures in R&B in the past 25 years as well as being an OG teen pop sensation long before Nysync, Britney Spears, Etc. She is often described as the Vocal Bible when it comes to modern day R&B Vocalists. She has influenced countless artists such as Rihanna, Kehlani, Kelly Rowland, Ariana Grande, Solange, Erykah Badu, India Arie, Etc. She was also the first to work with Rodney Jenkins and Frank Oceans Before they became sought after sensations. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I BEG YOU DO BRANDY
Thanks, Sean Fay Wolfe of Diamond Axe Studios, for first bringing them to my attention, and now I have even further knowledge and appreciation for this band, having seen this dive. More people deserve to know of these guys. How were they not superstars?
Disagree with the live performances. Their earlier tours in the 70s showcased the band's instrumental side, which wasn't as present in the 80s tours. Freddie's voice was also clearer and softer. I'm not as big of a fan of the more macho sound he had during the Works and Magic tours. I'd recommend Ryan Newton's channel, he has tons of Queen bootlegs that really showcase the band at their best live: ruclips.net/channel/UCdK20x0fmjnKD27PAH79wFw
Wayne's world (one of my absolute favorite movies) was my first experience with bohemian rhapsody. both the scene and the song hold a special place in my heart.
I dont know this for a fact, but Bohemian Rhapsody may be the first song to hit the US Top 10 three time, non christmas song division. I think I like Another One Bites the Dust better than Bohemian Rhapsody.
queen are my favourite band and i saw them with adam lambert on the rhapsody tour in february 2020. it was the best concert i've ever been to - they played all the hits as well as some album cuts (including my favourite song, '39), adam is an incredible vocalist and performer, and brian and roger were somehow still so vibrant and clearly just love performing so much. this was such a great retrospective. thank you for reminding me how much i love this band, and why.
Finally!! I’ve voted for this in every single DDDD and I’m so glad to see this. Queen II is underrated (though there’s a questionable lyric in March of the Black Queen that I’m not cool with)
@ghost mall I think they change the lyrics on genius to "A little bit of sugar." The actual lyric that's written in the lyric sheet of the album is "a little n****r sugar." There's probably an annotation correcting the lyric. It's at about 1:47 in the song
It is worth noting that that song is, in my opinion, the best song on the album. It's sort of like a precursor to Bohemian Rhapsody with all the style changes throughout the song
In my opinion Jazz is my favorite Queen album because it has so many great hits. But “Jealousy” and “ More Of That Jazz” are my favorite tracks off the album
Great DDD! So many memories. Queen taught me how to read. I am dead serious. I still remember, I was 2 and I would get to listen to my uncle's "old" albums with my Fisher Price record player and massive old headphones (also previously my uncle's). While looking through the fold of A Night At The Opera at some point something in my mind just clicked and I realized that what was on the page is what was being said. I proceeded to dash through my house, reading things. I started with my Cheerios box, and words on commercials. I then sat down and read along with every album that had its lyrics with it. This actually became a long standing habit of mine, even when I got tapes or CDs, the first thing I still do is follow along with the words. 🥰 It's funny that you mentioned how Grunge, and specifically Nirvana changed the rock landscape in 91. Kurt was such a huge fan of Queen and Bowie. Losing Freddie and Kurt within a couple of years was just terrible. Thank you for the walk down memory lane. 💖 So Freddie and Kurt both had a great love of Ireland, so maybe I could make an eclectic suggestion of doing a DDD on an Irish band? Such as Clannad, Del Amitri, or The Cranberries? Provided you're interested of course. I've had the good fortune of seeing all of these bands play and I think they might surprise you.
Queen is the band I often point to as the "best rock band". Freddy always spoke to me in a way I never understood, Brian's guitar playing was a massive inspiration, and John and Rodger show the incredible power of a tight back-line. Every member of the band is independently exceptional, and the band is so much more than the sum of it's parts. Hot takes from a queen fan who wasn't even alive for most of their career: Somebody to Love is the best queen song. Made in Heaven's "untitled" always felt like a send off to freddy in the afterlife. Like "hey we're not the same band without you, I hope heaven's cool. We don't really know what to do without you" Princes of the Universe absolutely slaps and I won't hear a word otherwise "Hammer to Fall" and "Tie your mother down" are under appreciated And finally, "Another one bites the dust" is the song that inspired me to buy my first bass and get lessons 15 years ago, and now I can't really imagine a life without a bass in my hand. Queen is in my pantheon. They're a perfect band with a god tier catalogue and I don't think I'm ever going to grow tired of their music. Thanks for this deep dive Mic, it's always fun falling back into some of my favorite music
This was a great one. In the later years, I have always been partial to "I want it all" and the title cut to "Innuendo" I do find later released songs like "too much love will kill you" to be haunting after his passing. There was and never will be anyone quite like him again.
It's always 'Mother Love' that gets me. It's not just that it's the last song Freddie ever recorded, it's also knowing how Freddie became too ill and tired to record the last verse, saying he needed to rest and would finish it next time but never returning. The sheer power of his voice in that second verse knowing how frail and gravely ill he was to then hearing Brians voice for the final verse as he had no choice but to record it himself...That's what gets me, that's what makes it the one song I can't 'just' listen to.
Thank you Mic, absolutely loved this. Queen is genuinely one of the greatest bands of all time, and their work has been something that I’ve come back to throughout my time studying music, and in my working life in entertainment as well. Was lucky enough to be in training to duty manage at my work in October when Roger Taylor played at my venue, was such an incredible night, managed to get in the auditorium during Radio Gaga and shed a tear.
IMO Hot Space by Queen is one of the most over-hated albums of all time. It's great, campy fun with lots of catchy songs. It's sad they got so much push-back for it because they used synths, because I love it and would have liked to hear more. It was ahead of its time.
I'm with you on that it received way more hate than it deserved (still not their greatest work, at least imo), but to say that it was ahead of its time is a bit of a stretch.
I decided to listen to it recently for the first time, because I thought it can't really be as bad as everyone says. It was really that bad. Bland, boring tunes and horribly outdated production. A couple of decent tracks but otherwise just completely forgettable nonsense. Don't let anyone trick you into thinking it's some overlooked gem.
That is true. Hot Space is hated because it's different. Yes, it has some of the bands most corny songs, like Body Language, but overall it's pretty solid.
A few years ago I was moving from house to house by myself. I kept playing 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' and stuck with that song ever since. I think that the song is very telling for how the situation is in the world today. Mind you I have been listening to Queen since 1978, and of course there are so many songs to choose from, i mean of course I also really love "Killer Queen" just like you.. I guess what I am trying to say is that Queen's music is looking to be timeless, and will be played for the coming 100 years for sure. Good job on this Discog, kid! (sorry, you look really young, but I mean it as a compliment!)
My favourite Queen album has always been jazz, favourite song fat bottomed girls. I just love the mix of driving, hard drums and the dame near holy vocals, also its Queens baby got back.
I was waiting for you to mention Cool Cat (from Hot Space) because in my opinion it’s an underrated hit. Sadly you didn’t 🥹 but even so, amazing work!! Thank you so much for this! Growing up, we had Queen’s Greatest Hits albums in the car and we would listen to them nonstop during roadtrips. Never changed the discs lol. I’m happy I was initiated into the world of Queen at a young age. Gonna make sure to pass the mantle when I have kids of my own one day.
Will you ever do one of these deep dives on Led Zeppelin? Biggest band of the 70's, influenced Queen and many other rock bands (GNR, Van Halen, Metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam)
Thank you so much for mentioning the collab Freddie did with Montserrat Caballe. I grew up with my parents having "Barcelona" on their Queen mixtape and it's been my favorite ever since!
I know it’s such a weirdly specific thing, but as for me, I first discovered the concept of text painting through my first listens of Bohemian Rhapsody, at the part where Freddie said “shivers down my spine” and the chimes come immediately after, I don’t know why, but that moment blew my mind
leaving this comment before watching the video so idk if it was mentioned, but they aren't actual chimes btw!! Brian May plays his guitar with a sixpence coin and to get that sound he lightly scratched the backside of the strings with it angled so the serrated edge hits them just right. You can see him do it when they play the song live.
Suggestion: The cure, the fall, siouxsie and the banshees, the replacements, the who, dead can dance, husker du, cocteau twins, public image limited, morrisey, talking heads, blondie, madness, depeche mode, christian death.
Once more, Mr the snare has brought me another well made interesting video about a band I like. Yet continues to deny me a Deep Discog Dive on The Killers I truly want. Why must Mr the snare torture me in this way.
I was introduced to them through Greatest Hits 1&2 (and then 3), and I played that album to deathhhh. Then I bought the full albums A Night at the Opera, Innuendo, and Made in Heaven, and I played those to death too. That was my Queen phase in my late teens/early twenties. What a time! I loved the movie Highlander and you bet I loved the Queen songs in it! All the hits off those albums were great, of course, but I was obsessed with "I Can't Live With You" from Innuendo, and "Let Me Live" from Made in Heaven. The a capella part at the end, goosebumps every time!
Another excellent video! Always appreciate the amount of research gone into these and the amount of music you consume for each video! Happy how timeless these videos are and how they will feel just as relevant 5 years from now as they do now.
One thing I've never understood is how their record label was so concerned they made a 6 minute long operatic rock piece when the album came out years after songs like Roundabout and In the Court of the Crimson King were critical and financial successes. The early to late 70s were the era of long songs with experimental music and complex lyricism. It just doesn't seem like a huge stretch to me.
I think it was a fear that the massive amount of money put into Queen wouldn’t pay off. ANATO was the most expensive album ever made, and Queen was at that point only a moderately successful group… had it failed, the band members (who were all still broke) would have gone into even more debt w their label. So to put out a lead single that might not get radio play-the best form of promotion at the time-was a definite risk. The personal relationship the guys had with the Sheffield brothers was also breaking down, which probably added to doubts and irritations.
What do you mean by "dated" in relation to A Kind of Magic? This album, as any other, was a product of its time, of course it sounds like the 80s! Not everything has to have the "timeless sound", whatever that might mean. I, for one, adore the sound of the 80s emanating from some of its tracks, and personally consider the latter Queen era their best period. Still, a very good and, may I say, deep inspection of Queen's discography. Can't wait for more!
I know it is coming. I was told about it when I was six in 1991. I can't avoid it... but Freddie's passing, just hearing about.... it ALWAYS makes me cry. 😭 I feel like you should have gone a little more indepth, like for instance you never spoke of It's a Hard Life. What a tour de force that is!! Or Let Me Entertain You! Drowse also comes to mind and Was It All Worth It. Is This The World We Created? Still, this is the most comprehensive look I have seen into Queen's discography, and I thank you for it!! 💖
A really good deep dive. Apart from not bringing up The Show Must Go On, my only wish is that you could've mentioned Johns final project with Queen: the track No-one But You, dedicated to princess Diana after her death in 1997.
Given that you mentioned Steve Howe, you should do a DDD on Yes. They are the best band of the progressive rock era in my opinion (although not by far) and their later work, while not too good, would be interesting to check out.
"Innuendo" is also the Italian word for "suppository". Seriously though, this was a very well done episode. The only major thing that I felt was left out was the song "No One But You". After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Brian, Roger, & John got together to record one last song which not only served as a tribute to Diana, but also to Freddie. If "Made In Heaven" was the final chapter for Queen, "No One But You" is the epilogue.
Fun fact: during those controversial tour dates in South Africa, Queen stayed at the hotel my dad worked at. He was tasked with being Freddie Mercury's driver. He didn't know who Freddie Mercury was or why he was famous until later.
I as an absolute Queen-Fan, i do not have a favourite song. Because there are just so many good Queen-Songs, i could never commit to one song alone. I love this Band from the bottom of my heart, they have a song for every mood, every opportunity, and even their "bad" songs are good, compared to many modern music titles. I´ve become a Queen-missionary, who tries to convert as many people as possible to Queen-Fans. Their music may never die!
Personally, I think my favourite Queen song (that I’ve heard so far) would have to be their live aid version of hammer to fall. It just *hits*. It’s despondent and triumphant at the same time, and its energy mixed with its lyrics give it a kind of very human quality of refusing to give up even though there’s nothing left to hope for. The studio recording doesn’t quite capture that same feeling, I think because it’s much slower, but I do enjoy that version as well. It just doesn’t quite evoke the same emotion as the live version.
I've finished listening to their whole discography rather recently, so to me it's still a bit challenging to distinguish _some_ of their work apart (especially the most similar ones like A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races, in my opinion). All I know is - I enjoy them all. Can't think of a single bad album, a single one I don't truly adore. What I *can* tell you is which ones I like THE MOST. From the top of my head, I immediately think about Sheer Heart Attack, Jazz, The Works and Innuendo as the most memorable ones to me. Those will be a part of my playlists forever. Also, about the part where Nick talks about "Don't Stop Me Now" - I get it. I really get it. Thank you for expressing so well the feeling that that song has, its energy, its power, it truly makes anyone feel like they can do anything, be anything. And Freddie's vocals play a big part on that. This song has brought tears to my eyes more times than I'd like to admit, and it's commendable seeing Nick describe so well what makes it a great song.
In the Netherlands, in the last week of December, there´s a week long radio broadcast of the 2000 best songs ever made, according to the voting public. Bohemian Rhapsody is almost always number one. It´s often the last song most Dutch people listen to before the start of a new year. After the gong, we start counting: 10, 9, 8... Edit: Also Mike, your enthusiasm for any artist and their music genuinely makes my day!
Queen is timeless and it´s one of these bands where you think "It exists in a different universe on it´s own". The greatest band of all time. Thank you for this deep dive!
Thinking back on the Chumbawumba video, the first song on the album has them dissing Freddie Mercury and Queen for the Sun City performance, with the line "Freddie Mercury, this is your life/Thank the lord that you were born white". Apparently which ever member of the band wrote that lyric didn't know that Freddie was Indian, and likely faced discrimination as a "Paki" in his early life as an immigrant in Britain. I will assume that line they wrote was written in ignorance (to be fair, most people think Freddie is the most british man ever), else its kinda disgusting. Same goes for calling Queen "the first fascist rock band".
@@avigolberg8428 I guess, but 1.) they specified "Thank the lord that you were born white", defining his race rather than his background, 2.) This is written by a bunch of white guys and gals about an immigrant from a former colony. It's a bad look, and that's before we get to the actual stuff they slag him off for with Sun City and whatnot, which I don't think is deserved.
Queen is my favorite band of all time. I was only 3 when Freddie passed away, but I've had the chance of catching May and Taylor live on a "Queen+Adam Lambert" tour here in Brazil. I sang every word of every song and ugly cried when they performed "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". It was the only time I've went full fanboy mode for a band and rushed with my ex-gf to the nearest 5-star hotel after the show ended to see them up close. It was a crazy rainy night looking for a Uber to drive us there. I still have the photo with Brian. My ex chatted a little with Taylor's son and broke up in tears upon seeing May and Taylor. I could die after that and it still would be the best moment of my life. Queen fucking rocks. Good Discog Dive, Mic!
Queen's probably the only band where the Greatest Hits album is worth mentioning in its own right. That thing is and was ubiquitous in a way that no other Greatest Hits has ever been. As Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman wrote in Good Omens, "All tapes left in a car for more than about a fortnight metamorphose into Best of Queen albums."
It's still the best selling album *of all time* here in the UK. Greatest Hits II scrapes into the top ten as well.
The only other band I'd say has as important a compilation album is ABBA, with Gold.
@@boyo4445 I second ABBA. The only two Greatest Hits albums in my house as a child were Queen’s…and ABBA’s.
@@boyo4445 Eagles' Greatest Hits is one of the best selling albums in the US. So I'd say a triple threat between Queen, ABBA, and Eagles.
Is that where the "Rah-Mix" of Under Pressure is? I actually like that version better than the original. Good stuff.
14:06
My favorite part of the Sid Vicious story is the fact that Freddie insistently called him “Simon Ferocious”.
The thing I've always been most impressed by with Queen, is how they always felt like a complete band, even with a frontman like Freddie Mercury. You'd imagine they would feel like Freddie Mercury and some randos but the efforts of May, Deacon and Taylor are clear and important in their discography.
They where also all very well educated.
Freddie has an art degree and designed their crest logo
Brian has a doctorate in astrophysics and worked with nasa for those new pluto pics from a while back.
John is a trained electronics engineer and made a special amp for a unique guitar sound on their sophomore album
Roger, the drummer; dentistry. Although he did not finish cause some other job came up.
Queen movie spoilers
So it really pisses me off when in that scene where freddie gets mad at the band. "where would you be without me".....they would be a dentist, an electrical engineer and an astrophysicist. Not too shabby
The same can be said in bands like Moody Blues
@@joaquinlezcano2372 And Genesis. Proggier bands tend to have a big focus on everyone being worth mentioning in their own right because it's kinda necessary for that sort of music. A song like Bohemian Rhapsody or Don't Stop Me Now requires a band functioning as a full unit. If you're the clash, you really only need Strummer and Jones, everyone else can be randos.
@@lamestudiosinc418 Topper Headon is important too, but I agree
yeah it’s great that the band never felt like just “freddie and the boys” bc everyone was so musically talented
Innuendo is honestly my favorite Queen album, and it’s very disappointing to see that The Show Must Go On wasn’t even mentioned. It’s an extremely powerful song, and I like to see it as Freddie’s goodbye to the world, saying that even after he passes, the show must go on.
Agreed
And can we just mention that supposedly Freddie recorded the song in like, one take? Probably on his deathbed? His voice sounds thin but he still has power. Videos like this make me feel like they just read a wikipedia and are just going through the wickets. If you're gonna make a 45 minute video, why not just make it that 5 minutes longer and cover everything?
I completely agree with you. The show must go on is wonderful and very touching thinking in which conditions Freddie sang that song.
Innuendo is my favourite Queen album after A Night At The Opera. This one is both a real joy and a bittersweet one to listen to, knowing what would happen to Freddie.
Interestingly, I’m surprised that Bijou, Delilah and I Can’t Live With You weren’t mentioned. The first and the last one are really awesome, while Delilah is more or less amusing, but also kinda cute..
Probably emotional bias but in no way Innuendo is even a top 3 Queen album both musically and lyrically.
As someone who isn't a huge Queen fan, I had no idea their biggest hits were so spread apart. I thought they all came from one or two albums, but damn they have at least one banger on every release
Yep. Also the only band where every member wrote a #1 single. Haven’t watched this full video yet so not sure if he mentions that
Olpppppp
One banger per album and a bunch of mid
@@strangebrew1231 no one asked
@@pinkfloydmeddle6692 amazingly, every member has actually written at least two number one singles
I'm surprised you didn't touch on The Show Must Go On off Innuendo. Incredibly powerful song, especially given what Freddie was going through. The story goes that Brian May told him he wasn't sure if it would be possible for him to sing the song, but then Freddie just put his vodka down, said "I'll fucking do it, darling", and nailed it in one take.
Fun fact: This song is in terms of a normal male voice, and in terms of Freddies range the hardest Queen song to sing, especially considering Freddie was a baritone and not a tenor, therefore a huge part of the song is played exactly on the breaking point of the male baritone voice, making it insanely hard to sing while still keeping up the needed volume to make it sound good.
@@DualityofLife Freddie Mercury was one of a kind.
Really goes to show how incredible of a singer he was despite his condition. The high note he hits near the end of the song is inhuman.
@@roaldgranlund4148 he may have been the greatest ever.
My favorite Queen song.
It was just quickly mentioned in the beginning, but Brian May went back and got his PhD in Astrophysics. In addition to music work, he continues to do scientific work.
I didn't realize he was doing astrophysics...
They even quote him in Civilization VI for the astronomy breakthrough
@@witecatj6007Now I want to see Dr. Brian May playing through Civ 6
Queen’s deeper discography is what truly solidifies them as one of (if not THE) greatest band of all time. Their hits are just the icing on the cake.
I mean its solid with a couple of hits and misses
Yup. They were really heavy on those first three albums too. Songs like Stone Cold Crazy are a precursor to heavy and thrash metal. Metallica covered it and it didn't sound out of place at all
I get what you say (especially with their 70s stuff), but let's get real, most of Queen's 80s albums are only worth because of the hits, example The Works or A Kind of Magic.
I’m in this line.
IMO the hits get too much attention.
Sure we will rock you is good, but Its late is fantastic
Okay, so this video revealed something particularly interesting to me. In the film Bohemian Rhapsody, the low point of Freddie's life and career ('cause you have to have one of those in a music biopic) centers around his manager/maybe lover coercing him into signing on for a solo album and ripping his bandmates' hearts out in the process. It's simple, obvious film writing, but I can see why it'd be effective with a lot of the audience. But while watching this video, I learned something interesting. That solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, came out in 1985. The year before that, Roger Taylor released his *second* solo album. He already had two of 'em! The movie doesn't mention that at all, and that's understandable given how it'd completely break the narrative structure of the film, but the more I learn about Queen, the more fascinated I am by just how much of the movie feels like a complete fabrication. It's not quite out of whole cloth, but it's consistently deceptive about so much of the history of the band and Freddie.
I also really don't like the film for a host of other reasons but I've gone on long enough already. Lovely video as always!
Yeah, the movie just creates a lot of stuff for the sake of the movie. I mentioned in another comment how I understand that to cram 15+ years of a band's history into a 2-hour long Hollywood movie you have to make some changes and take some liberties, but this one just invents too many stuff, some of them really contradicting some of their history, and I don't know why Brian May and Roger Taylor gave their consent to some of that stuff. I don't know if you liked or knew about Queen before the movie, but I think it's great seeing other people interested in their story and music. Have you seen Days Of Our Lives, the 2-part documentary about them from 2011?
@@Alfonso162008 I've been aware of Queen for a long time, like I knew most if not all of the big hits, and I knew at least a bit of the history going in. Haven't seen that doc, perhaps I'll have to look into it.
Honestly this video is a better Queen movie then that load of shite
The film was more fiction than fact.
I think the movie works great as a teaser / introduction to people who know very little about Queen, but for those who are Queen fans and has been Queen "experts" for decades, it causes nothing but frustration. Any of the documentaries or books telling stories of either Queen as a band, or Freddie alone are way better than the movie.
Surprised that Mic didn’t mention “Save Me”. It’s one of the most beautiful Queen’s songs imo
Me too! “Save Me” and “It’s Late” are two songs that I hold in very similar regard
I’m honestly surprised that “All Dead, All Dead” didn’t get a mention, though that might just be my big bias towards that song talking
Haha I saw this comment and immediately remembered the whole song. Their power is unmatched.
I love “Save Me”! Brian recently said that he wrote it about Freddie, which makes it all the more powerful.
right! definitely one of my favorites on the game
A Talking Heads DDD would be sick! Their discography and evolution would be cool to hear broken down.
Talking Heads is interesting as (apart from the gap between the first and second albums) they didn't really evolve but shift. MSaBaF was a better version of the debut, Fear of Music was darker and Eno-y, then Remain in Light jumps genres and they keep doing that until Little Creatures. Then it's diminishing returns.
agree!!
Byrne's masterpice was Bush of Ghosts. But compared to Queen's insipid soul destroying garbage noise, terrific band!
@@miketomlin6040 oh c'mon
@@miketomlin6040 no one compared the two bands... I'm pretty sure David Byrne wouldn't care a shit
A Stevie Wonder episode would perfect for this series. One of the best and vast discographies in music.
Yessss, I've been looking forward to this DDD. Nice to finally see someone go in-depth about Queen's discography.
yoooo daniel t!! unexpected to see you here
Razorfist has done a retrospective of Queen as well, and it's great
A good queen album has a great fun flow to it that few people talk about
@@vinceeager8553 Razör did a more emotional take on Queen while putting their music in the context of its time. MtS is more technical in his approach, I think these two compliment eachother really nicely.
@@martinmortyry7444 I agree, and I enjoyed both videos
I love how the 2 songs that have gotten their own segment in a DDD are Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen…and I’m Ready by AJR 😂
Eh, both good songs- or at least songs I personally like. Not putting them on the same pedestal- BoRhap, for as overrated (in terms of Queen's discography, there are better Queen songs) as it is, is better than I'm Ready imo- but I have too many personal memories to even dislike "I'm Ready".
@@DTheAustralian
Despite your opinion, _Bohemian Rhapsody,_ like _Stairway to Heaven,_ is a masterpiece. We'd never heard anything quite like it before. Both songs annoy me now because they're the songs played most in Classic Rock, but I can still marvel at their creativity.
AJR, however, are the *Twilight* of music. I haven't heard anything in their music that hasn't been done better. Nevertheless, I understand AJR'a audience would challenge my assertion.
Balanced.
@@davidadams2395 Twilight is good tho, at least the first one
@@aledandrian twilight is entertaining and can be enjoyable but not Good
"They're night and day" is a fucking amazing line.
Fun fact: I’m in Bohemian Rhapsody. They ran this thing where you could record your voice singing We Are The Champions / Some other song, and they would use it in the film.
Woah that's cool
I'm wondering how they did this. Did they bury these voice recordings into the mix at the Live Aid show? Sarcasm: Did you recognize your voice?
did you get any money from doing that?
@@kekoa028 no. it was a marketing stint.
@@joelsmith5938 i assume so, and suprisingly, yes, I did.
I didn't particularly like the Bohemian Rhapsody movie either, but I watched it in the cinema with my friends and I just started crying at the Live Aid recreation. I know it's just a pantomime, but the music blaring out of the speakers and literally shaking me to my core really dislodged something in me and the tears just kept coming.
same here!! i was in class while watching it and almost started crying lol
i watched the film in cinemas and one of my friends was CRYING at the end. I watched it again at home and didnt feel moved. The power of the big screeen, I guess
Glad to see one of my favorite bands covered on the DDD. A suggestion for an artist/band to cover for the future is Electric Light Orchestra (ELO for short). They have been dubbed by John Lennon as “sons of the Beatles,” taking into consideration they have a Beatlesesque influence to them. Their history is also interesting to get into.
So cool that John said that, because I've long opined that if the Beatles had continued into the 1970s with the same studio experimenting spirit from the late '60s, they would've just sounded like ELO.
@@alejandrovasquez8527 I’ve seen a lot of people say this about ELO. I haven’t really gotten too much into the Beatles outside of their hits, but I’m considering getting into their discography (gotta thank Mic for contributing to it)!
@@AKawasaki well, I'll join presumably many others in recommending that you check out more of their work! Jeff Lynne is himself a big fan, of course.
While I'm here, I second your suggestion for an ELO DDD. I recently heard "From Out of Nowhere" and thought it must've been a deep cut from their heyday, but it's apparently only a few years old?! What's the story there?!
@@alejandrovasquez8527 long story short: modern day ELO is under the moniker Jeff Lynne’s ELO, due to copyright issues with a former band member starting in the late 80’s-early 90’s. Lynne eventually won the lawsuit against said member, and this is the second album under the new name. The first, which marked the official comeback of the band, came out in 2015, titled Alone in the Universe.
Shard Ends finest.
I remember freddie once said that he never wanted his songs to be something you think about or dwell over. He said he wanted his music to be heard, enjoyed and then forgotten about the next second. And in a weird way it's true. After hearing a queen song you do quickly move on. But there's never a bad time for a queen song, and you can always count on a queen song to make you feel better, to pump you up. To just appreciate music at its loudest, most outrageous, most cocky and confident, heck even overconfident. Their melodies are so insanely complex, and in my opinion you can't sing queen songs, cause you are always comparing yourself to freddie and you know no one in this galaxy will ever hold a candle to him. But at the same time they are remarkably easy to sing along to. And that is my favourite thing about queen. Are they the best band ever? In my opinion yes, but I know people will rightfully disagree. But the way a queen song makes you feel is something no other band can emulate. And the amount of hits that they made that broke into the mainstream and can still be heard on the radio today is probably the greatest compliment that queen can get. Queen truly is timeless.
Had it not been for live aid, Queen would've had their last show in Japan a few months earlier. They were ready to quit, a lot of problems backstage between the members of the band and individual problems. Listening to brian's speech right before love of my life at that concert is a bit telling. But luckily live aid happened, which gave new energy to the members and caused them to stzy together. Yes, they were planning on splitting the band and quitting with it, but luckily the timeline worked in our favor
This should have been the driving conflict of the movie tbh
@@Nosjjddjjd I mean, it kinda is, just presented in a different way.
@@finnjacobs Not really tho? The movie depicts the tension in the band, but it shows it as being a result of Freddie ditching Queen to party and do solo work (Roger already had two solo albums at that point!!) They even have a scene of him apologizing. That movie is oddly cruel to Freddie for no reason.
Also worth noting, Brian May said recently that they've found and restored an old track with Freddie Mercury and it's set to release in September!
I've always been a big fan of '39, which is weird considering it was sung by Brian May; there's something great about Queen recording a sci-fi rock opera.
Why is that weird ? I happen to love Brian’s voice !
I know there's a jukebox musical called 'We Will Rock You' that uses Queen's music, but as a theater person, the fact that we never got and will never get a musical with music/lyrics written by Freddie.......devastating.
It was such a bad musical as well
Omg exactly 😞
Trust me, you'll never wanna see that Queen musical. I saw it expecting the worst it would be is some Queen karaoke a la Jersey Boys. It's middle school creative writing assignment-level trash with a "story" crafted around the most surface-level interpretation of their songs' lyrics. A cash grab by any other name. Even the Queen movie is better.
Freddie doing a musical/theatre would’ve been awesome
Freddie wasn't really interested in music theatre, that tends to surprise people. The theatre that Freddie loved was opera, he should have composed an opera.
I can’t believe you don’t have more subscribers. The effort and quality of your videos are insane. Keep up the incredible work!
You should do britney spears discography at some point. She has a very interesting discography and evolved quite a bit through her career
Young man, you have done your homework!
I have been a fan of Queen since I first heard "Killer Queen" back in '74. The first time I heard "Bohemian Rhapsody", it was on my tinny little AM radio (because Top-40 radio was on AM in those days), and it sounded different from everything else I'd heard to that point. Then, I went to the library, discovered their record bin (because they had records then, albeit in mediocre shape at best), and listened to the entire A Night at the Opera album, end to end. I. Was. Hooked!
I went on to collect every Queen album I could. I still enjoy their music today, and I thank the gods (of whom I am in their lap) I was alive during the span of this band's career. My biggest regret is that I never saw them live in their classic lineup. In 1982, I was a senior in high school, and Queen were touring in support of Hot Space. I wanted to go to their concert, but no money, no job, no license, no cool parents, you get the idea. "Oh, well," I thought. "I'll catch them the next tour."
This brings me to the one thing you did not mention in your video: Freddie famously refused to tour the USA again after Hot Space.
Ask any musician, and they will tell you that touring across the United States is a logistical nightmare. Not enough cities, you piss off your fan base. Too many cities, you get exhausted. The American leg of Queen's Hot Space Tour was 29 concerts, at 25 venues, in 54 days, plus a live performance on Saturday Night Live ten days later. This, combined with the poor reception of their new material, upset Freddie. A lot. I know there's a quote somewhere, but I could not track it down. In essence, the adversarial reception of American audiences during that tour led Freddie to declare that he would never tour the USA again. Sadly, he ended up being right, and I never got to see Freddie Mercury sing live, in person. I did, however, watch Live Aid, and it was spectacular!
In more recent years, I did see Queen + Adam Lambert live three times. The first was a pre-tour warm-up show in 2014, at the iHeartRadio Theater, in Burbank, CA (Intimate setting bonus!). The next time was at Hollywood Bowl in 2017 (Iconic venue bonus!). And the third time was July 20, 2019, at the Forum in Inglewood (Brian May birthday bonus! Okay, it was the day after, but still...). Adam Lambert is an excellent fit with Brian and Roger, and I hope they continue on together in the years to come.
About that crest...
I did some digging, and I can tell you that yes, all four band members are represented via Zodiac symbols. Brian May is the "duh" as the crab, as his birthday is July 19 (Cancer). Roger Taylor (July 26) and John Deacon (August 19) are both Leos, and the lions represent them, but in the original crest, each lion is unique. the left lion had fish scales, while the right had wings. Roger is from Cornwall, which is known for its fishing, and John is from Leicester, which had a Royal Air Force training base during World War II.
The fairies represent Freddie's sign, Virgo (September 5). They are Molpadia and Rhoio, the sisters of Parthenos. Their father, Staphylos, had a mean streak, and when Parthenos became pregnant by Apollo, he shoved her into a box and cast her into a river. One night, he went out, trusting a cask of wine to his remaining daughters. A swine wandered in, knocked the wine over, and it spilled everywhere. Rather than face their father's wrath, they threw themselves off a cliff. Apollo intervened at the last minute, and sent them to faraway villages, where they were local goddesses. Today, the word "παρθένα" ("parthena") is Greek for "virgin".
Anyway, thought I'd share my $.02. Again, a really good job on this video. Even the jokes worked, and that could only happen if you understand the material, which you very obviously did. Excellent work! (A-, Liked and Subscribed)
Upon replay, I noticed an error: In the photo of Smile, you got Tim Staffel and Roger Taylor mixed.
You're 27? Um....try to avoid airplanes and heavy drugs until you're 28, and then you're immortal.
Queen's sound is timeless. When I first heard their hits, like We Will Rock You and Bohemian, I couldn't tell that they were 70s tunes. That takes an unimaginable amount of talent and skill.
This dropping during pride can't be a coincidence. You know what you're doing ;)
For the last few years I've been trying to delve into Queen's deep cuts a lot more, and it granted some amazing findings. Exploring its bootleg/live recording scene also helped a lot in appreciating more of their discography as well as different takes of their popular songs. And it's quite easy to look up various Queen live recordings here on RUclips nowadays. Shootouts to "Hangman" though, an early and unreleased song that currently only exists in Live recording form. The one from April 1st, 1976 at the Nippon Budokan might be the best performance of it to look up.
How do you not mention the show must go on?
That is the most powerful ending for an album like innuendo
Love these dives on older rock artists, especially giving context to the changes in sound and style over the years. Would kill to see an Aerosmith or Genesis deep dive!!
hi ! just wanted to add about Freddie's real name : Farrokh Bulsara and his stage name during smile which was Larry Lurex. The song titled "going back" on smile's album queen in nuce is one of my fav hidden gems!
Amazing can't wait to watch, and a LED ZEPPELIN deep discog dive is also long overdue!
Black Sabbath
“Cool Cat” on Hot Space being glossed over reaaaally genuinely peeved me! The bassline is funky, and most notably Freddie’s vocals in that high head voice register is sooooo good.
Way to make me cry about it all over again.
I was raised on Queen. A Night at the Opera came out the same year I did, and I used to play it on the 8 track whilst lying on a pallet on the floor my mom made for me to lie on the floor before I could walk or talk. It was ingrained into me.
When Freddie died, this queer teenager cried for a week. No shit. I couldn’t console myself and nobody else could either.
Seeing Tabitha Soren announcing it on the clip you showed here hit me deep down.
But, like, thank you.
That was awesome. You did good.
Queen has been my favorite band and enormous part of my life since the seventh grade. Finding out that Mercury also suffered from severe anxiety caused me to cry because for the first time in my life, I felt capable of doing something fabulous despite my fear of pretty much everything. The deprivations of Rhye across the first three albums also inspired me in my creation of a homebrew D&D world named for it. Across every creative facet in my life and personal moment, there is a bit of Queen, either getting me through it, or inspiring me to create.
LMAO i'm glad you mentioned the Dave Mars Rolling Stone review of Jazz when you got to that section, I remember reading that infamous line and laughing my ass off for a solid 5 minutes. What a truly bizarre review, like he was trying to be Robert Christgau there
In the UK it was quite difficult to judge how good Queen actually were due to the varying quality of their singles. Even songs like Somebody To Love was lukewarm at best as it followed Bohemian Rhapsody and was viewed as a copy of the former.
However when QGH was released and the tracks were sequenced in the way that they were people were able to stand back and see just how good they were as songwriters. It probably the best greatest hits album ever put together. Hits II is none too shabby either. Everybody had a copy of Queens Greatest Hits growing up.
Curious how people claim earlier times were better and yet most of them seemed to be as STUPID as ever. Somebody to love is WIDELY DIFFERENT than Bohemian Rhapsody
Now that you've done Queen, you should absolutely do Elton John! It would be quite the undertaking with over 30 studio albums, but there is so much to talk about and especially the first couple of albums are masterpieces.
for a 90s kid like me, nothing tops the lion king soundtrack! it's a musical time machine!
one of my first records I ever bought was the Queen’s Greatest Hits album. I fell in love with music because of Queen. The sheer theatrics, the variety of instruments, Freddie’s incredible range. One of the few artists almost everyone can agree is one of the greats.
same! it was one of the very first cassette tapes i bought with my own money (a very big deal for a kid in seventh grade)! gosh im old!
same , it is the 1st record i bought, lots of memories in it, when first time hearing the whole songs in the album, it just like take me to other dimension
I recently finished my own Queen DDD, after being raised on their music and been a fan my whole life. For me A Night at the Opera is undoubtedly their magnum opus, but it's nice to see someone giving News of the World the time of day! It blows me away that Spread Your Wings was never a bigger hit, its one of my favourite Queen songs and an incredible performance from all members
my fairy kings gotta be one of my queen favs, im so happy youve made this, i LOVE queens discography, especially their younger 5 albums! i just cannot get over their fantasy rock genre, though everytime i get the itch to listen to the first album, i CANT not listen to the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th…
never heard that song "don't try suicide" but i have to agree with them, "no one cares about you" is pretty much the truth.
I first listened to Queen (properly) in 2012. Up until then I only knew We are the Champions, We Will Rock You and I Want to Break Free. I liked this band called fun.(famous for We Are Young), and listening to their albums online, i always saw comments saying that he sounds a bit similar to Freddie Mercury. So I googled Freddie to check out his songs and found out that oh...its that We Will Rock You band. Listened to Bohemian Rhapsody halfway through, then listened to the whole song and was surprised by the "changes". Wanted to see how they would pull this off live, and instead of clicking the live version, I clicked on a video of the Prophet's Song. I wanted to go back, but my computer screen froze and i could only hear the audio. And I stayed for the entire 8 mins of that song, stunned by them. The Prophet's Song made me a Queen fan, even though i was a beginner in listening to rock songs.
A proper introduction to the band's sound was thanks to their Greatest Hits album (found out about my soon-to-be fave song, Save Me). After that, i listened to each album and fell in love with them. Queen 2, Sheer Heart Attack, News of the World, Innuendo and their live album, Rock Montreal are my favs.
can’t believe he didn’t talk about queen’s best song, I’m in love with my car.
Great to see you cover this band!
I'm not sure if you like their stuff but could you cover Rush?
Also Dire Straits.
I am one of those people
Queen II is their best album for me
Although A Night At The Opera and Innuendo are not far behind
Also,shame on you for not mentioning Back Chat,that song is stellar
To add to this, "Cool Cat" is another bop from that album as "Back Chat" not Queen's usual sound, no, but Freddie's vocals are stellar 👏🏽👏🏽 wish he had mentioned it, even if to flash it on the screen
Wow Literally, youre like me
Those two and Sheer Heart Attack for me.
it's not just you, Queen II has been my favourite album since the first time I heard it at 11yo. Don't think that's ever going to change.
My dad grew up loving disco and funk in the late 70s and early 80s, so although he loves Queen, his favorite albums of theirs are The Game and Hot Space, and I’ve come to love them too
It’s funny and interesting how approaching music from a different perspective/background will influence your opinions
forgetting the apostrophe on "'39" will forever haunt me, snare man.
Mr. The Snare, I know this sounds like a terrible idea but I would love to see you dive into the discog of Imagine Dragons. I know you didn’t care for Origins or Mercury, but I’m curious to see what you’d think of the rest of their albums.
He did AJR, it wouldn’t far fetched if he did it
Queen is an all time favorite of mine and Freddie is one of my biggest inspirations as a vocalist; much respect. I would greatly appreciate it if you would consider putting BRANDY on your voting list DDD or to be the next one. She's one of the most influential figures in R&B in the past 25 years as well as being an OG teen pop sensation long before Nysync, Britney Spears, Etc. She is often described as the Vocal Bible when it comes to modern day R&B Vocalists. She has influenced countless artists such as Rihanna, Kehlani, Kelly Rowland, Ariana Grande, Solange, Erykah Badu, India Arie, Etc. She was also the first to work with Rodney Jenkins and Frank Oceans Before they became sought after sensations. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I BEG YOU DO BRANDY
I'll have to check them out
One of the best underground rock bands of the 70s.
So underrated!!! I'm glad Mic is shining a light on underground talent.
Thanks, Sean Fay Wolfe of Diamond Axe Studios, for first bringing them to my attention, and now I have even further knowledge and appreciation for this band, having seen this dive. More people deserve to know of these guys. How were they not superstars?
Queen made their best music in the 70s, but they gave their best live performances in the 80s
Disagree with the live performances. Their earlier tours in the 70s showcased the band's instrumental side, which wasn't as present in the 80s tours. Freddie's voice was also clearer and softer. I'm not as big of a fan of the more macho sound he had during the Works and Magic tours. I'd recommend Ryan Newton's channel, he has tons of Queen bootlegs that really showcase the band at their best live: ruclips.net/channel/UCdK20x0fmjnKD27PAH79wFw
Not necessarily, lots of their best preformances were in the 70s, though many notable ones in the 80s
The thing with Queen, you can find something on every album to like. There's no album I would just completely forget about.
Wayne's world (one of my absolute favorite movies) was my first experience with bohemian rhapsody. both the scene and the song hold a special place in my heart.
I dont know this for a fact, but Bohemian Rhapsody may be the first song to hit the US Top 10 three time, non christmas song division. I think I like Another One Bites the Dust better than Bohemian Rhapsody.
queen are my favourite band and i saw them with adam lambert on the rhapsody tour in february 2020. it was the best concert i've ever been to - they played all the hits as well as some album cuts (including my favourite song, '39), adam is an incredible vocalist and performer, and brian and roger were somehow still so vibrant and clearly just love performing so much. this was such a great retrospective. thank you for reminding me how much i love this band, and why.
I've voted for Queen every time since April, 2020. So glad to see them finally get covered
Finally!! I’ve voted for this in every single DDDD and I’m so glad to see this. Queen II is underrated (though there’s a questionable lyric in March of the Black Queen that I’m not cool with)
What’s the lyric?
@@cdelgado7296 they use the n word. It's very brief and hard to catch, but it's definitely there. (It isn't used in a derogatory way)
@@biddleeewho4181 Yeah, thank you for that. It’s certainly not aged well!
@ghost mall I think they change the lyrics on genius to "A little bit of sugar."
The actual lyric that's written in the lyric sheet of the album is "a little n****r sugar." There's probably an annotation correcting the lyric.
It's at about 1:47 in the song
It is worth noting that that song is, in my opinion, the best song on the album. It's sort of like a precursor to Bohemian Rhapsody with all the style changes throughout the song
In my opinion Jazz is my favorite Queen album because it has so many great hits. But “Jealousy” and “ More Of That Jazz” are my favorite tracks off the album
Great DDD! So many memories. Queen taught me how to read. I am dead serious. I still remember, I was 2 and I would get to listen to my uncle's "old" albums with my Fisher Price record player and massive old headphones (also previously my uncle's). While looking through the fold of A Night At The Opera at some point something in my mind just clicked and I realized that what was on the page is what was being said. I proceeded to dash through my house, reading things. I started with my Cheerios box, and words on commercials. I then sat down and read along with every album that had its lyrics with it. This actually became a long standing habit of mine, even when I got tapes or CDs, the first thing I still do is follow along with the words. 🥰
It's funny that you mentioned how Grunge, and specifically Nirvana changed the rock landscape in 91. Kurt was such a huge fan of Queen and Bowie. Losing Freddie and Kurt within a couple of years was just terrible.
Thank you for the walk down memory lane. 💖 So Freddie and Kurt both had a great love of Ireland, so maybe I could make an eclectic suggestion of doing a DDD on an Irish band? Such as Clannad, Del Amitri, or The Cranberries? Provided you're interested of course. I've had the good fortune of seeing all of these bands play and I think they might surprise you.
YES! Was literally just watching the other DDDs, and had hoped this one would win the poll
Queen is the band I often point to as the "best rock band". Freddy always spoke to me in a way I never understood, Brian's guitar playing was a massive inspiration, and John and Rodger show the incredible power of a tight back-line. Every member of the band is independently exceptional, and the band is so much more than the sum of it's parts.
Hot takes from a queen fan who wasn't even alive for most of their career:
Somebody to Love is the best queen song.
Made in Heaven's "untitled" always felt like a send off to freddy in the afterlife. Like "hey we're not the same band without you, I hope heaven's cool. We don't really know what to do without you"
Princes of the Universe absolutely slaps and I won't hear a word otherwise
"Hammer to Fall" and "Tie your mother down" are under appreciated
And finally, "Another one bites the dust" is the song that inspired me to buy my first bass and get lessons 15 years ago, and now I can't really imagine a life without a bass in my hand.
Queen is in my pantheon. They're a perfect band with a god tier catalogue and I don't think I'm ever going to grow tired of their music.
Thanks for this deep dive Mic, it's always fun falling back into some of my favorite music
This was a great one. In the later years, I have always been partial to "I want it all" and the title cut to "Innuendo" I do find later released songs like "too much love will kill you" to be haunting after his passing. There was and never will be anyone quite like him again.
It's always 'Mother Love' that gets me.
It's not just that it's the last song Freddie ever recorded, it's also knowing how Freddie became too ill and tired to record the last verse, saying he needed to rest and would finish it next time but never returning.
The sheer power of his voice in that second verse knowing how frail and gravely ill he was to then hearing Brians voice for the final verse as he had no choice but to record it himself...That's what gets me, that's what makes it the one song I can't 'just' listen to.
Thank you Mic, absolutely loved this. Queen is genuinely one of the greatest bands of all time, and their work has been something that I’ve come back to throughout my time studying music, and in my working life in entertainment as well. Was lucky enough to be in training to duty manage at my work in October when Roger Taylor played at my venue, was such an incredible night, managed to get in the auditorium during Radio Gaga and shed a tear.
IMO Hot Space by Queen is one of the most over-hated albums of all time. It's great, campy fun with lots of catchy songs. It's sad they got so much push-back for it because they used synths, because I love it and would have liked to hear more. It was ahead of its time.
I'm with you on that it received way more hate than it deserved (still not their greatest work, at least imo), but to say that it was ahead of its time is a bit of a stretch.
I agree Hot Space got too much hate. I love “Cool Cat.”
I love that record. 👍🏼👑🔥☄️🌕🪐⭐
I decided to listen to it recently for the first time, because I thought it can't really be as bad as everyone says.
It was really that bad. Bland, boring tunes and horribly outdated production. A couple of decent tracks but otherwise just completely forgettable nonsense. Don't let anyone trick you into thinking it's some overlooked gem.
That is true. Hot Space is hated because it's different. Yes, it has some of the bands most corny songs, like Body Language, but overall it's pretty solid.
OMG YESSS! Now I want a Beyoncé DDD because there’s a lot of great things to dissect in Self-Titled and Lemonade
A few years ago I was moving from house to house by myself. I kept playing 'I'm Going Slightly Mad' and stuck with that song ever since. I think that the song is very telling for how the situation is in the world today. Mind you I have been listening to Queen since 1978, and of course there are so many songs to choose from, i mean of course I also really love "Killer Queen" just like you.. I guess what I am trying to say is that Queen's music is looking to be timeless, and will be played for the coming 100 years for sure.
Good job on this Discog, kid! (sorry, you look really young, but I mean it as a compliment!)
My melancholy blues! Love that song, freddies vocals on that one are really something
My favourite Queen album has always been jazz, favourite song fat bottomed girls. I just love the mix of driving, hard drums and the dame near holy vocals, also its Queens baby got back.
Man i was obsessed with bohemian rhapsody for the longest when i first heard it, i felt the same way as you did, it really opened my mind
I was waiting for you to mention Cool Cat (from Hot Space) because in my opinion it’s an underrated hit. Sadly you didn’t 🥹 but even so, amazing work!! Thank you so much for this!
Growing up, we had Queen’s Greatest Hits albums in the car and we would listen to them nonstop during roadtrips. Never changed the discs lol. I’m happy I was initiated into the world of Queen at a young age. Gonna make sure to pass the mantle when I have kids of my own one day.
Will you ever do one of these deep dives on Led Zeppelin? Biggest band of the 70's, influenced Queen and many other rock bands (GNR, Van Halen, Metallica, Nirvana, Pearl Jam)
Thank you so much for mentioning the collab Freddie did with Montserrat Caballe. I grew up with my parents having "Barcelona" on their Queen mixtape and it's been my favorite ever since!
I know it’s such a weirdly specific thing, but as for me, I first discovered the concept of text painting through my first listens of Bohemian Rhapsody, at the part where Freddie said “shivers down my spine” and the chimes come immediately after, I don’t know why, but that moment blew my mind
leaving this comment before watching the video so idk if it was mentioned, but they aren't actual chimes btw!! Brian May plays his guitar with a sixpence coin and to get that sound he lightly scratched the backside of the strings with it angled so the serrated edge hits them just right. You can see him do it when they play the song live.
Suggestion: The cure, the fall, siouxsie and the banshees, the replacements, the who, dead can dance, husker du, cocteau twins, public image limited, morrisey, talking heads, blondie, madness, depeche mode, christian death.
Once more, Mr the snare has brought me another well made interesting video about a band I like.
Yet continues to deny me a Deep Discog Dive on The Killers I truly want. Why must Mr the snare torture me in this way.
I was introduced to them through Greatest Hits 1&2 (and then 3), and I played that album to deathhhh. Then I bought the full albums A Night at the Opera, Innuendo, and Made in Heaven, and I played those to death too. That was my Queen phase in my late teens/early twenties. What a time! I loved the movie Highlander and you bet I loved the Queen songs in it! All the hits off those albums were great, of course, but I was obsessed with "I Can't Live With You" from Innuendo, and "Let Me Live" from Made in Heaven. The a capella part at the end, goosebumps every time!
Another excellent video! Always appreciate the amount of research gone into these and the amount of music you consume for each video! Happy how timeless these videos are and how they will feel just as relevant 5 years from now as they do now.
One thing I've never understood is how their record label was so concerned they made a 6 minute long operatic rock piece when the album came out years after songs like Roundabout and In the Court of the Crimson King were critical and financial successes. The early to late 70s were the era of long songs with experimental music and complex lyricism. It just doesn't seem like a huge stretch to me.
I think it was a fear that the massive amount of money put into Queen wouldn’t pay off. ANATO was the most expensive album ever made, and Queen was at that point only a moderately successful group… had it failed, the band members (who were all still broke) would have gone into even more debt w their label. So to put out a lead single that might not get radio play-the best form of promotion at the time-was a definite risk. The personal relationship the guys had with the Sheffield brothers was also breaking down, which probably added to doubts and irritations.
Roundabut was made it into a single version. But also both bands had already prestige and money enough to do whatever they wanted.
What do you mean by "dated" in relation to A Kind of Magic? This album, as any other, was a product of its time, of course it sounds like the 80s! Not everything has to have the "timeless sound", whatever that might mean. I, for one, adore the sound of the 80s emanating from some of its tracks, and personally consider the latter Queen era their best period.
Still, a very good and, may I say, deep inspection of Queen's discography. Can't wait for more!
I know it is coming. I was told about it when I was six in 1991. I can't avoid it... but Freddie's passing, just hearing about.... it ALWAYS makes me cry. 😭
I feel like you should have gone a little more indepth, like for instance you never spoke of It's a Hard Life. What a tour de force that is!! Or Let Me Entertain You! Drowse also comes to mind and Was It All Worth It. Is This The World We Created?
Still, this is the most comprehensive look I have seen into Queen's discography, and I thank you for it!! 💖
So crazy I’ve been watching so many queen docs and then this pops up with that bell lol I’m happy
My favorite band of all time, thanks for this, you could just mention Cool Cat, the coolest song ever! Cheers!
Bohemian Rhapsody was a very good movie. Queen is a fearless creative and campy band that is unique and deserves admiration.
A really good deep dive. Apart from not bringing up The Show Must Go On, my only wish is that you could've mentioned Johns final project with Queen: the track No-one But You, dedicated to princess Diana after her death in 1997.
Given that you mentioned Steve Howe, you should do a DDD on Yes. They are the best band of the progressive rock era in my opinion (although not by far) and their later work, while not too good, would be interesting to check out.
Seconded, because if my love for Yes and also because the changes to the Yes lineup are a story in their own right.
I was hoping you’d mention that iconic moment in Glee history
"Innuendo" is also the Italian word for "suppository".
Seriously though, this was a very well done episode. The only major thing that I felt was left out was the song "No One But You". After the death of Princess Diana in 1997, Brian, Roger, & John got together to record one last song which not only served as a tribute to Diana, but also to Freddie. If "Made In Heaven" was the final chapter for Queen, "No One But You" is the epilogue.
Fun fact: during those controversial tour dates in South Africa, Queen stayed at the hotel my dad worked at. He was tasked with being Freddie Mercury's driver. He didn't know who Freddie Mercury was or why he was famous until later.
Live Killers is not only Queen's best, but arguably, one of the best live LP's ever.
I as an absolute Queen-Fan, i do not have a favourite song. Because there are just so many good Queen-Songs, i could never commit to one song alone. I love this Band from the bottom of my heart, they have a song for every mood, every opportunity, and even their "bad" songs are good, compared to many modern music titles. I´ve become a Queen-missionary, who tries to convert as many people as possible to Queen-Fans. Their music may never die!
Personally, I think my favourite Queen song (that I’ve heard so far) would have to be their live aid version of hammer to fall. It just *hits*. It’s despondent and triumphant at the same time, and its energy mixed with its lyrics give it a kind of very human quality of refusing to give up even though there’s nothing left to hope for. The studio recording doesn’t quite capture that same feeling, I think because it’s much slower, but I do enjoy that version as well. It just doesn’t quite evoke the same emotion as the live version.
46 seconds in and (I can't believe I'm that person but screw it) you've switched Roger and Tim. Roger is the one standing in the Smile picture.
0:44 I believe it’s Roger standing in the middle and Tim on the right. I think you accidentally switched it up, or I missed the joke.
I've finished listening to their whole discography rather recently, so to me it's still a bit challenging to distinguish _some_ of their work apart (especially the most similar ones like A Night At The Opera and A Day At The Races, in my opinion). All I know is - I enjoy them all. Can't think of a single bad album, a single one I don't truly adore. What I *can* tell you is which ones I like THE MOST. From the top of my head, I immediately think about Sheer Heart Attack, Jazz, The Works and Innuendo as the most memorable ones to me. Those will be a part of my playlists forever.
Also, about the part where Nick talks about "Don't Stop Me Now" - I get it. I really get it. Thank you for expressing so well the feeling that that song has, its energy, its power, it truly makes anyone feel like they can do anything, be anything. And Freddie's vocals play a big part on that. This song has brought tears to my eyes more times than I'd like to admit, and it's commendable seeing Nick describe so well what makes it a great song.
In the Netherlands, in the last week of December, there´s a week long radio broadcast of the 2000 best songs ever made, according to the voting public. Bohemian Rhapsody is almost always number one. It´s often the last song most Dutch people listen to before the start of a new year. After the gong, we start counting: 10, 9, 8...
Edit: Also Mike, your enthusiasm for any artist and their music genuinely makes my day!
Queen is timeless and it´s one of these bands where you think "It exists in a different universe on it´s own". The greatest band of all time.
Thank you for this deep dive!
Thinking back on the Chumbawumba video, the first song on the album has them dissing Freddie Mercury and Queen for the Sun City performance, with the line "Freddie Mercury, this is your life/Thank the lord that you were born white". Apparently which ever member of the band wrote that lyric didn't know that Freddie was Indian, and likely faced discrimination as a "Paki" in his early life as an immigrant in Britain. I will assume that line they wrote was written in ignorance (to be fair, most people think Freddie is the most british man ever), else its kinda disgusting. Same goes for calling Queen "the first fascist rock band".
I think of this lyric more as the member saying how Freddie Mercury was born into a very priveleged childhood
@@avigolberg8428 I guess, but 1.) they specified "Thank the lord that you were born white", defining his race rather than his background, 2.) This is written by a bunch of white guys and gals about an immigrant from a former colony. It's a bad look, and that's before we get to the actual stuff they slag him off for with Sun City and whatnot, which I don't think is deserved.
Queen is my favorite band of all time. I was only 3 when Freddie passed away, but I've had the chance of catching May and Taylor live on a "Queen+Adam Lambert" tour here in Brazil. I sang every word of every song and ugly cried when they performed "These Are The Days Of Our Lives". It was the only time I've went full fanboy mode for a band and rushed with my ex-gf to the nearest 5-star hotel after the show ended to see them up close. It was a crazy rainy night looking for a Uber to drive us there. I still have the photo with Brian. My ex chatted a little with Taylor's son and broke up in tears upon seeing May and Taylor. I could die after that and it still would be the best moment of my life. Queen fucking rocks.
Good Discog Dive, Mic!