| tomchristie22 21.01.2015 17:23 |
...The terrible note choices at the end of the middle eight, for the phrase, 'It's not so long since you were young'. It falls over completely flat (not as in out of key, as in kills momentum and interest). I have no problem with the remainder of the song, but that anticlimax just dampens the whole thing in my opinion. Sure, the lyrics are bad at points, but so are those to I'm In Love With My Car, and that's still a really enjoyable listen. |
| Oscar J 21.01.2015 19:38 |
Very awkward indeed. The song just doesn't know where to go anymore, all of a sudden. Actually I think the whole song is very mediocre compared to the rest of the album. That and Some Day One Day, just can't stand May's shaky vocals there. It's like he sings with a gun pointed at his head. |
| winterspelt 22.01.2015 00:20 |
I hate that song. Everything about it. |
| BETA215 22.01.2015 00:25 |
This song, basically, is the black cow (YES; BECAUSE IF I WANT COWS IN MY ARGUMENT, I PUT THEM THERE) of the flock. |
| ili 22.01.2015 01:11 |
like most of the Roger Taylor songs in the 70s, it is the weakest part in the album. It's been maybe 10 years now I haven't been listening to that song and I can go 10 more years without it. |
| ITSM 22.01.2015 03:24 |
I kinda like the song, at least the "strange drums" at the beginning. But it's probably the weakest song on Queen II - along with Some Day One Day - but the rest of the album is so good, so it must have been hard for Taylor to slip one in there. |
| MercurialFreddie 22.01.2015 03:50 |
Tenement Funster is very good. It is a really standout track from SHA with an amazing feel to it and there's some really nice delayed guitar solo. |
| brians wig 22.01.2015 04:48 |
And the irony is that I love the song but have a problem with Brian's whiney song that precedes it! |
| master marathon runner 22.01.2015 06:15 |
but surely it's redeemed from: "so listen mothers everywhere, to just one mother's son"............. What the heck, its just a teenage angst warble, I was never ever aware of any negativity about it, 'til I found QZ.- fits in on Q2 ok to me. There 's weaker tracks in their canon |
| tomchristie22 22.01.2015 06:41 |
I have some affection for Some Day, One Day. It's just soft and easeful to listen to, and the guitar work is nice, different melodies in counterpoint not unlike the start of The Night Comes Down. Of course, Brian's voice in it is pretty weak (he wouldn't reach his strongest and most confident vocal ability until the 90s). |
| Sebastian 22.01.2015 07:10 |
tomchristie22 wrote: Of course, Brian's voice in it is pretty weak (he wouldn't reach his strongest and most confident vocal ability until the 90s).Certainly, but some of his lead vocals in the 70's and 80's were excellent ('39, Sail Away Sweet Sister, Who Wants to Live Forever). I agree Some Day One Day isn't one of his best, neither as a composer nor as singer. |
| tomchristie22 22.01.2015 07:53 |
I think he does a fine job singing on the Smile tracks Polar Bear and April Lady; he sounds shaky like on Some Day, One Day, but that vulnerability is a defining aspect of his vocals on many Queen tracks. His lines on Who Wants to Live Forever are a good example of that - he's not as shaky, but still soft and endearing. |
| LucasDiego 22.01.2015 08:22 |
I like the track, but is the weakest part of queen II, but i can't take off this track of the album! |
| ggo1 22.01.2015 08:45 |
I've never had a problem with the song, it's a good closer to side 1 (Side White). I would never argue it's a classic, but only in terms of being on a very good album, it's far from the worst thing Queen ever did. I wonder if it suffers a little from being on cd. On vinyl, it would close out side 1, most lps had a quieter more sparse track as the last one, it made mastering much easier because of the tighter groove at the middle. Then there was a gap as the needle hit the run off groove and the excitement of turning the lp over before the magnificence of side 2. On cd it finishes then straight into Ogre battle and it suffers from the sonic boom that is the start of Ogre battle coming immediately afterwards instead of having 30 seconds to a minute of silence first. It's hard to imagine, but if Queen II was written and recorded exactly the same way now, the track order would likely be very different. It would be front loaded with the strongest songs, there is no way in heck there wouldn't be one of the tracks from Freddie in the first 20 minutes. |
| ili 22.01.2015 08:50 |
Not much related to the topic maybe, but any song sung by Roger or Brian sounds much much better when sung by Freddie. I'm glad they left lead vocals (or at least most of them) to Freddie on all the songs after 1980. |
| ili 22.01.2015 08:59 |
...and I'm glad John was not able to sing.... otherwise it was possible that we could never get studio versions of Spread Your Wings, You're My Best Friend or Who Needs You sung by Freddie. |
| joerijoerijoeri 22.01.2015 09:00 |
This is not a classic by any means but i can't for the life of me understand how people hate this song and then like an album like Happiness, full of painful lyrics, sterile music that's nowhere catchy and a Roger Taylor taking himself way too seriously. I'd rather listen to The Loser In The End for an hour. |
| gerry 22.01.2015 09:26 |
Queen2 is a brilliant album and all the songs are great i find no weak tracks on the album at all. Classic Queen never to be repeated, so enjoy folks! |
| The King Of Rhye 22.01.2015 09:42 |
ili wrote: Not much related to the topic maybe, but any song sung by Roger or Brian sounds much much better when sung by Freddie. I'm glad they left lead vocals (or at least most of them) to Freddie on all the songs after 1980.Now that I'll totally disagree with....Brian's '39, for example, is one of my favorite songs! Not that the live versions with Freddie are bad, but it's like he gives the song a whole new feeling that (in my opinion!) doesnt improve on the original. Same thing with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I always thought Brian's voice suited that song more than Freddie's...it just doesnt have the same emotional impact with Freddie singing it, almost like his voice is TOO good for the song, if you know what I mean. Roger's got a great voice himself..........somehow I cant even imagine Freddie singing Tenement Funster or I'm In Love With My Car! |
| Gregsynth 22.01.2015 09:46 |
My guess is because Brian's voice is much "sweeter" and "gentler" than Freddie's (going off timbre), his softer voice suits those songs better. |
| joerijoerijoeri 22.01.2015 11:51 |
yeah i enjoy Brian's shaky vocals on especially those early songs. |
| anniestu44b 22.01.2015 12:27 |
It does make me chuckle, how people somehow think they are expert lyricists |
| anniestu44b 22.01.2015 15:59 |
And songwriters! |
| Oscar J 22.01.2015 18:21 |
Well... some people are. |
| Sebastian 22.01.2015 19:43 |
Moreover, you don't need to be an expert lyricist or songwriter in order to analyse and/or rate lyrics or songs, just like you don't need to be an extinct creature to be a good palaeontologist and you don't need to be a mummified corpse to be a good egiptiologist. |
| ili 23.01.2015 01:04 |
The King Of Rhye wrote:well, I believe it's a matter of personal taste my friend. I respect your opinion but to me songs like '39 or Modern Times Rock'n Roll sound better when sung by Freddie onstage compared to what we hear on the original albums. I believe once you get used to hearing a song in a certain way (in this case lead vocals by Brian or Roger) and if you like it, it's hard to imagine it in a different way.ili wrote: Not much related to the topic maybe, but any song sung by Roger or Brian sounds much much better when sung by Freddie. I'm glad they left lead vocals (or at least most of them) to Freddie on all the songs after 1980.Now that I'll totally disagree with....Brian's '39, for example, is one of my favorite songs! Not that the live versions with Freddie are bad, but it's like he gives the song a whole new feeling that (in my opinion!) doesnt improve on the original. Same thing with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I always thought Brian's voice suited that song more than Freddie's...it just doesnt have the same emotional impact with Freddie singing it, almost like his voice is TOO good for the song, if you know what I mean. Roger's got a great voice himself..........somehow I cant even imagine Freddie singing Tenement Funster or I'm In Love With My Car! with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I think the problem is the musical arrangements rather than Feddie's voice. I remember back in '95 I was so excited before listening Too Much Love on Made In Heaven because it was a song I loved so much on Back To The Light. then I felt a little disappointed because of the arrangement and guitar solo. I still feel it could have been arranged in a much better way. Brian's live version on Live At Brixton Academy is the best arrangement I have heard and the guitar solo was fantastic. Same arrangement would be perfect with Freddie's vocals IMO. |
| ggo1 23.01.2015 11:30 |
ili wrote:" with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I think the problem is the musical arrangements rather than Feddie's voice." Don't really agree on that one, I think Freddie just oversings it a little, Brians version has more heart. I like them both, but for me, the Brian version is as good as he could get it, whereas there was probably a better vocal performance inside Freddie that never got captured. I don't think the arrangement is a factor. |
| Oscar J 23.01.2015 11:44 |
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| Oscar J 23.01.2015 11:49 |
I just realised that a few months ago, I reduced the fadeout on the copy of TLITE I have in my iTunes library, because the drumming at the end is what makes the song worthwhile. |
| The Real Wizard 23.01.2015 11:59 |
Some Day One Day is a lovely track - wonderful arrangement, yet simplistic. Loser In The End is obviously the weakest track on Queen II, but certainly not a bad song. Roger's tracks weren't always the weakest in the 70s. Far from it. Tenement Funster, I'm In Love With My Car, Drowse, Fight From The Inside - all excellent tracks. As far as I'm concerned - every note from Sheer Heart Attack through News Of The World was perfect. |
| *goodco* 23.01.2015 14:00 |
Side White was something I would often play for guests back in my college days (never Side Black). As to nary a bad note from SHA to NOTW, I'd agree with that....except for the dog-whistle during the 'Sheer Heart Attack' middle bridge. Would love to hear a studio version without it. Hurt my ears 38 years ago, and it hurts worse in my old age. 38 years?!?!? |
| bucsateflon 20.06.2018 09:16 |
Some sounds on this record precedes the alternative rock music style for almost 2 decades.Also this is the best produced track on the record. |
| OhioMustapha 20.06.2018 10:32 |
Maybe if there was a live version we could talk more about it. |
| mike hunt 20.06.2018 13:00 |
I actually like Body Language more than loser In The End....See What A Fool I Been would have been the better choice for me....Someday One Day I think was a decent little tune. Brian did better with 39, Good Company, long away and All Dead, but it's still pretty good....The rest of Queen 2 is perfect. |
| mike hunt 20.06.2018 13:19 |
ili wrote:I agree with this....I liked the back to The Light verson but felt Brian stuggled vocally in the chorus, so I was real excited when I heard Freddie sang this.....the result for me was also a bit disappointing....vocally I loved it...freddie nailed It, but like you said I wasn't crazy about the new arrangement of the song. I will say the The Made In Heaven verson I listen to more now....even though musically it could of been better. Back To The Light has great music on it, but it's not an album I revisit that often. His vocals hurt my ears.The King Of Rhye wrote:well, I believe it's a matter of personal taste my friend. I respect your opinion but to me songs like '39 or Modern Times Rock'n Roll sound better when sung by Freddie onstage compared to what we hear on the original albums. I believe once you get used to hearing a song in a certain way (in this case lead vocals by Brian or Roger) and if you like it, it's hard to imagine it in a different way. with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I think the problem is the musical arrangements rather than Feddie's voice. I remember back in '95 I was so excited before listening Too Much Love on Made In Heaven because it was a song I loved so much on Back To The Light. then I felt a little disappointed because of the arrangement and guitar solo. I still feel it could have been arranged in a much better way. Brian's live version on Live At Brixton Academy is the best arrangement I have heard and the guitar solo was fantastic. Same arrangement would be perfect with Freddie's vocals IMO.ili wrote: Not much related to the topic maybe, but any song sung by Roger or Brian sounds much much better when sung by Freddie. I'm glad they left lead vocals (or at least most of them) to Freddie on all the songs after 1980.Now that I'll totally disagree with....Brian's '39, for example, is one of my favorite songs! Not that the live versions with Freddie are bad, but it's like he gives the song a whole new feeling that (in my opinion!) doesnt improve on the original. Same thing with Too Much Love Will Kill You, I always thought Brian's voice suited that song more than Freddie's...it just doesnt have the same emotional impact with Freddie singing it, almost like his voice is TOO good for the song, if you know what I mean. Roger's got a great voice himself..........somehow I cant even imagine Freddie singing Tenement Funster or I'm In Love With My Car! |
| Holly2003 21.06.2018 16:36 |
If you don't like Loser in the End you should go listen to Debbie Gibson, UB40, or some other artists who more suit your tastes :p Queen II is a big slab of rock music hewn from magma that was ejected directly from the earth's molten core. It cannot be changed to suit the whims of mere mortals. |
| mooghead 21.06.2018 19:28 |
I love the bass on Loser In the End. Quite simple but a great little riff. The let down on Queen II (which is by far my favourite album and the closest you will get to Queen being Queen without record company pressure for singles or making money from sales) is the intro to Ogre Battle. If only they had started with the guitar riff like the Beeb version.. I honestly think it was a gimmick to get people to play it backwards on their turntables and draw attention to it. |
| The Real Wizard 22.06.2018 16:52 |
"Loser in the End wouldn't be that bad if not for one thing..." The most click-baitey thread title on QZ ever ;) |
| ggo1 23.06.2018 02:10 |
I've always loved the track. I thought this 3 years ago when the thread started but now I'm actually going to say something dammit! |