| The Real Wizard 04.08.2010 21:00 |
I know this has been discussed before (almost to death), but here we go anyway. Naturally, the album was what it was at the time because it was what felt right. Queen were almost always a band who took risks, pushed the envelope, and never wanted to create the same thing twice - with varying results, but mostly good. I think we can all agree with that. But with hindsight on our side, we can suggest ways certain records could have been stronger. Here's what my remodeled Hot Space would look like: Side A: Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls Las Palabras de Amor Under Pressure Soul Brother Side B: Staying Power Dancer Back Chat Action This Day Cool Cat Cool Cat is as much a diversion from the rest of the record as My Melancholy Blues was on News Of The World. I think it's a perfect ending to the record, and much more in line with the funky tracks. As far as I'm concerned, Body Language is the single worst track the band ever released. It was a big hit, but with the singles-buying clubbing crowd, certainly not with Queen fans who enjoyed their 70s rock-based material. I'm one of those folks who believe that had they at least swapped sides A and B, the record would have fared far better, particularly in the US (I bet plenty of people tossed it away even before flipping it to side B). In fact, I'd say side B of Hot Space is stronger than side B of The Game. Las Palabras easily matches Save Me. Thoughts .. ? |
| GratefulFan 04.08.2010 22:11 |
I know I'm waaaayy in the minority, but I don't hate Body Language. It's got a slinky coolness that has allowed it to stand up over time. The comparison to the body of Queen work to that point is of course valid and important, but the comparison to other similar works by other musicians in the era is valid as well. In that regard Body Language excelled, and still does if continued radio play can be any gauge. Queen stumbled sometimes in the 80's not only relative to themselves, but relative to other people who had already done what they were trying to do, or who were doing it better. Body Language, like it or hate it, bucked that trend. I'll defer to your tracklist because I don't seem to do it very well for Queen material. I used to make the best mix tapes. Don't know what happened. |
| rhyeking 04.08.2010 22:52 |
I'd like it clear that I like Hot Space. That said, here are my thoughts... I agree that maybe something as simple as re-ordering the track listing could have help Hot Space's reputation. I'd also like to add that the cover never really grabbed me. It's not bad, per se, and it fits the album as released, but while we're experimenting with changing around the album, why not consider a different cover too. And while we're at it, maybe a different title? Hot Space...? Not very appealing, as I sort of picture a cramped, stuffy (hot) little room in which I'm uncomfortable from sweating and jostling people. I guess I'm not much of a club person and don't frequent saunas. Possible other titles: Action This Day Fire - Light - Electricity Radio/Activity Okay, so, here's my alternate track listing: Side 1 01) I Go Crazy (HS Version)* 02) Calling All Girls 03) Put Out The Fire 04) Dancer 05) Back Chat (7" Re-Mix) 06) Action This Day Side 2 07) Under Pressure (with David Bowie) 08) Staying Power (US Extended Version)** 09) Life Is Real (Song For Lennon) 10) Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love) 11) Cool Cat (with David Bowie) 12) There Must Be More To Life Than This (Queen Version)*** * Assuming the version started for this album sounds anything like the later B-Side version (The Works era), it would kick ass to start off an album ** Either this version or a remix/edit of this version. I don't know why, but I like this Extended Version over the album version. It's punchier and much more fun. *** If Queen had finished this, it would be a great end to the album. Note: "Soul Brother" and "Body Language" don't appear...not because I don't like them (I do), but because in this re-imagining they didn't really fit and were kind of the weakest tracks. Maybe use them as non-album B-sides in this experiment. |
| The Real Wizard 04.08.2010 23:28 |
Ahhh, lots of interesting thoughts there. I'm surprised you consider Soul Brother to be a weak track. The lyrics are pure fun, and musically it has all the Queen trademarks - perhaps more than any other track on the album. How different is the 7" remix of Back Chat from the album? I've got most of the Queen 45s, but not that one. The 1982 instrumental demo of I Go Crazy is pretty similar to the 1984 b-side... but maybe a vocal wasn't even laid down until the Works sessions. Your track listing looks great overall, but side A is a bit unlikely since there are no Mercury tracks. |
| tcc 04.08.2010 23:34 |
I had read a lot of bad reviews about Hot Space so I deferred buying until I had covered everything up to Made In Heaven. However the minute I put it on the CD player, I liked it immediately. It was more akin to the pop music that I had been listening to previously. I liked Body Language better after hearing it from the album than from watching the music video. I think the music in songs such as Staying Power, Back Chat and Body Language is "thinner" than the previous Queen albums. The emphasis seemed to be on the singer and the music did not envelope the vocal parts. In fact I find the music in Made In Heaven so noisy that I feel tired after listening to the album. |
| rhyeking 05.08.2010 00:13 |
Sir GH wrote: Ahhh, lots of interesting thoughts there. I'm surprised you consider Soul Brother to be a weak track. The lyrics are pure fun, and musically it has all the Queen trademarks - perhaps more than any other track on the album. How different is the 7" remix of Back Chat from the album? I've got most of the Queen 45s, but not that one. The 1982 instrumental demo of I Go Crazy is pretty similar to the 1984 b-side... but maybe a vocal wasn't even laid down until the Works sessions. Your track listing looks great overall, but side A is a bit unlikely since there are no Mercury tracks. Soul Brother: Okay, maybe "weak" is the wrong word. It's not that it's bad or I have anything but love for the track, but it just didn't fit my approach. The lyrics are certainly fun, but a bit too self-referential, in my opinion, to convincingly work on a record. I tried to view this experiment as the band might, trying to make an album that fans and new listeners might like equally. The self-referencing in the lyrics go a bit too much into fan-novelty for casual listeners to appreciate. Maybe I'm wrong, but Queen didn't include it originally and for this experiment, neither did I. I will say it should have been included as a 1991 Hollywood Records remaster bonus track! There's no excuse for its exclusion there. Back Chat: The 7" remix is tighter and punchier. It's the same cut as used in the video. The album version sounds slower by comparison. John Deacon did the 7" and 12" mixes, and they are both improvements, in my opinion. I Go Crazy: I still consider this a very Works song, but decided that since it was started during HS, it warranted consideration. For the purpose of the experiment, I imagined that Queen would have finished it. Freddie-less Side 1: You know, I did not even notice. I just went with an order that sounded good. On the original album, he has, not including "Under Pressure," which is credited to Queen & David Bowie, 4 songs only out of the other 10. It's been done before, on Side White of Queen II, but that was intentional. For the record, a runner up for inclusion on the re-imagined Hot Space (titled "Fire - Light - Electricity" in my experiment) was Roger's "Good Times Are Now" (using a fictional Queen version, with Roger still singing lead, or sharing it with Freddie). Ultimately, I decided not to include it, since it had no connection to the Hot Space sessions, no such Queen recording exists and to do so would be stretching this exercise a bit too far. |
| GratefulFan 05.08.2010 00:26 |
@ryheking - I really like the title of the album, much more than the album itself. And funnily enough until I heard you say it just now I'd never registered 'Hot' as a qualifier for 'Space'. More like an enticing staccato pushed up against it and meant to be considered as part of something in quick succession as opposed to strictly and traditionally together, though the words do feel like they have some single undefined but intriguing meaning when paired. I really liked the title of The Killers' 'Hot Fuss' for the same reason. I don't know what a 'Hot Fuss' is, but I knew it sounded cool and I wanted it in my CD collection. |
| The Real Wizard 05.08.2010 01:44 |
rhyeking wrote: "The lyrics are certainly fun, but a bit too self-referential, in my opinion, to convincingly work on a record. I tried to view this experiment as the band might, trying to make an album that fans and new listeners might like equally." Fair enough. I guess I like to compare Soul Brother to Glass Onion on the White album. Neither fit with the other tracks, but somehow still seem to be team players in their own odd but endearing ways. Cheers for the responses. |
| plumrach 05.08.2010 02:40 |
I am a hot space fan, it may not be the best album Queen have produced but its not the worst either The songs that Queen performed live from the hot space album were quite good |
| mike hunt 05.08.2010 09:35 |
Sir GH wrote: I know this has been discussed before (almost to death), but here we go anyway. Naturally, the album was what it was at the time because it was what felt right. Queen were almost always a band who took risks, pushed the envelope, and never wanted to create the same thing twice - with varying results, but mostly good. I think we can all agree with that. But with hindsight on our side, we can suggest ways certain records could have been stronger. Here's what my remodeled Hot Space would look like: Side A: Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls Las Palabras de Amor Under Pressure Soul Brother Side B: Staying Power Dancer Back Chat Action This Day Cool Cat Cool Cat is as much a diversion from the rest of the record as My Melancholy Blues was on News Of The World. I think it's a perfect ending to the record, and much more in line with the funky tracks. As far as I'm concerned, Body Language is the single worst track the band ever released. It was a big hit, but with the singles-buying clubbing crowd, certainly not with Queen fans who enjoyed their 70s rock-based material. I'm one of those folks who believe that had they at least swapped sides A and B, the record would have fared far better, particularly in the US (I bet plenty of people tossed it away even before flipping it to side B). In fact, I'd say side B of Hot Space is stronger than side B of The Game. Las Palabras easily matches Save Me. Thoughts .. ? yea, in their prime they took a lot of risks with 98% success, the 80's were more mixed results. Funny you mention the first side of the album most fans didn't even get past the first few songs. that is true for me also. It took a year to get past the first 2 songs, but eventually some of those songs grew on me. Mainly staying power and later on the album Cool cat, which I first hated. I might disagree slightly with body language being the worst ever queen track.......it is one of my least favorites, but for me some others are worse. ' Fun it' for example......more of that Jazz?.....maybe. Tear it up?.....Maybe. Don't lose your head?....yes, much worse than body language. Party?.....Even put out the fire might be worse. Of course we're just giving harmless opinions here......The only thing with hot space is it should have been a bit heavier......still with the disco vibe though. I love the fact this Band took so many risks on the first 9 albums. Hot space they Just took it a little too far. No problem though, I'v had some fun spinning this fun album over the years, not great by any means but far from horrible. |
| rhyeking 05.08.2010 11:25 |
It amuses me a bit that people seemed surprised that Hot Space was so funk/dance dominant, as if they didn't see it coming. It should have been apparent that something like this was where Queen were headed. Look at the evidence... I Wanna Testify & Turn On The TV & Fight From The Inside (1977) The first two are Roger solo tracks, but all three were recorded during the NOTW sessions and all are fun funk-rock numbers. Fun It (1978) Disco from top to bottom, don't even try to deny it. It's even got the cheesy whistle. How Come You're So Dumb & Rich Kid Blues (1979) Roger's solo tracks with Hilary Hilary are more fun synthy-dance cheesiness. Dragon Attack & Another One Bites The Dust & Don't Try Suicide (1980) It's easy to just blame the success of AOBTD on the direction which led to Hot Space, but the funk component was very well represented by other songs on The Game. Future Management (1981) More cool funk-rock from Roger, buried in a "scfi-fi" themed album, this can easily get overlooked. Was it an influence? Hard to say, but I present it here as evidence that funk was very much on the band member's minds. Under Pressure (1981) Funk-rock at its finest. It should be noted that Bowie was between his Scary Monsters and Let's Dance albums, very much in a synth-pop-funk place musically, having shed his dark Berlin period. Also, while we didn't know it at the time, Queen had recorded "Cool Cat" already when Bowie walked into the studio (as we all have his demo version), so Queen were by this time fully exploring various things Funk. Moral & Crash & You Are You Are (1982) Roger's work with Gary Numan, king of the one-hit eighties synth weirdness. Emotions In Motion (1982) Freddie and Roger (again!) working on the first of several Billy Squire/Solo collaborations. Listen to this song and tell me it wouldn't fit on Hot Space if it had been a Queen song. All the elements are there: pop-funk-synth-danciness. In many ways, Hot Space was not a new direction for Queen, just the first time since AOBTD that the band so unapologetically put their funky foot forward, rather their tradition pop-rock. |
| Voice of Reason 2018 05.08.2010 11:40 |
Soul Brother is utter rubbish. The words are not 'fun' but trite. It sounds like it was made up as they went along, using the song titles as Greatest Hits was about to be released and all done in 15 minutes. Sorry - couldn't stay silent any more! |
| rhyeking 05.08.2010 12:11 |
You're probably right, VOR, that it was probably written and recorded very quickly and probably just to be a B-side. I don't think they ever intended it for inclusion on the album, but I'm only guessing. Freddie, who often cited as the primary writer on this, was very nonchalant about his musical output (which I think is partly an act) and considered his work disposable. The band were likely thinking,"Well, Bowie doesn't like his work on Cool Cat, so we can't use that as a B-side, so let's just put something together." I disagree that it's not fun, but it's a personal opinion situation, so I can't tell you you're wrong (neither of us is right or wrong). I guess the song just ain't for everyone. The B-side version of "See What A Fool I've Been" is very much the same, with Freddie singing what is normally a blues-rock song in an over the top burlesque way. I picture the band laughing their heads off as he did that final vocal take. And why not? A band should be allowed to have fun with itself and its image. Heaven save us from bands that are serious all the freakin' time. That just gets tedious. |
| Micrówave 05.08.2010 12:50 |
Hmmmm..... Nothing wrong with Hot Space, me thinks. Great album title, great cover. A possible tribute to Warhol? And the track selection is just fine. Starting the album out with anything but Staying Power would be a shame. It has the most energy of all the song off the album, and it's missing the usual Over-Guitaring that starts a Queen album, making you wait until track 2. Nice. Keeping Body Language off the album? Huh? The key here is selling albums, right? Not making records that a few fans think is the greatest ever. While some consider Body Language their worst track, that seems to come from a musician's mentality, not someone trying to market the album. It's simply their most pure-pop song they ever recorded, it was guaranteed to be a hit. And this happened during a time where we were starting to frown on bad language, suggestive lyrics, and wanting to put PA Stickers on the front covers. And it still sold like hot cakes!!! Thank God they didn't keep making records like Night At The Opera and News Of The World. Listening to a band put out the same stuff they did the year before gets old. Apologies to all you Classic Rock fans, but we have to evolve musically as well! |
| Wiley 05.08.2010 13:07 |
My favorite album, and the one I play the most, along with Opera and The Game, eventhough I understand why people hate it. I agree that it could have been better with a different tracklist, but also I think the tracks would have benefited greatly by being a bit heavier, like they were played live. For instance, take Body Language's 1991 remix. It includes two extra notes of guitar and an extra beat rythm in the background, both repeated throughout the song, and it sounds much more interesting. Here's my stab at an alternate tracklisting. Under Pressure Put Out the Fire Life is Real Body Language Calling All Girls Back Chat (edit of the 12" mix) Staying Power (edit of the extended U.S. mix) Dancer Action this day Las Palabras de Amor Cool Cat I agree with Sir GH about ending the album with Cool Cat and it being similar to how My Melancholy Blues ends News of the World. |
| Pim Derks 05.08.2010 14:22 |
If they had just recorded the tracks in the studio the way they performed them live it would've been even more awesome. Roger's IIIIIII WANT YOUR BODAAAAAAAAAAY!!!!! kicks ass :D |
| lifetimefanofqueen 05.08.2010 14:25 |
OMG I LOVE BACK CHAT FROM HOT SPACE, i know this is very random but it is very very important you all know |
| mike hunt 05.08.2010 21:12 |
rhyeking wrote: It amuses me a bit that people seemed surprised that Hot Space was so funk/dance dominant, as if they didn't see it coming. It should have been apparent that something like this was where Queen were headed. Look at the evidence... I Wanna Testify & Turn On The TV & Fight From The Inside (1977) The first two are Roger solo tracks, but all three were recorded during the NOTW sessions and all are fun funk-rock numbers. Fun It (1978) Disco from top to bottom, don't even try to deny it. It's even got the cheesy whistle. How Come You're So Dumb & Rich Kid Blues (1979) Roger's solo tracks with Hilary Hilary are more fun synthy-dance cheesiness. Dragon Attack & Another One Bites The Dust & Don't Try Suicide (1980) It's easy to just blame the success of AOBTD on the direction which led to Hot Space, but the funk component was very well represented by other songs on The Game. Future Management (1981) More cool funk-rock from Roger, buried in a "scfi-fi" themed album, this can easily get overlooked. Was it an influence? Hard to say, but I present it here as evidence that funk was very much on the band member's minds. Under Pressure (1981) Funk-rock at its finest. It should be noted that Bowie was between his Scary Monsters and Let's Dance albums, very much in a synth-pop-funk place musically, having shed his dark Berlin period. Also, while we didn't know it at the time, Queen had recorded "Cool Cat" already when Bowie walked into the studio (as we all have his demo version), so Queen were by this time fully exploring various things Funk. Moral & Crash & You Are You Are (1982) Roger's work with Gary Numan, king of the one-hit eighties synth weirdness. Emotions In Motion (1982) Freddie and Roger (again!) working on the first of several Billy Squire/Solo collaborations. Listen to this song and tell me it wouldn't fit on Hot Space if it had been a Queen song. All the elements are there: pop-funk-synth-danciness. In many ways, Hot Space was not a new direction for Queen, just the first time since AOBTD that the band so unapologetically put their funky foot forward, rather their tradition pop-rock. I love how Queen fans blame freddie and john for the funk direction the band took. When in fact it was roger who started the whole trend With 'fun it' and continued the new wave/funk/dance on the game with prime jive and coming soon. Roger was the one who introduced sythnisizer's to the band. These people need to do some research on the band before they open their mouth. |
| mike hunt 05.08.2010 21:18 |
Micrówave wrote: Hmmmm..... Nothing wrong with Hot Space, me thinks. Great album title, great cover. A possible tribute to Warhol? And the track selection is just fine. Starting the album out with anything but Staying Power would be a shame. It has the most energy of all the song off the album, and it's missing the usual Over-Guitaring that starts a Queen album, making you wait until track 2. Nice. Keeping Body Language off the album? Huh? The key here is selling albums, right? Not making records that a few fans think is the greatest ever. While some consider Body Language their worst track, that seems to come from a musician's mentality, not someone trying to market the album. It's simply their most pure-pop song they ever recorded, it was guaranteed to be a hit. And this happened during a time where we were starting to frown on bad language, suggestive lyrics, and wanting to put PA Stickers on the front covers. And it still sold like hot cakes!!! Thank God they didn't keep making records like Night At The Opera and News Of The World. Listening to a band put out the same stuff they did the year before gets old. Apologies to all you Classic Rock fans, but we have to evolve musically as well! Good post.....Agreed! |
| rhyeking 05.08.2010 21:33 |
From what I've read, it wasn't that Queen didn't use synths because they were morally opposed to them, but because they felt synthesizers sounded kind of shitty until the late '70s. Bands like Pink Floyd, with Dark Side Of The Moon, pretty much took contemporary synthesizers as far as they could go. It was great for Prog Rock, but Queen were Blues-Rock-Glam, so they just played what they needed on their normal instruments. And Brian could get some cool mileage out of the Red Special, so why bother with synths? The "No Synthesizers" note on the '70s albums came from not wanting people to think the Red Special was just them playing with keyboard effects or a Wulitzer. It wasn't a "We hate oppose synthesizers" credo. And yes, it seems Roger was the first to experiment with synths and actually record with them in 1979 with his Hilary Hilary recordings (he basically did everything on that single short of actually singing, which Hilary does). By the time the band worked on Flash Gordon, less than a year later, the entire band had embraced synthesizers and never looked back. |
| Dan C. 05.08.2010 22:40 |
I'm actually very happy with the album as is. It's one of my favorites. |
| Graeme Arnott 05.08.2010 23:58 |
Soul Brother was written by Freddie as a homage to Brian. |
| mike hunt 06.08.2010 00:36 |
Graeme Arnott wrote: Soul Brother was written by Freddie as a homage to Brian. Really?.......I know Brian and roger worked together longer, but Freddie and Brian really were musical soul Brother's. what a perfect fit they were. The song was ok, musically was solid, love the guitar work. Vocally brilliant....Man, what a voice!.....but the song itself was a spoof. Wasn't meant to be taken seriously. It would have been a bad idea to put it on an album. It belonged as a B side single. |
| DragonOnMyBack 06.08.2010 03:39 |
I like hot space, but I listen a lot more to the live versions of the Hot Space tracks on Live at the Bowl. Much better than the original studio versions if you ask me. |
| Vali 07.08.2010 11:54 |
Sir GH wrote: But with hindsight on our side, we can suggest ways certain records could have been stronger. Here's what my remodeled Hot Space would look like: Side A: Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls Las Palabras de Amor Under Pressure Soul Brother Side B: Staying Power Dancer Back Chat Action This Day Cool Cat Thoughts .. ? - - - - - - - - - Hi Bob, just finished playing your proposal and I say it works fantasticly well. I do like Hot Space as it is, too ... but also think something else could've been done in order to improve it a little bit. Swapping sides, erasing Body Language, including Soul Brother and finsihing the album in such relaxing mood with Cool Cat provides a fresh and easy listening. I've enjoyed it very much and I think I'll stick to this new tracklisting for future listenings. This makes me think we could start the same exercise with other albums. The first coming to mind is no other one than JAZZ, wich contains a collection of great tracks but the album feeling is nowhere to be found. A different tracklisting order would have made it better ? Wich would be your suggestions? |
| mike hunt 07.08.2010 13:10 |
Jazz is mostly Good with the track listing...The only thing I would change is follow Fat Bottomed Girls with Bicycle Races. Also, Fun it and more of that Jazz maybe be replaced with a better roger song. He had too have something better saved for fun in space? |
| The Real Wizard 07.08.2010 21:43 |
just finished playing your proposal and I say it works fantasticly well. I do like Hot Space as it is, too ... but also think something else could've been done in order to improve it a little bit. Swapping sides, erasing Body Language, including Soul Brother and finsihing the album in such relaxing mood with Cool Cat provides a fresh and easy listening. I've enjoyed it very much and I think I'll stick to this new tracklisting for future listenings.Glad you enjoyed it, Vali. It was the most fun I had while listening to the album too. |
| Sebastian 08.08.2010 11:16 |
I think the order's just fine. It's the recording method and approach that ruined it. Which brings me to the changes I'd put on it: Staying Power: Roger's powerful drumming (as in the live versions), Maylor on BV's instead of Freddie. Real bass instead of synths. Dancer: Real bass, real drums. Back Chat: Guitar solo without out of tune notes (as in live versions), more acoustic drumming. Body Language: Real bass, acoustic drums, more guitar, different lyrics, different title, different song. Action This Day: More acoustic drumming (as in live versions), more aggressive guitars (as in the live versions). Put Out the Fire: It's fine as it is. Life Is Real: String section and/or guitar choirs instead of synths. Calling All Girls: Different song. Las Palabras De Amor (The Words Of Love): Perhaps sung by Brian on the album and Fred on the single. Cool Cat: Fred singing in tune (as he did in 99% of the cases, but not here). Under Pressure: Different version to the single one - for instance, having it all sung by Freddie, or as a Fred/Rog duet. Or adding some of the discarded parts. |
| *goodco* 12.08.2010 12:38 |
Many great comments by all. Sad that the best of Fred's Mr. Bad Guy was not part of Side One. Add on Brian's 'Let Me Out' and Roger's 'Let's Get Crazy', ........along with remixing everything, and what an album it would have been. Side Two could have remained the same. Cover art: the inner sleeve was fab. Perhaps the Freddie stash and the evil look turned off some. Staying Power, Dancer, BL, and Action............heavy duty piano, guitars, less laziness......a shame what we suffered with. Tracks of the era that would have helped: The Dark, ...More to Life, A Beautiful Day, etc etc etc etc My version has evolved many times over the years. 'Let's Get Crazy' was an instant replacement for 'Back Chat'. Could not play this album for friends with side one as it was. Even used 'Flash' (LP version) as a replacement for 'Staying Power'.....but, over time, and at the wife's insistence, SP is the album opener. Used many Mr. Bad Guy tracks and Let Me Out as a side one for years. And after many changing orders, here goes (remember...............everything needs better mixing and...........uhm, no synthesizers!) Staying Power (piano in place of synth, some more lead guitar, and a shorter less tedious and boring song...yes, Milton Keynes always comes to mind) .....or.....just end it at the end of the sax solo Under Pressure (love the idea of Roger doing the Bowie bits) Dancer (...how odd that the spoken German words at the end sound to me as.....'a song with meaning, it's too big for them'.....how appropo.) Let's Get Crazy Cool Cat Action This Day Put Out The Fire Life Is Real Calling All Girls (not related to the audio, but as to the video..... South American live vids in place of the dreadful 'official' release) Words Of Love Body Language (piano, lead guitar, and various other fixer uppers as deemed very necessary) The Hero (movie, not soundtrack version) |
| rhyeking 12.08.2010 13:30 |
Peoples' replies to how they'd re-arrange (or completely distort) a given album provides unique insight in their personalities. It's really fascinating. Some are content to shift a song around and maybe replace one, while others go whole hog and breakdown every detail of the changes they'd make to the instruments used, pull songs from other albums and criticize the versions used. At what point does it stop being Hot Space? I suggested in my proposal a name change for the alternate version of Hot Space, but that came from being a bit ho-hum about the name. The two extremes are: same songs (mostly) + different title, or different songs and the same title. This album really has polarized some fans, hasn't it? I know saying that is nothing new, but here we see just how far some will go to distance the work from the funk/disco/dance/synth piece of art the band put out. And yes, it IS art. People stopped talking about The Game pretty much after it came out. It walked in, took its spot as a masterpiece and anything said about it now is a repeat of what was said in 1980. Hot Space, however, is the album we're still discussing, debating and dissecting nearly 20 years later. It's a point of heated argument and sweeping emotion. We've discussed it probably more than the band itself has! Freddie even said: "People get so worked up over these things. It's just a bloody record!" Well, carry on... |
| Gregsynth 12.08.2010 14:04 |
Where the fuck did Freddie go off key at during Cool Cat? |
| Rick 12.08.2010 14:11 |
Gregsynth wrote: Where the fuck did Freddie go off key at during Cool Cat? I have always wondered this myself. No mistakes according to my ears. |
| rhyeking 12.08.2010 18:06 |
Yeah, same here. "Cool Cat" sounds perfect. Those high notes Freddie hits are awesome. You can't deny, the man had a lot of soul! The leaked version with Bowie is pitched too high, so maybe that's what he's thinking of. At least MY copy is pitched too high. I spent a few minutes correcting it with some audio software, using the album version as a guide, and it sounds much better played correctly. Does anyone else sing the Bowie parts when listening to the album version? I catch myself doing it. |
| Dan C. 13.08.2010 17:10 |
I think a lot of people are mistaking the scratchier sounding high notes for off-key singing. |
| mike hunt 14.08.2010 00:22 |
Gregsynth wrote: Where the fuck did Freddie go off key at during Cool Cat? thank you my man!....his vocals on cool cat is one of my favorite vocals he's ever done. Perfect to my ears. |
| Wiley 14.08.2010 11:53 |
rhyeking wrote: At what point does it stop being Hot Space? ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The moment you remove Body Language from the tracklist. I would say the same applies to Staying Power as well. Would A Night at the Opera be called that without Bohemian Rhapsody? You can argue some songs are genius or terrible but the album's concept and entire idea is based on these songs' styles/moods. Remove them and you might as well be listening to The Works! |
| rhyeking 14.08.2010 12:07 |
"At what point does it stop being Hot Space?" It was more a rhetorical question, implying exactly what you said. Change anything about it and it's not what it was or what they meant it to be, for better or worse. |
| Gregsynth 14.08.2010 12:15 |
But Wiley made a great point: If you take the dance/funk stuff off Hot Space, it's not Hot Space anymore! |
| *goodco* 19.08.2010 09:20 |
Exactly !!! That's the point of our deletions. That's why so many of us removed the so called 'funk' |
| 7Innuendo7 20.08.2010 13:30 |
Queen - Hot Space. Same cover art, but entirely black & white version, with band name in red Dancer (with Brian's part's a bit louder in the mix & because it introduces the funnk theme 'hot space') Staying Power (arrangement = Live at the Bowl, sorry Mr Mardin) Back Chat (perfect as originally released) Body Language (original album version showcasing new sounds) Action This Day (mix/arrangement = Live at the Bowl) Under Pressure Calling All Girls I Go CRazy Life is Real Put Out the Fire Cool Cat (very much agreed re: similarity w/"Melancholy Blues") great thread! got me listening to HS again. come to this town honey is a showdown! |
| mike hunt 20.08.2010 17:11 |
People want to delete the funk songs?......IMO the funk songs work better than the rockers. Put out the fire is pretty weak for a rock song.......staying power is easily better. |
| The Real Wizard 20.08.2010 23:09 |
There's plenty of funk on Hot Space without Body Language. The other funky songs varied in quality (Back Chat and Cool Cat were the strongest, I think), but none were nearly as bad and career-killing as Body Language. It sealed the deal for a fair portion of their US fans from the 70s. |
| rhyeking 21.08.2010 00:09 |
All it proved was that some "fans" have no sense of humour. I can just picture these people, upon listening to Hot Space, raving, "But...but...what IS this? I don't get it! I JUST...DON'T...GET IT!" "Bicycle Race" and the various forays into pop-funk which preceeded Hot Space were more than sufficient clues that the band not only was heading in this direction, but was not taking itself entirely seriously all the time. I use "Bicycle Race" as a prime example, because it is easily the silliest Queen song ever to be a hit. "Body Language" is at least about the time-honoured subject of sex. Queen was never a band that was worried about taking itself too seriously. These were not four guys who proclaimed: "We make serious music! Respect our work and be awed by our noble pursuit!" No. They were four guys having fun. They embraced the campiness Freddie brought to the band. They cringed at times, but that didn't stop them. Roger hated dressing up in medieval ruffles for "It's A Hard Life," but was the first to say "let's dress up as women!" for "I Want To Break Free." It's convienent now to rewrite history, to focus on Queen's achievements and their Rock trademarks, but a big part of who they were and their public image was much less sophisticated than that. Look at Freddie in the "Killer Queen" BBC performance. He's just a leather jacket and mirrored shades away from the "Body Language" video. You're entitled to not like the song, but there is no such thing as This Isn't Queen if it's something they recorded and released. "Body Language" is as Queen as "Tie Your Mother Down" or "Liar". Laugh with "Body Language," and you might find you can like it. |
| GratefulFan 21.08.2010 01:02 |
Body Language wasn't very 'Queen', but it was totally Fred. And it succeeded brilliantly at what it was, though I completely get that most Queen people don't really dig 'what it was'. That outrageous video still stands 28 years later, delightfully filthy even by today's standards. Hedonism Inc. I'm glad it's part of the history, particularly in light of losing Fred. |
| Wiley 22.08.2010 14:11 |
7Innuendo7 wrote: Queen - Hot Space. Same cover art, but entirely black & white version, with band name in red Dancer (with Brian's part's a bit louder in the mix & because it introduces the funnk theme 'hot space') Staying Power (arrangement = Live at the Bowl, sorry Mr Mardin) Back Chat (perfect as originally released) Body Language (original album version showcasing new sounds) Action This Day (mix/arrangement = Live at the Bowl) Under Pressure Calling All Girls I Go CRazy Life is Real Put Out the Fire Cool Cat (very much agreed re: similarity w/"Melancholy Blues") great thread! got me listening to HS again. come to this town honey is a showdown! ---------------------------------------- That proposed cover art would have been awesome. I can totally picture it. Someone should do some photoshop on that. Track list makes sense. It would still be Hot Space but I guess it would work better as an album this way. Once again, ending the album with Cool Cat would have been awesome. |
| Holly2003 22.08.2010 16:42 |
rhyeking wrote: All it proved was that some "fans" have no sense of humour. I can just picture these people, upon listening to Hot Space, raving, "But...but...what IS this? I don't get it! I JUST...DON'T...GET IT!" "Bicycle Race" and the various forays into pop-funk which preceeded Hot Space were more than sufficient clues that the band not only was heading in this direction, but was not taking itself entirely seriously all the time. I use "Bicycle Race" as a prime example, because it is easily the silliest Queen song ever to be a hit. "Body Language" is at least about the time-honoured subject of sex. Queen was never a band that was worried about taking itself too seriously. These were not four guys who proclaimed: "We make serious music! Respect our work and be awed by our noble pursuit!" No. They were four guys having fun. They embraced the campiness Freddie brought to the band. They cringed at times, but that didn't stop them. Roger hated dressing up in medieval ruffles for "It's A Hard Life," but was the first to say "let's dress up as women!" for "I Want To Break Free." It's convienent now to rewrite history, to focus on Queen's achievements and their Rock trademarks, but a big part of who they were and their public image was much less sophisticated than that. Look at Freddie in the "Killer Queen" BBC performance. He's just a leather jacket and mirrored shades away from the "Body Language" video. You're entitled to not like the song, but there is no such thing as This Isn't Queen if it's something they recorded and released. "Body Language" is as Queen as "Tie Your Mother Down" or "Liar". Laugh with "Body Language," and you might find you can like it. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I think you're conflating 'being taken seriously' with only playing rock music i.e. because they experimented (a bit) musically, they didn't take themselves seriously and didn't want others to take them seriously either. I disagree. I think they were very serious about their music and they wanted respect from fellow musicians. Brian has said that often -- that only fellow musicians can really appreciate some of the things they did, and they get more respect from other musicians than they ever did from the press. He has also said he wants Fred to be remembered as a musician and songwriter and niot just a 'showman' (I couldn't agree more: Fred's showman/frontman image really obstructs his memroy as a great musician, first and foremost). Brian has also said he wants the albums to be taken more seriously, and doesn't want Queen to be remembered as a singles band (although his own actions are helping to create this image -- he needs to practice what he preachs!) |
| rhyeking 22.08.2010 19:44 |
I know what you're saying, Holly, but you sort of miss my point. The crafting of their music and image was professionally done, so much so that they knew they were displaying campiness, irreverance and downright goofiness at times all throughout their career. Queen embraced an image of campy glam rock and my point was that these days, people prefer to ignore that in favour of concentrating on their classic rock status, which makes it easier for them to dismiss those points in Queen's career (namely Hot Space) which don't fit that view. And as seriously as they took their craft, they weren't "married to the music" as one interviewer asked Freddie (when asking what Freddie thought of a Springsteen comment that The Boss gave, saying he [Bruce] was married to his music). Freddie's reply was (paraphrasing), "No, that's ridiculous. I'm not married to my music. I have relationships with *people.* Music is my job." Some artists have an inflated sense of self and their role as singers, songwriters and musicians, and can't ever be seen to be having fun with that image, lest their fans lose respect for them. They have to put that persona (and sometimes it's not a persona, but who they really are) on 100% ALL the time. Queen could and did have fun, which I view as a great strength. I think it does everyone a disservice to ignore that part of their image and music. |
| 7Innuendo7 25.08.2010 05:10 |
@ wiley, thanks! you know one thing I wrestled with was 'Las Palabras' -- love the track, and it reflects the triumph of the South American tour. Seems like Queen would record material (Somebody to Love, Teo Torriatte) influenced by successful tours -- I just can't figure where it would fit... |
| cosmefulanito93 16.03.2012 14:21 |
i have an argentinian cassette of "Hot Space" what swaped "side a" by "side b", "side a" begin with "put out the fire" and "side b" begin with "staying power", it s cassette is rare? |
| Micrówave 16.03.2012 15:43 |
Not really. You could put some tape on the holes and re-record it from CD so it was in correct order. |
| ole-the-first 16.03.2012 18:31 |
rhyeking wrote:Queen had recorded "Cool Cat" already when Bowie walked into the studio (as we all have his demo version)Not exactly, they had only a demo at that time — the song was completely re-recorded for the album (and the alternate version we have is the album take with backing vocals from original demo mixed in). |
| dysan 17.03.2012 12:33 |
Good thread. |
| MadTheSwine73 17.03.2012 23:12 |
Very good thread. |
| waunakonor 18.03.2012 16:50 |
Why do you guys like commenting on threads in retrospect? |
| Ziggy_SD 19.03.2012 09:06 |
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| Ziggy_SD 19.03.2012 09:06 |
Sorry, disregard top post - check bottom 2 instead for 'proposed' new HS artwork :) |
| Ziggy_SD 19.03.2012 09:07 |
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| Ziggy_SD 19.03.2012 09:08 |
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| bitesthedust 17.06.2012 09:44 |
My take on this - Side A Put Out The Fire Dancer Life Is Real Calling All Girls Staying Power Side B Under Pressure Body Language Action This Day Back Chat Las Palabras De Amor Cool Cat |
| dowens 17.06.2012 22:56 |
Ok, so someone tell me...what do the lines after Bidy Language mean? Sorry if that's dumb, I'm innocent. :) |
| Echosun1979 21.06.2012 05:46 |
This is my version u have on my iTunes. 1 Action This Day 2 Dancer 3 Life Is Real 4 Back Chat 5 Put out the fire 6 Calling All Girls 7 Cool Cat 8 Las Palabras Now THATs a really good album! |
| tomchristie22 22.06.2012 09:31 |
dowens wrote: Ok, so someone tell me...what do the lines after Bidy Language mean? Sorry if that's dumb, I'm innocent. :)You mean the arrows? If you've seen the video clip (don't) it'll make sense, the scarcely/not at all clothed people have arrows like this painted on them, probably supposed to be suggestively pointing up and down the body or what have you. I don't know, it's not a good song anyway. But that's definitely what the arrows are referring to anyway, that theme from the video. It's weird that on the album sleeve it appears to be considered part of the title. |