Just something fun to discuss. Which album did each member do their best on, in terms of songwriting and musicianship? And for the sake of keeping it interesting, try not to repeat the same album.
For me:
Freddie-Queen II. I feel like his contributions on Side Black display some of his finest songwriting abilities, in terms of lyrics and just diverse styles.
Brian- The Game. This was hard for me because I feel like Brian typically did a consistent job throughout the 15 albums. I feel like his songs on this album were very exceptionally good, however. Dragon Attack is such a fun song, especially in the car, and Save Me and Sail Away Sweet Sister are very good as well.
Roger- The Miracle. I enjoy his contributions on this album, particularly The Invisible Man, despite that it aged poorly, and Hijack My Heart (technically a B-Side, but I feel like it counts). His drumming during I Want It All is also exceptional.
John- Jazz. This was another difficult one, as I feel like Deacon did good work on The Game as well, and his songs are much more spread out than the others. If You Can't Beat Them remains one of my favorite 70s songs from them. I also enjoy the lyrics In Only Seven Days.
Collective- This one is hard. It's a very close run between A Night At The Opera, Innuendo, and Made In Heaven. If I had to pick one, it would probably be Innuendo, solely due to personal preference.
Tough question.
Do we talk about masterpieces in Music, or contribution to the Queen catalogue?
Brian:
I do not rate his work on the Game too high in relation to others:
He delivers some fantastic work an ANATO
The Prophet's song
Good Company
Are masterpieces. And he was involved in BoRhap.
And '39 is a Fan favorite.
Also he did a strong Job on ADATR with
Tie your mother down, another fan favorite and a trade mark rocker.
White men
NOWT sees Brian deliver another masterpiece with it's late
and a Queen favorite with WWRY,
After thinking this over I would say Brian was best on ANATO.
Freddie....ANATO. Bo Rhap is an outstanding contribution.
Roger and John...really no idea. Maybe for John it would be the Game, as he did ANOTBTD on this one.
Rogers biggest Hits Magic and GaGa have a lot of Freddie involvement...really, I have no idea which album to pick of him. Maybe Innuendo,
Interesting Post, I never thought too much about that.
The main problem here is one of definition. To "do the best" is a vague concept that can be interpreted in many ways - most technically complex playing, most original composition, greatest critical/public success, etc. A subsidiary problem is that whatever definition you choose, most if not all musical aspects are subjective in nature.
Freddie: A Day at the Races or Queen (I) - I think the piano playing is great, and his songs are fantastic - like The Millionaire Waltz and You Take My Breath Away. ...and My Fairy King, Great King Rat and The Night Comes Down. But his voice and piano skills might be a little better on A Day at the Races.
Brian: I think he usually wrote one or two nice songs on each album, and maybe he played best on Sheer Heart Attack (?), the guitar on Flick of the Wrist and In the Lap of the Gods (#7) is great.
Roger: A Day at The Races - Drowse is his best song, I think. I don't know which album has the best drumming (Great King Rat is fantastic, though).
John: A Day At The Races - I like the bass on The Millionaire Waltz and his song; You and I.
Freddie - A Day At The Races from a performance point of view, but Queen II and ANATO from the terms of songwriting.
John - ADATR and Jazz. Bass parts are just stupendously constructed and played, and he started to contribute as a writer
Roger - ADATR, Jazz and NOTW from a playing and sound point of view, really having found his 'niche'. Songwriting? he got stronger as the albums went on.
Brian - NOT Sheer Heart Attack as he wasn't present for a lot of the recording, but equally Flash is a highlight as it was mainly his 'baby' and the first delve into other musical arenas. Possibly Queen II and ADATR from a guitar point of view, and The Game fro ma writing point of view (Save Me and Sail Away Sweet Sister are superb songs).