| Mr.Jingles 23.04.2004 13:58 |
I know many of you guys hate synths, but the truth is that most of the time Queen used their syths in a proper way. Yet still, there are a couple of songs where Queen should have never used synths. If I had to name which song has the worst use of synths that would have to be 'Play The Game'. The intro is awfuly cheesy and those cheap sci-fi flick sounds totally ruined Brian's awesome guitar solo. |
| [StArMaN] 23.04.2004 14:43 |
I'm with you on this song. What an awfull intro !! I can't understand why they did it this way... But apart of this intro, it's still a great song; |
| rhapsody__87 23.04.2004 15:10 |
I agree with 'Play The Game' also. It's blatant that they used synths but it goes pretty well with the video. Okay. The video is pretty corny too... but, ah, whatever. :-) |
| MexQueenFM 23.04.2004 16:11 |
Radio Ga Ga |
| August R. 23.04.2004 17:04 |
I agree. Play The Game sounds much better in concerts, when Brian's guitar is more aggressive and there's no synth intro. I'm with those approx. 90% of Queen fans who say that Hot Space is just too much. However there are good song on that album as well, with decent use of synhts. The best use of synths on the other hand. Definately, Machines. It just fits to the lyrics, a battle between the machines and humans. |
| [StArMaN] 23.04.2004 17:18 |
Synths use is good when synths does not sound like synths. Songs like A Kind Of Magic or The Miracle are good examples IMHO. |
| FriedChicken 23.04.2004 17:59 |
Hammer to Fall, totally unnessecary (sp?) And all of the synths in live shows between 82-86 |
| Brian's sweet sister 23.04.2004 18:23 |
well the intro for play the game is a bit annoying and long, I usually end up fast fowarding it to the singing LOL. But the rest of the synths in the song I quite like, it sounds kinda cool. Brian's guitar solo is bold anyway, it goes over the synths. |
| Brian's sweet sister 23.04.2004 18:25 |
FriedChicken wrote: Hammer to Fall, totally unnessecary (sp?) And all of the synths in live shows between 82-86yer I think the correct spelling would be: unnecessary. LOL I am always correcting spellings |
| deleted user 23.04.2004 18:31 |
I do like it when Queen use synths in their songs in general. Machines has a very harsh production imo and the synths are well programmed but too "programmed".The sounds could be better though.The Game intro and one of the most childish sawtooth wave sounds of ATARI can be heard in Rock It.Pretty obvious Roger was excited with his new synth.However not many could program a synth those days;) |
| Penis - Vagina 23.04.2004 18:53 |
The synth guitar solo on 'I Want To Break Free'. However, the background synths which were used to create the intro for the extended mix (and then the single version) are very nice. Simple, yet nice. They were done on a Roland Jupiter 8 by Fred Mandel. PS- Interestingly, the synth intro to 'Play The Game' was originally stored separately from the main song on the master tape. (link |
| Sebastian 23.04.2004 19:35 |
Synths that I really hate - Play The Game - intro & pre-solo, Hammer To Fall, and Body Language - in one of the pre-choruses Synths that IMO sounded ok but I'd have preferred John doing that with real bass: Breakthru Body Language Dancer -with slap technique it would have sounded so good Staying Power - even if he did a loop, but the sound of a Fender is unique Radio Ga Ga - ditto I like the trick in Pain Is So Close: bass is done in synths during the intro but just when the voice begins it changes to a human one. The effect is very ear-pleasing to me. I also love the use of bass in Invisible Man, a clever combination of human & machine. |
| Kuku 23.04.2004 21:02 |
All use of synth in Innuendo is good... like Don't Try So Hard or I'm Going Slightly Mad. |
| Sebastian 24.04.2004 03:48 |
I don't like synth-drums in I Can't Live With You either. There's still the everlasting "how would have sounded that album with piano and acoustic guitar" thing. Some Mozart-esque piano playing by Freddie would have been awesome in tracks like Don't Try So Hard and Bijou. |
| Shane Jazz 24.04.2004 04:02 |
The main song that I love the synths on is Football Fight. Catchy as all heck! |
| deleted user 03.05.2004 13:03 |
I can't understand why you don't like synths. It can make sounds that you cannot make with a instrument like guitar and piano... Often that sounds really good in many songs. And I can't understand why you don't like Hot Space?! I mean, in that album too, Queen shows again that they are the masters of all kinds of music! I think that it was cool that they made a real funk-synth-rock-mix album! And how can you say that they should have changed Radio Ga Ga???!!! One of the best songs in the whole 80's! It sounds perfect as it is. If you don't like it, just turn off your cd player. Queen is the best rock band much because of the variety of their music, combining different music styles on their albums, so stop saying that Hot Space and The Works sounds bad, because they don't! They're just different styles from what Queen used to do in the 70's. They begun as what you can call a progressive rock band, they moved on to become a heavy rock n' roll band and then they moved on to the synth age. There's nothing wrong with that, ok?! Look at all they've done from Queen 1 to Innuendo. All kinds of music, but they still are the same band on all their albums, sounding as good as always. They really made it, they are the greatest. So stop saying "they should've changed this, they should've changed that", and be happy when you listen to their amazing records, cause a band like Queen there will never be again. |
| BornToBeKings 03.05.2004 16:55 |
I agree with you Mr. FredM. One of Queen's greatest qualities is that they were willing to branch out into a myriad of musical styles and take risks with their core fanbase in order to explore a more diverse catalogue. That's what makes Queen so great...you can't pigeonhole them into one specific sound or genre: their diversity was one of their main strengths and made them infinitely more entertaining. Think about it...if you listened to country or swing for hours and hours and hours you'd eventually be dying to hear something different. Queen kept it fresh, and that's what matters. At the same time, I think it's OK to like or dislike particular albums or tracks--everyone's got a preference. You don't have to love each and every song to love Queen. Opinions are really what drive a message board such as this: it would be quite boring if everyone agreed on everything. Anyway, to reply to the actual thread, I think the synths weren't used as well in songs on The Miracle album. Those synth strings on "The Miracle" are just too bright for my taste and it gets kind of cheesy. Also, the synth on "Invisible Man" makes it sound a bit too "kiddie." I sometime cringe when I hear the intro to that song. And I have an unrelated (but important) question: does anyone know why I always get an error when I try to reply to or create a topic on the "new" board? What I mean is that from the homepage, I have to click on something that will take me to a section that's still up from before the site was redesigned, and then go to the notice board before I can post anything. I'd appriciate if anyone can help me with this. Thanks. |
| geeksandgeeks 03.05.2004 20:13 |
I'm a big fan of synths used properly (I've been using them a lot myself, my band just got its hands on a drummer), and I can't really think of a Queen song where I don't like their usage. But if I had to pick one, it would probably be "Staying Power". I love the song, but the sex simulation thing is just a bit too much. |
| Sebastian 03.05.2004 20:58 |
On Staying Power there's no sexsimulation whatsoever, I think you mean Body Language. I don't like the use of synth-bass at all. Or yes I like it but I prefer a million times to have a bass-player. Just imagine for instance Staying Power, John playing those fast fills and ocassionally doing his Deaky licks, it'd be much cooler than that monotone riff over and over again |
| D.Blythe 04.05.2004 01:18 |
Best use of synths? "Football Fight" Worst? All on the album "Mr. Bad Guy" "Hot Space" gets an honorable mention for worst use, but I would have loved to have heard more "real" instruments on "Mr. Bad Guy". Both "Bad Guy" and "Hot Space" suffer from a lack of a "live" feel and too much production. After watching "Staying Power" on the GVH2 dvd, I wish Queen would have integrated more of their rock sound into the dance/r&b groove. That album could have ruled '82! P.S. I know that "Bad Guy" is not a Queen album, but it represents to me what can happen when someone suffers from synthesizer addiction. |
| Shane Jazz 04.05.2004 01:32 |
D. Blythe- It's good to see someone else mention Football Fight! The synth in that song fits the scene in the movie perfectly. I always liked that after you hear Freddie's synth run, John follows with some bass, then Roger taps on the cymbals, then Brian lets a mini-riff go. All four members show off in a span of about 8 seconds! Fantastic. |