I was on link and it got me to think about the great band Queen.
Recently, Queen were ranked 17th on the 100 Greatest Music Artists of All Time list on VH1. Some may argue Queen should atleast be in the top 10 and some may argue that Queen would not even deserve the top 40.The likes of Madonna (#16), Nirvana (#14), Prince (#7) are higher than Queen in the list and most of those artists are not as succesful as Queen (except Madonna) or are not as talented. Any this thread is about how does Queen rank in the Greatest music artists of all time. Succes is one matter and talent is an other. So lets take a look:
Queen I - Talent (Pretty Good) - Success (Very Poor)
Queen II - Talent (Outstanding) - Success (Pretty Poor)
Sheer Heart Attack - Talent (Excellent) - Success (Quite Good)
A Night at the Opera - Talent (Outstanding) - Success (Very Good)
A Day at the Races - Talent (Excellent) - Success (Quite Good)
News of the World - Talent (Quite Good) - Success (Good)
Jazz - Talent (Quite Good) - Success (Okay)
The Game - Talent (Pretty Good) - Success (Very Good)
Hot Space - Talent (Quite Poor) - Success (Okay)
The Works - Talent (Okay) - Success (Pretty Good)
A Kind of Magic - Talent (Okay) - Success (Good)
The Miracle - Talent (Okay) - Success (Quite Good)
Innuendo - Talent (Okay) - Success (Quite Good)
Made in Heaven - Talent (Pretty Good) -Success (Very Good)
So Queen are quite a successful band. They are in the top 5 best selling artists in the UK, Spent the most time on the charts and have the best selling album in the UK. Bohemian Rhapsody considered in the top 5 best songs ever. A Night at the Opera considerd exceptional. Live Aid voted the best concert ever..... Queen= Pretty Succesful Band. They were exceptionally successul in South America and Germany, however the downside to Queen's success was the USA. Queen were one of the few most successul bands of all time to have failed to have failed to have made a long lasting imapct in the States. Queen therefore missed out on being more successful.
Influence is another aspect and Queen have influenced so many different artits- Live Performances is another and Queen were just about the Kings of Rock concerts. Classic Album status has only been reached with A Night at the Opera. If Queen's first 5 albums were more successful, Queen's status as a classic rock artist would be higher.
Most importantly, talent is what being one of the greatest artists of all tim are all about. Queen reigned a career for more than 20 years (more than Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and The Beatles). Queen's music was dynamic, inspirning and versatile. I Can't name a band who could write such contrasting and epic music as varied as Prog Rock, Metal, Opera, Vaudiville, Gospel, Disco, Synth, Arena Rock, Ragtime, Pop. Queen were so innovative they invented new styles of rock music and made a name for Stadium Rock. Queen's experimentation of different styles worked. Queen's music is exceptionally talented (partiulary 1973-1976 and also 1977-1981).
It was the period after the Game that Queen's albums were shorter, not as heavy or dynamic and even lacked authentic instruments. The Works is a highly mixed album with some good tracks but it is not a classic. Perhaps these 1980s albums put Queen down a bit in the greatest music artists of all time. However you have to ask did Led Zeppelin release poor albums, was Michael Jackson a talented musician (we all know he was a fantastic performer and song writer), was Prince as amazing as Queen live, were the Rolling Stones Dynamic?????
My Best Artists of all time would look like this:
10. The Beach Boys
9. The Rolling Stones
8. Jimi Hendrix
7. Dire Straits
6. Led Zeppelin
5. Elvis Pressley
4. Rush
3. Michael Jackson
2. Queen
1. The Beatles
Queen are my favourie band but the Beatles are no.1 due to their influence on music and stunning popularity. Queen would not be around if it was not for the Beatles.