| lyricalassasin77 15.04.2013 16:59 |
I don't know if this has been previously discussed but to my knowledge it hasn't.....I noticed that after the album The Game that all of Queen albums from that point forward all the songs were sung by Freddie exclusively with the exception of the first verse of "Who Wants to Live Forever" on the AKOM album sung by Brian....Seemed like every album in the 70's Brian always sung a song and so did Roger.....Just was curious if there was a reason for it or it was just a coincedence.... |
| vince73 15.04.2013 18:00 |
Brian sings parts of I want it all and Roger sings parts of Was it all worth it in Miracle. By the way since '81 Roger started a solo career and in 1983 released an EP. Maybe they decided to sing in their own records. Anyway Freddie was and exceptional singer. Why keep him singin'backin vocals? |
| waunakonor 15.04.2013 18:43 |
Where does Roger sing Was it All Worth it? He sings some backing vocals, but he sings backing vocals on a lot of later songs. The significant decrease in lead vocals from the other two guys was probably a combination of solo side projects allowing them to use some of their creative energies in their own ways and Freddie becoming an even stronger lead singer, as previously mentioned. Probably the most significant reason, though, is that their music became more streamlined and called for less variety. No folk ballads that Brian would sound good on or slow hard rockers that Roger would do well with, just pop/rock tunes that Freddie excels with. Plus, he was the much more recognizable voice by that point. It's not a coincidence, it's just where they were in their careers. It's kind of too bad, although both guys released some pretty amazing solo albums. |
| liam 15.04.2013 23:42 |
I am glad they stopped. I think many songs were spoilt by the fact that Freddie did not sing them. Two really spring to my mind - 39' - I really wish Freddie sung that one Long Away - I really really wish he sung that one! I think Long Away could have been a massive single if Brian hadn't sung it. Freddie's voice would have suited it much better, Brian is too weak. 39' also could have been a hit. I know Brian's vocal suits but Brian singing two songs on ANATO had always bothered me. |
| princetom 16.04.2013 00:15 |
what about "hijack my heart" and "lost opportunity" ? still two songs which freddie didn't sing. and two odd ones indeed. of course hidden on b-sides. i can imagine that they wanted to push the queen-brand by mercury's unique voice, though. i would have wished that "ride the wild wind" and "the hitman" would have been sung by roger and brian on the final innuendo-release. in fact i like the idea of having different singers on one album. it adds some variety. and, btw., i don't bother brian to have given his voice to two songs on night at the opera. it rounds up a very beautiful and colorful album. on the other hand... well, roger didn't do any real drumming on some of the latter songs, did he ? some of them were programmed. THAT bothers me! |
| ITSM 16.04.2013 02:28 |
Hot Space was some kind of a flop and they lost some audience, so I think they wanted to be "safe" after that. |
| Band Forever 16.04.2013 06:16 |
As Roger has stated the band members could write a good tune but Freddie's vocal would turn it into a mega song. Freddie's voice also allowed the others to write in a more expressive way. I know its hindsight now but instead of scratching around for material towards the end of Freddie's time, they could have got Freddie to re-record all the lead vocals of RT and BM songs as one previous poster mentioned with a modern production to back it, although admittedly the voice was starting to sound a bit thin on Innuendo. Rock It would have been a good one too! |
| queenfan78.1 16.04.2013 06:33 |
Simple. If you want your song to be a hit single, not just another song on the album, you have the lead singer sing them. |
| waunakonor 16.04.2013 06:38 |
liam wrote: I am glad they stopped. I think many songs were spoilt by the fact that Freddie did not sing them. Two really spring to my mind - 39' - I really wish Freddie sung that one Long Away - I really really wish he sung that one! I think Long Away could have been a massive single if Brian hadn't sung it. Freddie's voice would have suited it much better, Brian is too weak. 39' also could have been a hit. I know Brian's vocal suits but Brian singing two songs on ANATO had always bothered me.I disagree strongly. Freddie wouldn't have sounded as good on either of those songs. Also, why would they re-record songs? They were much more interested in making actual new songs. Re-recording would have been a waste of time, especially since the material already sounded good anyway. |
| ITSM 16.04.2013 07:26 |
'39 on Live Killers is better than on the album, I think... |
| dave76 16.04.2013 11:06 |
Roger also sung the "i'm the invisible man" lines. The demo version is completely sung by him except a short Elvis improvisation done by Fred. |
| DLCVinnuendo 16.04.2013 11:39 |
for me, '39 of ANATO is much better than the LK version |
| lyricalassasin77 16.04.2013 13:35 |
waunakonor wrote: Where does Roger sing Was it All Worth it? He sings some backing vocals, but he sings backing vocals on a lot of later songs. The significant decrease in lead vocals from the other two guys was probably a combination of solo side projects allowing them to use some of their creative energies in their own ways and Freddie becoming an even stronger lead singer, as previously mentioned. Probably the most significant reason, though, is that their music became more streamlined and called for less variety. No folk ballads that Brian would sound good on or slow hard rockers that Roger would do well with, just pop/rock tunes that Freddie excels with. Plus, he was the much more recognizable voice by that point. It's not a coincidence, it's just where they were in their careers. It's kind of too bad, although both guys released some pretty amazing solo albums.This sounds like the most reasonable explaination....Thanks. |
| lyricalassasin77 16.04.2013 13:41 |
IMO its a good thing they got away from the whole Brian & Roger both having a song to sing on, although I liked all of Brian's songs and think he has a decent voice in his own right. Roger's contributions in the 70's were awful IMO and sound like filler. Queen II is a masterpiece until its derailed by "Loser in the End"....."Tenement Funster" on Sheer Heart Attack leaves me scratching my head. "Fight from the Inside" on NOTW & "Fun It" on Jazz are some of the weakest lyrics ever, and definitely album filler. Only decent song he ever wrote & sang on was "I'm in Love with My Car". Only reason I can tolerate "Rock It" on The Game is because of Freddie's superb opening.....So I guess its a good thing they moved away from it. |
| Holly2003 16.04.2013 14:05 |
And yet Drowse is among the best songs Queen have produced ... |
| ANAGRAMER 16.04.2013 14:28 |
ITSM wrote: Hot Space was some kind of a flop and they lost some audience, so I think they wanted to be "safe" after that.Good comment but surely 'being safe' would mean reverting to type, repeating NOTW and The Game, both of which had brian and Roger signing |
| ANAGRAMER 16.04.2013 14:30 |
Holly2003 wrote: And yet Drowse is among the best songs Queen have produced ...Absolutely! Brilliant song, just a pity about the production; I think roger played rhythm guitar, and it shows! |
| Wiley 16.04.2013 15:25 |
Drowse = perfection. Love the sound and 'ambiance' of the song. I like Roger's output with Queen. He was on a roll with Tenement Funster, IILWMC and Drowse, which I consider to be his better songs (sung by him). Fight from the inside was interesting, cool riff. Fun it is crap; More of that Jazz too but it's got a killer riff. Rock it (Prime Jive) is one of my favorites. They should have kept it on their setlist much longer. |
| ITSM 16.04.2013 15:59 |
ANAGRAMER wrote:Thanks, and I really like your comment too!ITSM wrote: Hot Space was some kind of a flop and they lost some audience, so I think they wanted to be "safe" after that.Good comment but surely 'being safe' would mean reverting to type, repeating NOTW and The Game, both of which had brian and Roger signing They said after Hot Space, that they wanted to make the new album like a mix of A Night of the Opera and The Game, and The Works turned out somehow like that (that's kinda what you said, I know). For me, A Day at the Races is the best album, and "Drowse" really contributes to that. |
| lyricalassasin77 16.04.2013 18:24 |
Drowse has a nice vibe to it but the lyrics in that one too just sound jumbled to me.......If you like the songs he sung on in the 70's then you definitely can't be a hard person to please musically...lol |
| waunakonor 16.04.2013 19:56 |
Mooghead has made the excellent point several times before that your opinion on Drowse can completely change if you take some time to actually read the lyrics. They're beautiful. Even if they are kind of hard to make out on the recording, it doesn't matter if you actually know them because they are ridiculously fun to sing along to as you reminisce about the good ol' days. As for the production, I think it sounds fantastically relaxing. I don't have a problem at all with Roger's acoustic rhythm guitar playing in the background, and Brian's slide guitar is entrancing, as is Roger's voice in that song. I actually am pretty hard to please musically, but I love all of Roger's songs in the 70s. I actually think Car is my least favorite of the bunch. I just love the guy's voice more than anything; it's so perfect for the kind of hard rock he was writing. As someone already said: Drowse=perfection. |
| Wiley 16.04.2013 23:15 |
Just had to listen to it once again. One YouTube comment I found very fitting: "This song is like a dream". It is, really, there is some clever 'tone painting' in it. The song certainly makes you feel drowsy and think about the old days. I remember first loving this song when I was 12, in 1993. I had just moved to a different, much bigger city, and I missed my home town, "the old days" (yeap, a 12 year old missed the good 'ol days). Now here I am, 20 years later remembering those days. Drowse transports me to that very same day each and every time I listen to it. |
| Band Forever 17.04.2013 08:36 |
Freddie one of the greatest vocalists of all time, RT and BM missed a trick. Despite what many posters write here RT and BM are not Lead vocalists therefore their vocal lead songs were never going to be a commercial success unless Freddie's footprint was all over it. |
| waunakonor 17.04.2013 11:52 |
I'm aware of that. That doesn't stop the songs Brian and Roger did on the 70s from being really good overall, however. |
| Holly2003 17.04.2013 12:26 |
Band Forever wrote: Freddie one of the greatest vocalists of all time, RT and BM missed a trick. Despite what many posters write here RT and BM are not Lead vocalists therefore their vocal lead songs were never going to be a commercial success unless Freddie's footprint was all over it. You seem to be confusing 2 different things -- albums and singles. Having Rog and Brian sing on albums in the 1970s didn't hurt sales. For a single though, Fred was the recognisable voice of Queen. That said, there's no way to know how Good Company might have sold, or 39. However, Brian's solo effort 'Driven by You' was commercially sucessful, which proves his voice was not necessarily a barrier to commercial success. As for Roger, he is a better singer than many vocalists in 1980s rock bands (e.g. Bon Jovi!) and I suspect he would've made a good front man in a band other than Queen (e.g The Cross!lol! --their problem wasn';t Roger's singing but poor songs). |
| Queen1973 17.04.2013 12:31 |
Your all complaining that Brian and oger didnt sing much after the game album. but has anyone released the freddie influence to great singles Stopped after crazy little thing called love. Apart from Its a Hard life. Singles from Roger, John and brian were bigger hits. |
| brENsKi 17.04.2013 13:31 |
they were too busy to sing......busy....cooking up ways to make money after Freddie died |
| lyricalassasin77 18.04.2013 18:25 |
I don't see anybody "COMPLAINING" as you put it....it was only asked why all of a sudden they didn't have a song a piece to themselves on any albums after the Game... |
| Wiley 21.04.2013 15:25 |
It probably has to do with them starting work on solo projects. Apparently, an early tracklist (found on a tape in someone's closet) for The Works had "Strange Frontier", "There must be more to life than this" and "Let me in your heart again". I would imagine at least SF would have been sung by Roger? The other way around with the Innuendo album with Brian using "Headlong" and "I Can't Live with You", which were originially concieved as solo songs, IIRC. |
| tomchristie22 23.04.2013 02:28 |
lyricalassasin77 wrote: IMO its a good thing they got away from the whole Brian & Roger both having a song to sing on, although I liked all of Brian's songs and think he has a decent voice in his own right. Roger's contributions in the 70's were awful IMO and sound like filler. Queen II is a masterpiece until its derailed by "Loser in the End"....."Tenement Funster" on Sheer Heart Attack leaves me scratching my head. "Fight from the Inside" on NOTW & "Fun It" on Jazz are some of the weakest lyrics ever, and definitely album filler. Only decent song he ever wrote & sang on was "I'm in Love with My Car". Only reason I can tolerate "Rock It" on The Game is because of Freddie's superb opening.....So I guess its a good thing they moved away from it.Speak for yourself - Tenement Funster is fantastic in my opinion, Fight From The Inside is unique but interesting to me, and Modern Times Rock 'n' Roll is very impressive vocally, if only that. Granted, Fun It is shit. As far as Brian's songs go, I think tracks '39, Long Away, Good Company and All Dead are perfectly suited to his voice, which isn't the strongest. Those are still some of my favourite Queen songs. I'm glad they continued to have little interjections of Brian and Roger singing (WWTLF, I Want It All, The Invisible Man), it gives the songs greater diversity and character. I do kind of wish they'd continued to sing some of their own songs in full, but I can see why they didn't. |
| deleted user 23.04.2013 12:15 |
Actually I really like Tenement Funster. The thing is that Freddie's voice had that little extra bit of something - charisma, passion, intensity, whatever.. Compared to his vocals, the others just seem a bit weak, although both Brian and Roger have very good voices for certain kind of songs. But they could not put across that star quality that Freddie could. Of course Roger really complements Freddie's voice perfectly on backup. |