QueenZone discussion #1423598

Sebastian wrote: Songs not featuring John Richard Deacon as performer: * God Save the Queen

Sebastian wrote: According to the tracksheet on 'God Save the Queen', there's no bass. I suppose the bass-line is played by a detuned or varisped guitar. 'Mother Love' stems prove there's bass, and possibly some drum overdubs as well (besides the main beat, which is obviously programmed).

stevelondon20 wrote: I'm pretty sure that Freddie does sing harmonies on Leaving Home Ain't Easy. unless I'm hearing things!!!

hobbit-in-Rhye wrote: I love the fact that "(statistically) Freddie was the least 'necessary' band member when it came to recording", when at the surface common audience would assume that Freddie is the most important one.

hobbit-in-Rhye wrote: It also shows that statistics could be shit sometimes :D

The King Of Rhye wrote: I forgot about Action This Day having no Brian.......(would have been soooooo much better if it did, IMO!)

Karfan wrote: John played in More of That Jazz

cmsdrums wrote: Although yes, bass and some percussive work, on Mother Love, I was just wondering if it was actually performed by John and Roger (apologies if it's obvious from the stems, which I've not heard)

Oscar J wrote: I think the quick licks throughout the verses of Sheer Heart Attack are unmistakably Brian. At 1:38 it becomes really obvious, because nothing Roger did on the guitar around that time was even remotely that technical, from what we've heard. The vibrato at the end just screams Brian.

brENsKi wrote: anyone notice that the non-Freddie tracks are (in the main) written by Brian>? - there are a couple by Roger

Leaving home ain't easy from about 2:35 sounds like Freddie. As I say though, it might just be my ears playing up!! ;) Sebastian wrote:

stevelondon20 wrote: I'm pretty sure that Freddie does sing harmonies on Leaving Home Ain't Easy. unless I'm hearing things!!!

There's no way to know for sure, but I'd say it's just Brian plus Brian plus Brian. Compare it with his multi-tracked harmonies on his solo work. Still, as for the 'Who Wants to Live Forever' bass, I'm more then happy to stand corrected if that's the case. I'm sure Freddie sings backing vocals on some of the songs Brian sings lead on, such as 'Some Day One Day,' ''39' and 'All Dead, All Dead,' but as for 'Long Away' and 'Leaving Home Ain't Easy' I don't think he's there. He could be though... in which case, again, I'll stand corrected.

hobbit-in-Rhye wrote: I love the fact that "(statistically) Freddie was the least 'necessary' band member when it came to recording", when at the surface common audience would assume that Freddie is the most important one.

Of course there are many ways to interpret that, and those who want to put one member's contributions or importance against the others can easily use any kind of stats to back up their point, whichever it might be. It could be argued, for instance, that 'Dancer' suffered more (or less, depending on your stance) from being John-free than 'Sleeping on the Sidewalk' did from being Fred-free. It still wouldn't 'prove' that John is 'more' important than Freddie or viceversa, and it's only taking into account the performing factor. ''39' without Freddie would've still existed and would've still been a magnificent song, but probably not as magnificent as it is thanks to his backing vocals. ''39' without Brian ... there would be no song to begin with. So it depends on each individual case.

hobbit-in-Rhye wrote: It also shows that statistics could be shit sometimes :D

Stats themselves are not shit, but the way people choose to interpret them can be misleading or have unfortunate implications.

The King Of Rhye wrote: I forgot about Action This Day having no Brian.......(would have been soooooo much better if it did, IMO!)

Live versions prove how much that simple rhythm guitar part gains from being played by Brian rather than Roger. No need for a killer solo or some shredding ... just playing that easy rhythm bit, the Doctor still sounds a hell of a lot better.

Karfan wrote: John played in More of That Jazz

That's another one where many theories can be thrown. Roger played bass on both of his 1977 tracks, but on both of his 'Game' compositions it sounds far more Deacon-esque. As for the 1978 ones, I'd say they both play on 'Fun It' (there are two basses on that song) and only Roger did on 'More of That Jazz.' No way to prove it, so it's just my hunch, which can be right and can be wrong. I've been both right and wrong many times. My (obviously subjective) take when it comes to bass on Roger's songs is that John played it for those which had a live backing track (i.e. everything up to 'Drowse') plus everything from 'Radio Ga Ga' onwards. As for 1977 - 1982: * Fun It: Roger did the looped slide and John played the one that goes throughout. * More of That Jazz: Roger. * Coming Soon: John. * Rock It: John. * Calling All Girls: John (probably live backing track). * Action This Day: Roger. Again, all of that is IMO.

Sebastian wrote:

The King Of Rhye wrote: I forgot about Action This Day having no Brian.......(would have been soooooo much better if it did, IMO!)

Live versions prove how much that simple rhythm guitar part gains from being played by Brian rather than Roger. No need for a killer solo or some shredding ... just playing that easy rhythm bit, the Doctor still sounds a hell of a lot better.

The King Of Rhye wrote: On a somewhat related note..........I was listening to The Beatles last night......I bet especially in their later years, they had a greater percentage of songs without all 4........or did they? (was listening to Yesterday, which is just Paul w strings...)

The King Of Rhye wrote: On a somewhat related note..........I was listening to The Beatles last night......I bet especially in their later years, they had a greater percentage of songs without all 4........or did they? (was listening to Yesterday, which is just Paul w strings...)

Sebastian wrote: Songs without Roger Meddows Taylor: * Dear Friends (I'm 99% sure harmonies are all Brian). * Execution of Flash * The Kiss * Arboria * Staying Power * Body Language * Is This the World We Created * One Year of Love * Pain Is So Close to Pleasure * My Baby Does Me * Delilah * Bijou Just 12, and I'm not entirely sure about some of those cases: what if he did sing harmonies on 'Dear Friends' and/or if he (co-)programmed drum machines on those 80's tracks and/or combined them with his actual (either electric or acoustic) playing?

Oscar J wrote: Isn't your list largely based on speculation anyway?

Oscar J wrote: I mean, you changed the list when I pointed out that a note had too much vibrato to be Roger.

CPL593h wrote: As far as I know (and the recent thread about thing song reinforces me in my belief), there's no Roger on Party (he was on vacation and the song is basically a jam session between Freddie, Brian and John).

Karfan wrote: That's what I've always thought.That there are only two Queen songs on which Roger played bass.

Karfan wrote: I've listened again to More Of That Jazz,and being a huge John Deacon fan,I must say that I'm 99,9% sure that it was indeed John.Some licks are typical for him.Especially 3:53 and 3:57.Typical John.Add couple of slides here and there and you've got quintessential John Deacon bass track.Plus it just SOUNDS LIKE HIM.

Karfan wrote: Anyway,who said that it might not be him?

Sebastian wrote: Er, no, I didn't. I did change the list, but vibrato wasn't the reason.

Oscar J wrote: So does the credits actually mention Brian as lead guitarist?

Oscar J wrote: Or is that a guesswork

Oscar J wrote: I must say I feel your slightly dismissive tone doesn't exactly encourage discussion.

Sebastian wrote: need I remind you of all the mistakes Brian's made about his own work?

Vocal harmony wrote: Where is this going???

hobbit-in-Rhye wrote:

Sebastian wrote: need I remind you of all the mistakes Brian's made about his own work?

Yes, I need it, please ^^

Sebastian wrote: Of course, the vast majority of what he says about Queen or his past work is quite spot on, but you wouldn't seriously expect any person (and Brian, despite being an outstanding musician, is still a person) to recall in detail everything that happened in the office decades ago. What for many people might be an unforgettable song or concert, for him might have been just one of many (and by many, I mean literally hundreds).

Sebastian wrote:

Vocal harmony wrote: Where is this going???

Dunno... I suppose we could make lists for KISS songs without each member, but that's a bit long considering only Gene and Paul have been there for their entire run. Same for Eagles (Don and Glenn), Guns 'n' Roses (Axl's been there from day one but that's it), etc.
Maybe a list of bands in which the original lineup played on every album. . . ;)

Sebastian wrote: I don't know if these are all the mistakes he's made, but according to some of Brian's claims: * They never played It's Late or It's a Hard Life live (the latter one before this century anyway). * My Fairy King is on Queen II. * Love of My Life is either on Sheer Heart Attack or A Day at the Races. * He didn't play a Flying V on stage (until confronted with evidence he had, that is). * Freddie didn't play Steinway pianos. * Bo Rhap was recorded on sixteen-track. * Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke was recorded at Wessex in the Opera/Races period (unless there's a long-lost retake?). * Roger's not a ballad writer. * Fred wrote 'Bicycle Race' after seeing the Tour de France in Nice. * He (Brian) played a koto on 'Teo Torriatte.' Of course, the vast majority of what he says about Queen or his past work is quite spot on, but you wouldn't seriously expect any person (and Brian, despite being an outstanding musician, is still a person) to recall in detail everything that happened in the office decades ago. What for many people might be an unforgettable song or concert, for him might have been just one of many (and by many, I mean literally hundreds).