Queen, Seven Seas Of Rhye- A Classical Musician’s First Listen and Reaction
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- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- #queen #freddiemercury #brianmay #johndeacon #rogertaylor
A wild, fantastic experience listening to this fabulously imaginative song. I loved the drama and imagination which I found here.
Here’s the link to the original song by Queen:
• Queen - Seven Seas Of ...
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Amy Shafer, LRSM, FRSM, RYC, is a classical harpist, pianist, and music teacher, Director of Piano Studies and Assistant Director of Harp Studies for The Harp School, Inc., holds multiple degrees in harp and piano performance and teaching, and is active as a solo and collaborative performer. With nearly two decades of teaching experience, she teaches privately, presents masterclasses and coaching sessions, and has performed and taught in Europe and USA.
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Credits: Music written and performed by Queen
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Q: Will you be reviewing more Queen album songs or only the 'greatest hits' among them?
I'm just asking because IF you should be doing White Queen from this album - (and you really, really SHOULD - trust me!) - reiterating what a number of other commenters have said below, it would be a good song for you to do a comparison on, between the intricacies of the official studio version and the passion and drama of a live performance.
A huge fan favourite performance of WQ is at Hammersmith Odeon, 1975, and I strongly recommend it if you do want to try this. You'll get a great introduction to Freddie's magnetic stage presence and performance style in his early-ish years, before the moustache and short hair made their appearance. And it features an unmissable, incredibly dramatic AND ethereally beautiful instrumental break, a kind of 'battle of the giants' in an extended duet between Freddie on piano and Brian on guitar.
Q: So, will you give White Queen a go? :-)
Whats the best way to make requests for songs
I feel I will be a bit lonely on my comment. Don't get me wrong, I like Queen (but don't love them). But Amy, I think you start loosing yourself in 3 bands, instead discovering the range of what rock is about. There are so many styles, bands that are of great interest. I get The Beatles project, it's the most famous and influential rock band ever. I can understand The Wall project, as you dive in a whole album and see the consistency a work can present. But taking so much time for Queen ?! A part the fact Vlad is a big fan, I don't see the point. The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, U2, The Police, Yes, King Crimson, Muse, Primus, to name a few amongst the ones I know, are as important (if not more) as Queen.
So why take so much time for Queen ?
It's a bit disappointing even if it's interesting as always, to watch and hear you. All the best.
@@Rowenband
Ots the reason she started the chanel
Freddie worked with Montsarat
Its 50th anniversary of their first album
She hasnt done anything on them for a year sonce starting !
@@bluebell3720 Yes but she is starting a review of 50 Queen songs. For me that's 50 songs from other bands she cannot do…
This song was played at my dad's funeral yesterday as it was his favourite Queen song. This video was quite a joy to watch, thank you.
I'm so very sorry for the loss of your father. He had great taste in music!
My sincere condolences for the loss of your father! I hope my video brought a small ray of light!
@@chergui77 Thank you and I agree.
@@VirginRock It really did, thank you so much.
Sorry for your loss. I hope you celebrated his life accordingly by listening to this song and other great Queen songs your Dad liked. Stay strong!
I hope she goes back and does My Fairy King from Queen I. 🤞
That moment when Freddie sings the line, “son of heaven set me free and let me go,” warbling the last word so majestically!
And Doing All Right.
Or if she’s past the album she can just listen straight through and enjoy on her own time!!
Nope need a worthwhile artist...like Neil Youn with his Rock..
Queen never were great too much high low high notes makes stupid songs only loser fanboys like
@jmichaelbell5434 that moment when wimpboy warbles sucks but that's all their garbage music
SUB Par band that did garbage...only little boys with no taste in music like cause it makes 3rd grade come alive
'Mercury' is: a god, an element, a planet and... a singer!
Not just a singer, a rock star striving to be a legend! (And he was).
This song is his starting point, his grand ideas...
Queen had a no-synth rule because they didn't need synthesizers. While recording in the studio, Queen guitarist Brian May was fond of layering his guitar parts to create a lush symphonic sound. Plus when Brian May's Red Special electric guitar and a treble-booster were paired with the Deacy amp (an electric guitar amplifier created in 1972 by Queen's bassist John Deacon) it could produce sounds reminiscent of various orchestral instruments, such as violin, cello, trombone, clarinet, or even vocals.
YES.. pure talent.. and of course, they were insulted by the idea that they somehow supplemented that talent with "fake" or easy technology... lol
@@GinMae And in the 80s, they used soooo much synth
I've read that they said that one reason they specified "no synths"was because they didn't want anyone to THINK that they used synths, to make it clear that that was NOT the case and they actually made all the sounds (on those albums at least) without synths.
I was 12 years old and Sheer Heart Attack had come out and there was an article in Tiger Beat Magazine about them. My 5 years older sister said "They call themselves Queen because they look like girls. Nobody likes their music". I thought " That is not what the article says". a few weeks later we were in a department store. I somehow convinced my mom into purchasing Queen I & II because they were on sale for half price each if you bought Sheer Heart Attack as well ( which I also talked her into) because they were not selling and the record store was trying to move product I guess. I fell in love with Rock and Roll and had my first bass hero. These albums changed my life
John Deacon is a most excellent bass hero to have !
He wasn't flashy, but always served the song perfectly, and came up with very imaginative lines.
I would dearly love to know and understand the internal process that transformed the shy, slightly awkward, Farrokh Bulsara, into strutting rock-god, Freddie Mercury.
Seven Seas of Rhye isn't one of Queen's most accomplished works, but the sheer amount of raw talent is clearly on display. 45+ years after I first heard it and it STILL ends too soon for me...
And the Queen rabbit hole has been opened ❤
Somebody to love ( live version )
Millionaire Waltz
You take my breath away ( live version )
Delicate, intricate, lyrical, poetic - both Freddie & Brian's works. Hope you will listen to "Nevermore", "My Fairy King",White Queen", "Dear Friends", "Seaside Rendevous", "Lazing On a Sunday Afternoon", "Millionaire Waltz", "Teo Torriatte" and more! OK, guess i'm saying please don't only focus on Queen's Greatest Hits because a lot of their absolute gems will be overlooked. Enjoy.
In The Lap Of The Gods (not revisited, also would be interesting)
White Queen must be a live version.
@@marblackCanada live version will not reveal all the harmonies, orchestrations and the complexity of the song! In this case all songs must be a studio versions
Lazing on a Sunday afternoon is a masterclass in writing a song that lasts no longer than 90 seconds.
And "Millionaire Waltz" is just a riot.
I'm enjoying this series and I can't agree more. I really hope this series doesn't just stick to the "hits" but explores the really interesting tracks in Queen's catalogue
Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside is a traditional (Edwardian) song that you can still hear today at some seaside haunts around the UK. I love that Queen enjoyed quirky British music hall traditions in tunes such as Seaside Rendezvous and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy. They're unique for that alone!
ruclips.net/video/ZglHbYtP7WA/видео.html
I’d say it’s one of the things they share with the Beatles, actually.
you would be a terrible poker player! haha, your face is so expressive! please keep these great vids coming, big love to all people :)
You should definetely react and analyze their March of the Black Queen, Ms Virgin ✋! That's a mini Opera, from the Queen II album
March of the Black Queen is like Bohemian Rhapsody on acid - an absolute must for a reaction. Anyone hearing it for the first time is guaranteed to be gobsmacked!
I finally feel I’m not alone in my feelings about Freddie. By now you know Freddie had an extremely fertile imagination as a child and for me he kept that child he was in his heart. As a major fan I’ve discussed Queen and esp Freddie with people who think I’m crazy when I tell them I feel Freddie was always that little boy weaving wonderful stories to his little sister Kashmira. Sometimes when I watch Freddie sing I see for a split second that little boy in his eyes… the child who was sent completely alone on a ship at the age of 8 to a boy’s boarding school in India … away from his beloved family to live with that amazing imagination where seeds of what he was to become were watered daily in his mind. In his early music I hear him singing … … I’ll survive and defy the laws of nature ………
(and I’ll create opera and one of the world’s greatest divas will sing MY music … with me !!). 😂🥰 and darling Freddie YOU did ♥️
I think Freddie had to create a fantasy world in his mind to survive his boarding school years. For sure he was sent to boarding school to get a good education but the side effects are questionable. Disciplining a very young, wild, vivid and at the same time very sensitive child without the love of his parents around him is so sad.
And he survived, to become Freddie Mercury, the legend
we all love, but as you, I sometimes can see sparks of a vulnerable young child locked up in his soul.
The fairy fellers master stroke, my fairy king and nevermore from queen 1 and queen 2, please
The first time I heard this song I was about 18 and thought it was extremely heavy and loud. 30 years later, after hearing it many many times since I no longer hear it like that. Listening to a queen song once, twice or three times is never enough because you miss so much and it takes time for your subconscious to fully process and understand the music. Eventually, you end up realising, when you unexpectedly hear a Queen song on the radio that you have not heard for a long time, that every Queen song is a masterpiece and wonderful to experience again.
Well said
what was "heavy" in the early 70s is practically easy listening these days
Brian May's guitar, the legendary Red Special, is one of a kind. He and his father built it when he was a child to make exactly the kind of sound he wanted. The body was made from an old mantle and the pickups were reverse engineered from motorcycle parts
Actually, I believe it was the trem system that was built from motorcycle parts. He did initially try to wind his own pickups, but didn't like the sound, and ended up replacing them with Burns Tri-Sonics.
@BadgersInTheAttic Still, it's really cool that one of the most iconic guitars in rock was made out of basically trash
I hope this isn't the end of the Queen 1 album tracks - there's so much depth often overlooked the the first 2 albums that the single don't give the full picture of.
My Fairy King, Great King Rat and Liar spring to mind
Thank you for your beautiful appreciation of this song! The album it appeared on, QUEEN 2, is my favourite Queen album. It is like no other. A remarkable album. A stand-out song for me is 'The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke'. And if you would like an epic, 'The March of the Black Queen' is astounding.
An instrumental version of Seven Seas appeared on Queen I - I'm sure you know that. I think the first three Queen albums are off the charts incredible - Queen II is absolutely superb 👍
I agree. QUEEN II is the best album. I wonder how would Amy react to The march of the black queen for example. Its a shame that these greate songs were skipped
@@miroslavgolian5409 👍
Queen II is my favourite too. Its quite bonkers, so much going on, and rocks hard.
Queen stood out right from the start. This was a fun listen thanks Virgin Rock
I had forgotten how amazing this song was! So many fabulous stories in Queen songs! I have been a life long Queen song, have first pressings of all their albums, bought as soon as they came out, and that's probably why. They are more than songs, they are stories.
I love the live version, watching Freddie's fingers flying over the piano keys!
Yes... at Wembley... I think it was the third song on the set list and already he was dripping with sweat from his exertions on One Vision and Tie Your Mother Down
I love the Live version of Down By The River with Crosby Still Nash and Young real vocals not wimps with great lyrics and killer dual guitar rifts not little boy crap
Brian and the Red Special was their synthesizer.
You HAVE to react to The Millionnaire Waltz and IS this the World we created from Queen. You won't be disapointed.
100% guarrantee.
Cheers from Belgium
Interesting you can hear Freddie’s energy as live he was electric. Seeing Queen live was a revelation. The whole band were professional musicians that took their jobs seriously. All four were multitalented and all four wrote eclectic music that Freddie could sing no matter the sounds incorporated in them. Legends.
Thank you for listening uninterrupted first. It is a joy to see you respond to each piece in it's entirety rather than fragmented.
Go watch "In the Lap of the Gods" live at the Rainbow....Freddie is an absolute MONSTER in that performance (which he ALWAYS is). 💎💎💎💎💎
PLEASE do “March of the Black Queen” - my absolute all time favorite! (Queen II album) Actually doing the whole album would be amazing! White side , black side - prog rock. white Queen, Father to Son, FAIRY FELLERS MASTER STROKE….many more! Love your reactions and analysis!
The second Queen album (Queen 2) ends with 'I Do Like to be Beside the Seaside' and the third (Sheer Heart Attack) begins with it.
I've played Brighton Rock a million times and never heard that...are you sure ?
@@alanwaine4186 Yes it's whistled over the introduction.
Not only that, the first song on SHA (Brighton Rock) *is* quite literally a song about "being beside the seaside", namely spending a nice (naughty) weekend in Brighton. The carousel music represents the seafront carousel in Brighton. It's all wonderfully connected :)
Omg lol. Yes every Queen song… Freddie was a legend.
"I Do Like to Be Beside the Seaside" is an early 1900's Music Hall style British song.
I'm a huge fan of Queen, so I'm really enjoying this series!
I hope you can take the time to listen to their entire albums, at least from Queen I (73) to News of the World (77). As a teenager, I'd spent my days listening to their entire catalog and appreciating their evolution. I still do, sometimes. I SWEAR it's worthwhile!
Actually, this was a song that Queen weren't able to finish in time for their Queen I album. They added it onto the end of Queen II Album.
From this point, Queen will begin to play in the way that most would remember them in terms of their sound production approach. As others are pointing to, White Queen (written by Brian May (Guitarist) about a girl next door he loved in his young years); Fairy King from Queen I (which is also a representation of his fantasy world but with much better lyrics and potentially representations of aspects of his life in poetic disguise) and lots of others that are alright to listen to also (smile).
If you want to hear something that might indeed be a challenge please do try "ogre Battle" leading into "March of the Black Queen". Also in the fantasy world. For reference, this has nothing to do with skin colour et cetera. Side one of the Queen II album had tracks that were all written by Brian May called the "White." side" and the tracks on side two were all written by Freddie Mercury and were called the "Black" side.
As with others and yesterday, I encourage you to use the songs outside of the singles for some of the wider Interesting songs.
Wonderful! So looking forward to the other Queen reactions!
Great, thanks! It's awesome how you 'get' Freddie. All those lovely adjectives do him justice.
Its like every other song you have ever heard by Queen, in that , Its like nothing you have ever heard before, at the time.
Those harmonies kick ass!
Wonderful job, as always, Amy so thank you for the great reaction!! I sincerely hope, however, that you and we are not going to get cheated by having you only react to one song each on these early LPs. Queen II is amazing, front to back, and at minimum I pray you will be reacting to Brian May's beautiful "White Queen", the mind-blowing song inspired by a painting, "The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke", the awesome precursor to "Bohemian Rhapsody" called "March of the Black Queen" and Freddie's absolutely lovely "Nevermore"!!!! And there is plenty more greatness to come on Sheer Heart Attack as well!!! Queen is so much more than just the hits on the radio and who better to expose the masses to them than Virgin Rock??
Bombastic! Nobody does it better than QUEEN! ✌
The first time I ever heard this was on Top Of The Pops on a Thursday evening. The next evening Queen were playing at my university. I was the treasurer of the radio society that was setting up a campus radio station and I met the society secretary the next morning. Neither of us had a ticket for the concert. We went along with a tape recorder and asked if we could do an interview. We met the band and did the interview with John Deacon and Roger Taylor. The weird thing was that our names were better known than their's at the time. Bill Fraser was a famous Scottish actor ( The Army Game, Bootsie and Snudge) and the secretary was called Tom Jones. An everlasting memory.
Oh Amy, you're magical: all along the video I was thinking how "operatic & dramatic" the story is. And you said the words right at the end.
Also, I felt a story of a kid, very imaginative and vivid, but also very conqueror, stepping forward, going ahead, fearless: qualities he kept indeed all his life.
As soon it started... the memories of listening Queen in my grandad's house, the smell of him and listening laying down the floor with the speakers of his Aiwa component media player near my ears so he won't wake up of his nap... damn, I almost cried.
Queen consists of "classical" musicians transported to the 1970's and later, no one else mixes opera, orchestration and dramatics quite like they did. This could quite easily be a choral work or an opera. The underlying writing and arrangement is subtle and complex but the melodies and lyrics reach genius level because even 50 years later they remain embedded in your memories.
I can't help but hope Freddie's sister Kashmira would smile and laugh to hear this song analyzed with such tenderness and enthusiasm. .I think you captured it all so well.
Apparently, the beginning of the song was a reaction to the response to Keep Yourself Alive, their first single, which starts relatively slowly and builds gradually ; it was slated for that, for being too slow to develop, so Queen responded by ensuring that Seven Seas Of Rhye had everything in the first few seconds-florid, fast piano, harmony guitars and slick, exciting drumming. What a response, and Amy, your reaction was insightful and interesting.Love your videos!
As Brian May once said, we threw in everything and the kitchen sink and it worked.
One of my favorite songs, and definitely one of Queen's best. It's impossible to be in a bad mood after listening to it.
Mercury was the messenger of the gods.
Freddie Mercury was a messenger as a singer.
He didn't write this song as a child, but as an adult.
His name was not random... in this song he is the messenger of the gods...
I totally agree with you. Freddie wrote this song as an adult, after he chose the name 'Mercury' (a god, a planet, a singer!). The cosmic scale, the religious impications, it's all from the mind of an adult striving to be a legend!!
Right - that in the lyrics he used 4 words from a story he told Kashmira, doesn't mean the whole lyrics is a sort of children's song. She didin't understand the meaning and just goes on about the suggestion the off-screen person gave her. She better could be honest that she didn't have a clue.
I really like her reactions. U can tell that Queen (Freddie in particular) is a mind blowing, enjoyable experience for her. I have no doubt that she's a PERMANENT fan now. 😎
Wait til you hear March of The Black Queen ;)
Lifelong Queen fan here, they were the very first band i fell in love with a long time ago. Absolutely loving your analysis. I do hope that you will go through at least a couple more songs from these first 2 albums. The whole Queen II album is a masterpiece, in my opinion just as good as more acclaimed albums like "A night at the opera" or "A day at the races".
Definitely, you should listen to "Procession"/"Father to son"/"White Queen" on the "white side" (what was the A side of the album) and, well, everything from "Ogre battle" all the way to "March of the Black Queen" included. If you enjoyed Freddie's fantasy world in "Seven seas of Rhye", I can assure you're in for a treat with those songs.
I guess all I'm saying is: Don't send them to the path of nevermore 😍
I hope you will listen to some Queen songs sung by guitarist Brian May or drummer Roger Taylor. They often sung lead and have great voices ! Songs like "39" or "I'm in love with my car" to a name a few
If you liked Lily of the Valley, you're going to love Nevermore. Also, I was surprised to hear you comment in the last video that Freddie sounded a bit gospel at one point because Freddie absolutely loved gospel. He wrote at least 3 songs influenced by that which you should absolutely listen to: Somebody to Love for a Queen album in 76, The Golden Boy composed with Mike Moran for the Barcelona album, and All God's People also with Mike Moran for a Queen album in 90.
Your analysis again, made me think of this song in a different light. Just so incredibly interesting. I’d love an analysis of either March of the black queen, Nevermore or My fairy king. Think I’m being greedy though. 😂
I am SO looking froward to this reaction, and all of the continuing exploration of the Queen catalogue! 👑
The album this came from 'Queen II' from 1974 was the 'everything but the kitchen sink' album, then they added the kitchen sink! Guitarist Brian May is a rocker at heart, the very high vocals were by drummer Roger Taylor, whom had a high timber, Queen had three great singers with Range, but Freddie had the greatest range. You should really do album listen of 'Queen II' highly recommend.
Amy, you should really listen to the precursor to "Bohemian Rhapsody" from 'Queen II' - "March of the Black Queen"!
These harmonies are Freddie and Roger together, they are both singing the high G5 here. Yes, Freddie also had a high voice, and he also did high harmonies, all their songs have different harmonic structures.
Queen really comes into their own with the next album, SHEER HEART ATTACK. "Killer Queen" is their first really big hit in the U.S., and was the first song by Queen that I ever heard, as it played on the radio at my junior high school. Man, those were GOOD TIMES! Sure wish y'all coulda been there!
Vlad - I do so hope that you include Brian May's "She Makes Me (Stormtrooper in Stilettos)," which is as psychedelic as I've heard Queen get.
Brilliant analysis. Tq. I do like to be beside the seaside... 😄
The lyric "I descend upon your earth" refers to a god, coming form the heavens ("commanding the soul" of the "unbelievers").
The roman god Mercury was the messenger of the gods. The name 'Freddie Mer-cu-ry' that Freddie chose for himself, wasn't random. You missed the personal and religious implications of this song. This is a very personal content, the 'I' stands naked for your eyes. It's all about... Mercury.
This makes so much more sense. You're completely right.
I have listened to this song on several occasions but never really paid attention to the lyrics. I must agree it's imaginary, chaotic but I would add explosive. Thank you virgin rock lady.😍
One of my favourite Queen songs.
FREDDIE MERCURY BEST SINGER EVER 🎤🎤🎤🎼🎼🎼 RIP FREDDIE
Wonderful analysis!!! Keep it up!
Hello Virgin, please don't stop analyzing Nevermore, from the album Queen II, a very short but beautiful song and the classic from this album, The Black Queen's March, where the band shows their ability to harmonize and combine their instruments . They say this song is the pre-bohemian rhapsodia
Great song.
Nevermore is the one that is always overlooked. One of the prettiest pieces of music I've ever heard, and so beautifully produced
Their second album features White Queens, Black Queens and Ogre Battles. I think they mined Freddie's childhood imagination for a lot in those days.
White Queen was written by Brian May back in 1968 (at least a year before he even knew Freddie.)
It was inspired by a girl Brian had a crush on at Imperial College, but was too shy to reveal his feelings to her. The imagery of his words was strongly influenced by a book he was reading at the time , “The White Goddess: A Historical Grammar of Poetic Myth” by Robert Graves.
IMHO Queen 2 is Queen's best album. Supposedly, 2 of the 4 Queen members thought the same. Seven Seas of Rhye was a successful single, but the truly great music are the medleys on side white and side black. Brian May composed side White, Freddie Mercury side Black.
I agree
Freddie had a kind of childish soul what he kept life long, he was mischievous, he was dramatic, he was defiant, just like a 3 years old kid. A kid who was born to the music, according to John Deacon with grandiose ideas. 😅
I loved the child in Freddie. Like myself ❤😊😊😊
No matter how often I've listened to a song, you bring a fresh aspect to it. I hope you will be reviewing Prophet's Song (there's a cannon in the middle section) and for their last album, Innuendo, which is a tribute to Kashmir. It features a flamenco guitar section performed by Yes guitarist Steve Howe and Brian May. BTW, I do hope you get around to reviewing some Yes, yes?
I hope you're going back and listen to the whole album I think this is my favorite album of all time.
Such a fun song. Freddie wrote other songs that came from the stories he made up with and for his sister. Thank you for your Queen reactions and analysis.
Does it mean that best songs from 1st album (like My Fairy King, Liar etc) were ommited? :(
He was the last beethoven that world lost . Thanks Freddie Mercury for the great songs.
I was 13 years old when I heard a band called Queen being introduced for the first time on the radio with their new song, Seven Seas Of Rhye. It pole-axed me in a way that no other music did until I heard Enya's Orinoco Flow. Well, actually, that's not true... but what teenager would admit to being entranced by Mozart's 40th symphony? Then Queen hit us with Killer Queen and I was hooked. I'm looking forward to this upcoming video.
I can't wait until she gets to that upbeat masterpiece "Don't stop me now"
I can't wait to see how you react to Brighton Rock and The Prophet's Song.
i imagine the intro is the unsuspecting people living life and the instruments show the arrival and say the singer stepping down amongst them...and the proclaiming their demands.
good review! very thoughtful, great stuff!!
Looking from the link provided that goes to the official Queen youtube channel, I see it's the, 'promotional film', (later to be called a music video), of the recording, which, due to it being used primarily on broadcast television, has mono sound to it. I did wonder as to why your listening was to a mono version, and now I know why. Queen have always used stereo within their music to great effect, and as such, listening to a mono version does mean you're missing out on a great many nuances that show off the band's prowess of how they did things without synthesizers! Speaking of which, as mentioned, every album up until 1980, and they would proudly proclaim on the back cover as having, 'No Synthesizers!', as a matter of principle. As for the song itself; it's probably the first single I remember hearing from them at the time. But that's debatable, as, 'Killer Queen', was most likely the first, due to it's exposure on the BBC's pop music programme, Top Of The Pops, which helped bring attention to the band and their music.
I've always felt that the, 'Queen sound', (as I call it), is very regal and majestic in it's context. The guitar work from Brian May being the essential element within it, making various proclamations with the sounds that often burst out prominently in their work. Something they never really took too seriously, though, as it was just a part of their make up, but every now and then, within their songs they'd give a subtle reminder of it. Part of their trademark sound, if you will.
Seven seas was also on TOTPs they also did 3 performances of that
The first being in the weather studio as the bbc were on strike!
They got the chance to be on because David Bowie couldnt so they stepped in
Someone pulled strings because it wasn't wven released yet!
I heard that one of the reasons the radio stations gave for not playing 'Keep yourself alive' was that it took too long to get into the song, the guitar intro was too long. So they worked on making this song really hard hitting from the start.
I adore this lady.
In ”Queen” there was a fragment of ”Seven seas…” in Queen II” the song is played ending with ”beside the seaside” and in ”Brighton Rock” the ”By the Seaside” is whistled. Connecting the three first Queen albums together.
The 'no synthesisers' rule wasn't really a rule as such - it was more of a clarification. Early on in their career a music critic thought that some of sounds Brian May created with his guitar were a synthesiser - and the band wanted to clarify that this was not the case. So all of their 70s albums stated that 'no synthesisers were used'. There may have been a musical purist aspect to this too, but the whole thing started because a music critic mistook Brian's guitar sounds for synthesised effects.
Oooooh, great! Before I watch, I just wanted to say I'm excited, I really love this one!
The no synth rule was due to all the incredible sounds Brian May was able to get out of his guitar, they wanted people to know it was him and not synthesisers.
Boston was another band to proclaim "no synthesizers" as an apparent assertion that the best music must be played on more traditionally expressive instruments and not head toward the threatening possibility of computer-programmed perfection. The Third Stage album by Boston (1986) simulated a rocket launch using the ordinary rock instruments, for example, with assurances given on the album that no synthesizers were used. However, what counts is the quality of the music. Yes did not proclaim a "no synthesizers" policy, but had done a similar thing 8 years before Boston, using its standard rock instruments to represent an alien spaceship in the song "Arriving UFO" from their controversially creative and lighthearted album "Tormato" (it seems to only have been controversial among those who felt progressive rock must mean "bigger is better" and therefore "Why is the longest song here only 7:45 long?" 😏 Yet those who recognized musical quality and creativity were delighted with what they found in that album, such as the baroque "Madrigal" and the multi-layered, ultimately key-bending "Circus of Heaven")
Has anyone noticed that I do like to be beside the seaside ends at the end of seven seas of rhye and is used at the beginning of the next album sheer heart attack song Brighton rock
I find it really interesting watching and listening to someone encountering Queen's music and atempting to analyse it from the viewpoint of someone with a classical musical education.
Every time I watch one of your videos I realize as someone very familiar with the music, I miss so much of the subtext.
I don't always agree with your observations but they are always interesting.
Thanks, VR.. the "no synths" was partly b/c many music critics commented early on that "okay - a unique sound.. but probably done with synthesizers".. and they were offended by that ... they were all amazing instrumentalists, and wanted that to be known...
My Favorite Channel! Peace
Monserrat Caballe said she thought that Freddie’s ability to meld music and lyrics was his greatest talent. At his funeral the songs Precious Lord Take My Hand by Aretha Franklin and You’ve Got A Friend by Queen written by John Deacon were played. Monserrat Caballe performed Freddie’s favorite opera aria: D’Amour Sull ‘Ali Rose’ written by Giuseppe Verdi. I thought you might find that interesting. Weeks before he died she was finally able to send him her recording of Phantom of the Opera which he wanted to hear her sing. 😢❤
Freddie would get a kick out of you describing his song as 'fabulous'. That's right up Freddie's alley.
“Yes we are the audience & Queen invites you in….it’s a theme in quite a few videos later on.
I think there were 6 yrs between Freddie & his sister? And then he left for boarding school at 9.
Great comments.
"No synthesizers" was because people wouldn't believe that was Dr. May's guitar.
Great comments. What to remember is Freddie came from an exotic background in Zanzibar (by the seaside!)
There is a kinda instrumental preview to this song ending the Queen1 album. Nice review and understanding.
March of the Black Queen/Funny How Love Is is a MUST!
Love your reviews Amy. Hope you do some reactions to live, White Queen stands out. Wil be watching every episode
I've always interpreted the overpowering music as the cacophony of booming thunder and echoes often associated with Greek gods and biblical angels. Their presence and voices were so powerful and overwhelming, so unimaginable, that being amidst and spoken to by one was disorienting. Biblical angels were supposedly blinding and deafening, often leaving the humans they visited terrified from the experience. Mt Olympus and the gods were the Greek's explanation for thunderstorms, seismic activity, water disasters, and volcanic eruptions.
That's how the music feels in this brilliant song. The lyrics are arrogant and boastful. He comes down from his Eden and immediately insults everyone he meets. He's better than them. He owns their souls. The music is almost like reassurance (mostly for himself) that he's as important and powerful as all the other deities, like without being disorientingly horrisonant, he won't be taken seriously or given the respect he feels he commands.
And yes, all of that is so so so very Freddie. Needing to be the most superlative person in every medium because he feels inadequate otherwise. Except that he _was_ better than everyone, but modest.
Great review Amy. I see the song in a whole different light. I think Freddie was making a joke at the end of the song. After the fantasy bringing in the traditional I do like to be beside the seaside (seven seas) , all British people sing on holidays (vacation).
Barcelona end with “viva” this song is “vivid”, welcome to the Queen’s world pure live.
Im really enjoying this Queen series, tks so much.
"His sceptre, or his sword", or, in the case of Freddie, his microphone stand 😛
Love this. Queen and Alice in chains are my two favorite bands by far and my two favorite singers as well