| lifetimefanofqueen 28.03.2011 16:02 |
My friends still think Queen are a pop band so i thought id just ask you all here to get some proof and tell them that about i dont know how many people just said their a rock band or what ever else, any ideas? because you have to admit their music is alot lighter than some other bands music like KISS who are alot more heavy, but i guess at the time then it was a rock band |
| rhyeking 28.03.2011 16:51 |
Technically they're both, as Pop Music is just short for Popular Music. Now, short of getting into the long and detailed spiderweb of musical influences, varying definitions of "pop" (both current and historic), let's just say that nowadays, the idea seems to be that Pop Music is geared to singles charts and the broadest appeal. In some purest circles, it's sort of a negative label, I guess, in that it implies either a lowest common denominator/superficial approach and/or result, or something aimed at younger audiences. You'd rarely heard Led Zeppelin accused of being a Pop Band. So, what are Queen? Well, I think they're the best of both worlds: a Rock Band with a Pop sensibility towards its singles output. And really, that was their greatest commercial strength. They could cover a lot of bases reasonably well. They could rock out hard and they could put out radio-friendly material as well. |
| lifetimefanofqueen 28.03.2011 17:31 |
i see, i guess its just modern "pop" that's utter shit. but radio friendly? i thought that get down make love was banned for talking about to much sex, but i heard theres a new "song" out by some white rapper called "grab your crotch!" which i think is a no no, im not a fan of rap and hip hop, its just annoying. but i understand what your saying hun :) |
| rhyeking 28.03.2011 17:38 |
I meant their radio-friendly material tended to be their singles. "Get Down, Make Love" was never a single, as far as I know. "Body Language" was and it was a successful in the US (#11, I think?)....even #25 in the UK isn't terrible, though by Queen's previous standards (Top 10s and 20s), it was a miss. |
| Michael 28.03.2011 19:19 |
In my opinion, Queen were generally a "Rock" band up until after The Game, at which point they leaned more toward "Pop". I mean, could you imagine them recording a song like "Back Chat" or "Rain Must Fall" in the 70s? Now, I'm not knocking either version of the band. I prefer the 70s Queen, but the 80s Queen had its virtues, as well. |
| queenUSA 28.03.2011 20:49 |
This just makes me Stone Cold Crazy. |
| rubens 28.03.2011 22:24 |
I think Queen is a rock band that can do other things as well. That's because they aren't a buch of rockers who just know how to headbang. they are true musicians who like to do rock music but exactly because they are musicians they do lot of different stuff. And about getting hard...well I don't think that rock n'roll all night or strutter are even close to be so heavy as ogre battle, stone cold crazy and many others amazing heavy songs they used to play. Even in the 80's they continued to do heavy tracks like princes of the universe, gimme the prize among others. |
| spaceboy1972 28.03.2011 22:25 |
I think here categorisation is hard - a little from column A and a little from column B. I find this interview with Freddie quite interesting and raises a few points link Don't be put off my the title! :-) |
| pittrek 29.03.2011 01:06 |
I would say 70's - hard rock / "pomp rock" 80's - rock, pop, disco (Hot Space era) 90's - pop, rock |
| brENsKi 29.03.2011 10:14 |
lifetimefanofqueen wrote: My friends still think Queen are a pop band so i thought id just ask you all here to get some proof and tell them that about i dont know how many people just said their a rock band or what ever else, any ideas? because you have to admit their music is alot lighter than some other bands music like KISS who are alot more heavy, but i guess at the time then it was a rock band +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ i think it has to be put into perspective in relation to time. Queen evolved to capture as big a market as possible (this backfired a little from 82 onwards in the USA)....but they were by no means an exception...lots of traditional "Rock bands" took this path in the 80s... listen to the singles/album output form bands like Genesis, Yes, the Who, Kiss, foreigner, ...it all headed into a much more pop direction i tihnk IF queen were still aorund, and IF they were still working together...then they'd have done the indie thing and practically every other new trend along the way.... |
| lifetimefanofqueen 29.03.2011 10:52 |
rubens wrote: I think Queen is a rock band that can do other things as well. That's because they aren't a buch of rockers who just know how to headbang. they are true musicians who like to do rock music but exactly because they are musicians they do lot of different stuff. And about getting hard...well I don't think that rock n'roll all night or strutter are even close to be so heavy as ogre battle, stone cold crazy and many others amazing heavy songs they used to play. Even in the 80's they continued to do heavy tracks like princes of the universe, gimme the prize among others. ====================== aye, but "god of thunder" is quite "heavy" |
| Matias Merçeauroix 29.03.2011 10:54 |
To me, they're anything but a rock band. |
| master marathon runner 29.03.2011 12:44 |
They are Queen. Nuff said. Master Marathon Runner |
| rubens 29.03.2011 15:27 |
lifetimefanofqueen wrote: aye, but "god of thunder" is quite "heavy" Well I supose you are right...it's hard rock for sure. But I think that when the boys wanted, they could rock harder than any other band of their time. Of course in the end of the day it's all subjective : ) |
| TyinPalmSprings 29.03.2011 15:43 |
Based on most of what I kenw and experienced back then, and what I have read since, they are considered "Glam Rock" |
| maxpower 29.03.2011 16:32 |
Yes for me they were a rock band, but a lot of people don't like pigeonholing them. When they changed to a more pop orientation on their 80's albums they still rocked them up in a live setting which says to me they were a rock band you only have to listen the Hot Space material live |
| Russian Headlong 29.03.2011 17:27 |
Unfortunately they did have a large pop output mainly after the Game. Personally, I prefer their Hard Rock sound and despise the poppy stuff they came up with later. they are by no means the only Rock band to lighten and make poppy tracks, Genesis, The Who are other examples. Then they would not have had the mass appeal today if they had just stayed as a hard rock band. I think the admission that Hot Space didnt work showed that most hard core fans saw them as Rock and fans of the light weight stuff in the 80's came to like them later in their career. Freddie embraced disco sound in the 80's but he still liked the more metal sounds just listen to Princes of the Universe or Seven Seas of Rhye. John was always a fan of motown and funkier sounds at odds with Roger and Brian who were more traditional Rockeras although Roger went through a phase in the 80's of using a lot of Synths in his compositions. |
| kruh 30.03.2011 01:53 |
They played all kind of music. But they are definetly a rock band, jus listen to a live albums and you can see that the music is very powerfull on 90% of the tracks, for exsample Wembly 86, they are a rock band! |
| Over the Field 30.03.2011 08:35 |
They are a rock band. Rock band with different eras f.e. heavy metal, pop rock, disco etc. My favourite is the progressive rock era (the first two albums I think). |
| lifetimefanofqueen 30.03.2011 09:11 |
Russian Headlong wrote: Unfortunately they did have a large pop output mainly after the Game. Personally, I prefer their Hard Rock sound and despise the poppy stuff they came up with later. they are by no means the only Rock band to lighten and make poppy tracks, Genesis, The Who are other examples. Then they would not have had the mass appeal today if they had just stayed as a hard rock band. I think the admission that Hot Space didnt work showed that most hard core fans saw them as Rock and fans of the light weight stuff in the 80's came to like them later in their career. Freddie embraced disco sound in the 80's but he still liked the more metal sounds just listen to Princes of the Universe or Seven Seas of Rhye. John was always a fan of motown and funkier sounds at odds with Roger and Brian who were more traditional Rockeras although Roger went through a phase in the 80's of using a lot of Synths in his compositions. ============================= aye, and there's Brian's solo albums, some of the songs in it were in a way a wee bit more Rock than what they made as Queen, Resurrection for example was more "heavy" than they could have made as Queen, and the music video is alot more heavy rock than their Queen videos, the fire etc, i personally love the video but can only find one on youtube and the sound quality is pretty shit. but princes of the universe is quite heavy and the video also quite heavy with the building crumbling and stuff smashing, but its not as "heavy" as resurrection. |
| lifetimefanofqueen 30.03.2011 09:21 |
Over the Field wrote: They are a rock band. Rock band with different eras f.e. heavy metal, pop rock, disco etc. My favourite is the progressive rock era (the first two albums I think). ==================================== same, i'm "studying" them for a project in literature (we have to write poems, or pretend to be a fan at a concert, or just write a mini story etc...) and me teacher said i could write about their rise to fame from the 70s to the 80s but personally i think their fame point was the early 70s, (well, its my favourite years so i'll say "fame") first 5 albums are my favourite, (which coincidently have been remastered for their 40th as you all know, (might put something about that in) i love their first album and sheer heart attack, my favourite, i also love the clothes they wore in the early days, very rock 'n' roll, you gotta admire them for that, so defiantly they were more of a Rock band in the early days, P.S i love you're picture :) |
| Soundfreak 30.03.2011 09:23 |
They are Queen. Nuff said. Master Marathon Runner <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Exactly! |
| Jazz 78 30.03.2011 10:49 |
No, they're not a "rock band"... They're a GREAT rock band! |
| brENsKi 30.03.2011 11:00 |
Jazz 78 wrote: No, they're not a "rock band"... They're a GREAT rock band! ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ correction: they were a great rock band for example: Deep Purple minus Ritchie Blackmore = ordinary rock band queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band the who minus moon & entwhistle = ordinary rock band kiss +/- ace & peter = ordinary rock band |
| Amazon 30.03.2011 12:12 |
brENsKi wrote: "queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band" I would say Queen minus Freddie= pretty good rock band (No-One But You IMO was fantastic), and Queen minus Freddie and John= aren't Queen. |
| qrock 30.03.2011 14:41 |
Are Queen A Rock Band? Well let's have a look at. Queen I: Keep Yourself Alive (Rock), Doing All Right (Rock), Great King Rat (Rock), My Fairy King (Rock), Liar (Rock), The Night Comes Down (Rock), Modern Times Rock n Roll (Rock), Son and Daughter (Rock), Jesus (Rock), Seven Seas of Rhye (Rock). All 10 songs are Rock. Queen II: Procession (Rock), Father to Son (Rock), White Queen (Rock), Someday One Day (Rock), The Loser in the End (Rock), Ogre Battle (Rock), The Fairy Feller's Masterstroke (Rock), Nevermore (Rock), The March of the Black Queen (Rock), Funny How Love Is (Rock), Seven Seas of Rhye (Rock). All 11 songs are Rock. Sheer Heart Attack: Brighton Rock (Rock), Killer Queen (Pop), Tenement Funster (Rock), Flick of the Wrist (Rock), Lily of the Valley (Rock), Now I'm Here (Rock), In the Lap of the Gods (Rock), Stone Cold Crazy (Rock), Dear Friends (Rock), Misfire (Pop), Bring Back that Leroy Brown (Rock), She Makes Me (Rock), In the Lap of the Gods Revisited (Rock). 11 songs out of 13 are Rock - Killer Queen and Misfire are Pop. A Night at the Opera: Death on Two Legs (Rock), Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon (Rock), I'm in Love with my Car (Rock), You're My Best Friend (Pop), 39 (Rock), Sweet Lady (Rock), Seaside Rendzevous (Pop), The Prophet's Song (Rock), Love of My Life (Rock), Good Company (Rock), Bohemian Rhapsody (Rock), God Save the Queen (Rock). 10 songs out of 12 are Rock. You're My Best Friend and Seaside Rendezvous are Pop. A Day at the Races: Tie Your Mother Down (Rock), You Take My Breath Away (Pop), Long Away (Rock), The Millionaire Waltz (Rock), You and I (Pop), Somebody to Love (Rock), White Man (Rock), Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy (Pop), Drowse (Rock), Teo Torriatte (Rock). 7 out of 10 songs are Rock. You Take My Breath Away, You and I and Good Old Fashioned Lover Boy are Pop. News of the World: We Will Rock You (Rock), We are the Champions (Rock), Sheer Heart Attack (Rock), All Dead, All Dead (Rock), Spread Your Wings (Rock), Fight From the Inside (Rock), Get Down Make Love (Rock), Sleeping on the Sidewalk (Rock), Who Needs You (Rock), It's Late (Rock), My Melancholy Blues (Pop). 10 out of 11 songs are Rock. My Melancholy Blues is Pop. Jazz: Mustapha (Rock), Fat Bottomed Girls (Rock), Jealousy (Rock), Bicycle Race (Rock), If You Can't Beat Them (Rock), Let Me Entertain You (Rock), Dead on Time (Rock), In Only Seven Days (Rock), Dreamer's Ball (Rock), Leaving Home Ain't Easy (Rock) Fun It (Pop), Don't Stop Me Now (Rock), More of that Jazz (Rock). 12 out of 13 songs are Rock. Fun It is Pop. The Game: Play the Game (Rock), Dragon Attack (Rock), Another One Bites the Dust (Rock), Need Your Loving Tonight (Rock), Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Rock), Rock It (Rock), Don't Try Suicide (Rock), Sail Away Sweet Sister (Rock), Coming Soon (Pop), Save Me (Rock). 9 out of 10 songs are Rock. Coming Soon is Pop. Flash Gordon: Flash (Rock), The Hero (Rock), Football Fight (Rock) Hot Space: Staying Power (Pop), Dancer (Pop), Back Chat (Pop), Body Language (Pop), Action this Day (Pop), Put Out the Fire (Rock), Life is Real (Rock), Calling All Girls (Rock), Las Palabras de Amor (Rock), Cool Cat (Pop), Under Pressure (Rock). 5 out of 11 songs are Rock. Staying Power, Dancer, Back Chat, Body Language, Action This Day and Cool Cat are Pop. The Works: Radio Ga Ga (Pop), Tear it Up (Rock), It's a Hard Life (Rock), Man on the Prowl (Rock), Machines (Rock), I Want to Break Free (Pop), Keep Passing the Open Windows (Rock), Hammer to Fall (Rock), Is this the World We Created (Rock). 7 out of 9 songs are Rock. Radio Ga Ga and I Want to Break Free are Pop. Thank God It's Christmas (Pop) A Kind of Magic: One Vision (Rock), One Year of Love (Pop), A Kind of Magic (Pop), Pain is So Close to Pleasure (Pop), Friends Will Be Friends (Rock), Who Wants to Live Forever (Rock), Gimme the Prize (Rock), Don't Lose Your Head (Pop), Princes of the Universe (Rock). 5 out of 9 songs are Rock. One Year of Love, A Kind of Magic, Pain is So Close to Pleasure and Don't Lose Your Head are Pop. The Miracle: Party (Rock), Khashoggi's Ship (Rock), The Miracle (Rock), I Want it All (Rock), The Invisible Man (Pop), Breakthru (Rock), Rain Must Fall (Pop), Scandal (Rock), My Baby Does Me (Pop), Was it All Worth it (Rock). 7 out of 10 songs are Rock. The Invisible Man, Rain Must Fall and My Baby Does Me are Pop. Innuendo: Innuendo (Rock), I'm Going Slightly Mad (Rock), Headlong (Rock), I Can't Live with You (Rock), Don't Try So Hard (Rock), Ride the Wild Wind (Pop), All God's People (Rock), These are the Days of Our Lives (Rock), Delilah (Pop), The Hitman (Rock), Bijou (Rock), The Show Must Go On (Rock),. 10 out of 12 songs are Rock. Ride the Wild Wind and Delilah are Pop. Made in Heaven: It's a Beautiful Day (Rock), Made in Heaven (Rock), Let Me Live (Rock), Mother Love (Rock), My Life Has Been Saved (Rock), I Was Born to Love You (Rock), Heaven for Everyone (Rock), Too Much Love Will Kill You (Rock), You Don't Fool Me (Rock), A Winter's Tale (Rock), It's a Beautiful Day (Rock). All 12 songs are Rock. No One But You (Rock). Queen = R+O+C+K(1973-1981) + P+O+P/R+O+C+K (1982-1995) Queen are a Rock band. |
| lifetimefanofqueen 30.03.2011 16:43 |
Amazon wrote: brENsKi wrote: "queen minus freddie mercury = ordinary rock band" I would say Queen minus Freddie= pretty good rock band (No-One But You IMO was fantastic), and Queen minus Freddie and John= aren't Queen. ===================== aye, to many rabbits gone, (been watching watership down and my obsession has returned) they can write stuff and make musicals and exhibitions but thats about it |
| rhyeking 30.03.2011 17:49 |
Good post, Qrock. I agree with most of it. Some tracks I would argue rest on the border between Pop and Rock, such "Play The Game" and "Don't Stop Me Now" (among others). You missed some of the Non-album tracks: Mad The Swine (Rock) See What A Fool I've Been (Rock) A Human Body (Rock) Soul Brother (Rock) I Go Crazy (Rock) Rock In Rio Blues (Rock) Blurred Vision (Rock) Forever (Rock) A Dozen Red Roses For My Darling (Rock) A Kind Of 'A Kind Of Magic' (Pop) Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends (Rock) Hang On In There (Rock) Chinese Torture (Rock) Hijack My Heart (Rock) Stealin' (Rock) Lost Opportunity (Rock) Invincible Hope (Rock) The Call (Rock) Amandala (Pop) The Cosmos Rocks: Cosmos Rockin' (Rock) Time To Shine (Rock) Still Burnin' (Rock) Small (Pop) Warboys (Rock) We Believe (Rock) Call Me (Pop) Voodoo (Rock) Some Things That Glitter (Pop) C-Lebrity (Rock) Through The Night (Rock) Say It's Not True (Rock) Surf's Up...School's Out (Rock) And yes, these count (except maybe "Warboys," as that was a Paul Rodger's solo track before he recorded it with Queen). If we count "Doing All Right" and "See What A Fool I've Been" (both Smile tracks), we can through "Warboys" in there too. And also yes, the Queen + Paul Rodgers material counts too. Not liking it and not considering it proper "Queen,' is a silly old argument. Brian and Roger are Queen, with Freddie and John's blessings, so thankfully popular votes don't count in that regard. No offense. I also didn't include the covers in the list, like "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime," and "Runaway," nor did I include the alternate recordings of "Keep Yourself Alive" and "My Life Has Been Saved." I also, arguably, include "A Kind Of 'A Kind Of Magic,'" "Friends Will Be Friends Will Be Friends" and "Blurred Vision," because as the Complete Vision boxed set established for me, a track qualifies as unique and individual if granted a name of its own by the band, no matter the nature of the recording or remixing. |