Here it is Xmas again.. And the xmas tunes come out again.. Now Queens 2 xmas songs. A winter tale and Thank god its christmas.. I think that a Winters tale is the best of the 2. Its got so much feeling and i could list to it thru the year. So what song do u think is the best Queen xmas song.
I suppose I also prefer Winters Tale because of the musical content. It's not like there's drastically more of it, but I just find some of the chord changes very effective. The sounds in the track are more interesting. The chord pattern at the start of the verse is vaguely similar to stuff he used to do in the 70's (a verse of Don't Stop Me Now, or a chorus of We Are The Champions).
Just feels more like Queen to me. Like certain tracks from Innuendo and Made in Heaven, it does leap out at me rather immediately that the choral overdubs sound very different because it's Brian and Roger covering for him. I'm not really sure of what point in time that Freddie would've had to have stopped doing those himself, but I think Winters Tale would clearly be smack bang in that time frame.
And the guitar solo is just perfect.
Both are pretty cheesy. In all honesty I've only ever listened to Thank God It's Christmas once or twice all the way through, I guess it's easy to miss being a non album track. I do sort of like both, but Winter's Tale comes out on top for me, because of the great vocal harmonies and guitar work.
AWT all the way. TGIC has real nice lyrics & Freddie's vocal is performance is great as well. But all those synths and programed drums just bogg it all down for me. It screams too much of a hybrid of Strang Frontier and The Works. AWT is just so much more beautiful and enjoyable. Yes, AWT is loaded with synths playing strings but it sounds like a real band playing. I also like the phasing effect on the music, it gives a mystical feel, which for me is something that makes me think of Christmas plus, Freddie sounds magnificent throughout. The passion & romance of the song is conveyed very well. And as Zebonka stated above, the guitar solo is perfect!
And one thing, it may be that The Winter's Tale was released as a Christmas single, but her handwriting is not on exactly about Christmas, there is a difference between song about Christmas, something that is Thank God It's Christmas, and Christmas single, The thing is A Winter's Tale.
For some reason I don't "believe" Freddie when he sings TGIC. Sounds artificial and the song's production doesn't help. Probably has to do with the fact that, in order to record a Christmas song so have to do so in August or something but that's no excuse as that's the case for all the other artists releasing Christmas songs.
A Winter's Tale is a million times better in every aspect. Great solo!
All of Brian's solos for Made In Heaven are perfect, in my opinion. Too bad he ran out of ideas for The Cosmos Rocks or didn't bother to try. He's the weakest link in that album, sadly.
this duel is, that kevinhairsineevans is "Queens 2 xmas songs.", for the name, only TGIC is really a christmas song, IWT the lyrics is not about the christmas, it is about a day with friends in winter, it's a christmas single
When I think of Winter's Tale, I tend to contrast it with Mother Love.
I can imagine Freddie in reasonably close to his last days souped up on pain killers and feeling OK, "Comfortably numb", as some would say. He's looking out over the view, maybe the one on the cover of Made in Heaven, and everything is all right with world. And that's despite his circumstances.
However, Mother Love for me is about pain and wanting to be free from it! Sex is completely off the table, and all Freddie wants is to be cared for and have back that mothering love he once had as a child, :-(
winters tale is not a christmas song
thank God its christmas is
so thank God its Christimas is Queens only Christmas song so it wins
and is a better song for Christmas anyway
I definitely agree. I love this song.
TGIC is just OK.
Besides, it's quite hot here in South America, we could never relate AWT to Christmas :)
Now I realize that it's impossible to understand what I wrote :S
I mean: A Winter's Tale is a great song, TGIC isn't. But as a Xmas song I prefer TGIC because it's summer here and AWT doesn't make sense.
There is an 80's thikness to TGIC that is very old school christmass, i believe. Its that "last christmass" vibe, the wormth and the innocence and the...boost of programmed drums. But the song fails to evolve into something more interesting. Its goinig into cycles after a while. Also i believe that Freddie recorded the vocals while somewhere else but i am not sure about it. If it is true it makes sence that it lucks the tight band feeling and the feedback of a real quartet playing together.
STELIOS wrote:
There is an 80's thikness to TGIC that is very old school christmass, i believe. Its that "last christmass" vibe, the wormth and the innocence and the...boost of programmed drums. But the song fails to evolve into something more interesting. Its goinig into cycles after a while. Also i believe that Freddie recorded the vocals while somewhere else but i am not sure about it. If it is true it makes sence that it lucks the tight band feeling and the feedback of a real quartet playing together.