QueenZone discussion #424284

BHM 0271 wrote: Umm, because it sucked?

deakys ghost wrote: Think that Hollywood Records must share some of the blame as they are respnsible for distribution and marketing of Queen product within the USA. Can't recall if May or Taylor did promo work for the LP in the states as they did for Innuendo.

NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Hollywood is the US and Canada. Even with Universal backing Hollywood, kids don't want Queen they want crap like Good Charlotte and what not!

Sir GH<br><font size=1>ah yeah</font> wrote:

NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Hollywood is the US and Canada. Even with Universal backing Hollywood, kids don't want Queen they want crap like Good Charlotte and what not!

Sad, ain't it? One of my 11-year-old students is completely convinced that the guys in Good Charlotte, Blink 182, and Sum 41 are some of the best rock musicians ever. When he told me that, I didn't know where to begin.

Whisperer wrote: Here's one very different theory on why Made In heaven didn't make it in the USA. I never thought about this myself, but a friend of mine came up with this idea. Made in Heaven - most people will understand this as Freddie making music in heaven after his death. What will the typical American think when he sees a title like this? "No way that fag is in heaven. Homosexuality is a sin, he is in hell now. How can they even suggest that this kind of satanic music is made in heaven?" Sounds silly? Please remember that we are talking about one of the few countries in the world that didn't understand that the video for I Want To Break Free was sheer fun.

BHM 0271 wrote: "Why do you think it sucked?" Well... Brian said that the process involved the remaining members passing the material back and forth and making changes independently. Call me crazy but that's what the album sounds like, a recording made without a band dynamic. Second, the songs are incomplete or rehashed. Track 1 and 13 are unfinished. Mother Love was unfinished. Piece of my heart was unfinished. Three, the songwriting was weak. Everybody's opinion is different, but these songs sounded like throwaways dug up for the purpose of releasing product. Four, and most importantly for the US market, it was flat and boring. Queen was a rock band in the US, period. They were liked by the masses for AOBTD, but their creative and popular peak was when they were rockers. There is nothing resembling a rock song on the album, and don't say IWBTLY is a rock song. It's a synth tune with guitars (which sound contrived.) There are no amazing "Queen" moments. Five, it's beyond maudlin. Other than Mother Love for emotion, it's in Celine Dion cornball territory. If they had ended with the honesty of Innuendo, I think it would have been a perfect goodbye, but it reeks of a manipulative goodbye. Six, the covers are inferior to all of the others. And IWBTLY was unknown in the US, so who cared if was covered. To each his own, and I'm sure people on this board feel the same as ANATO, which is my favourite album. But I remember a station which supported (and still supports Queen) in Canada saying that the album was a nice tribute, too bad they couldn't have given him a farewell with some decent songs. My sentiments exactly.

BHM 0271 wrote: "Why do you think it sucked?" Well... Brian said that the process involved the remaining members passing the material back and forth and making changes independently. Call me crazy but that's what the album sounds like, a recording made without a band dynamic. Second, the songs are incomplete or rehashed. Track 1 and 13 are unfinished. Mother Love was unfinished. Piece of my heart was unfinished. Three, the songwriting was weak. Everybody's opinion is different, but these songs sounded like throwaways dug up for the purpose of releasing product. Four, and most importantly for the US market, it was flat and boring. Queen was a rock band in the US, period. They were liked by the masses for AOBTD, but their creative and popular peak was when they were rockers. There is nothing resembling a rock song on the album, and don't say IWBTLY is a rock song. It's a synth tune with guitars (which sound contrived.) There are no amazing "Queen" moments. Five, it's beyond maudlin. Other than Mother Love for emotion, it's in Celine Dion cornball territory. If they had ended with the honesty of Innuendo, I think it would have been a perfect goodbye, but it reeks of a manipulative goodbye. Six, the covers are inferior to all of the others. And IWBTLY was unknown in the US, so who cared if was covered. To each his own, and I'm sure people on this board feel the same as ANATO, which is my favourite album. But I remember a station which supported (and still supports Queen) in Canada saying that the album was a nice tribute, too bad they couldn't have given him a farewell with some decent songs. My sentiments exactly.

OgreBattleField1980 wrote: So I guess Im horrible for becomming a Queen fan just for getting Classic Queen and The game when I was 11 years old , after seeing Waynes World? I think thats obsurd really , Classic Queen , after many years of listening to the tracks there. Then once i was able to get a job and work, buying Queens entire collection of albums. I realized just how much a pile of crap the Classic Queen compilation was... you realize how much crap it is just by listening to Under Pressure and Hammer To Fall and lets not forget The Miracle. Should they have made made in heaven? In my opinion , yes , for the new fans that got to like Queen from catching on whether it be from Waynes World or from the god forsaken Tribute Concert. Yes this was a good release. Now on the other hand , I still think along with the synths and lack of guitars. The Aids scare and homophobia had alot to do with Queens decline in the United States as well. I think that though this wasnt said by anyone here in America at all. You can kinda read between the lines. Honestly, I cant even find the Mr Bad Guy Album in stores , even when i was 15 and 16 trying to buy it , it was no where to be found. Im from Louisiana, wanna know what albums I saw in almost every record store I went to back in 1995 and 1996, for one Hot Space was a rare find here , I found Jazz , News of the World , A night at the Opera , Queen II, A day at the races , The Game , The Miracle and Innuendo and I saw this more than I saw any other album by Queen. None the less , i turn on the television and put it on VH1 during the broadcast of VH1 legends they showed an INFOMERCIAL advertising the Made in Heaven album with a 1800 number. The commercial itself was a load of crap and did nothing to show the best qualitys of this band or that particular album..I mean come on they coulda played A winters Tale or Mother Love but the commercial played Heaven For Everyone , but it was only a repeat of the intro .. shoving the words "This could be heaven" down our throats... that commercial alone was enough for me not to by this album till 2000 , in the mean time i enjoyed the other 24 albums including Innuendo which to me would have signified a rebirth for this band had Freddie not died from such a horrible illness. I will go all the way down to my bloody grave thinking and knowing that Queen didnt get the respect they deserved here in America , even when they got inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame here in Cleveland Ohio , I taped that on VH1 , Roger himself posted a comment i dont remember an exact quote , but he mentioned that they never won a Grammy here in the US.. that brings my attention to one other thing ... if any of the songs from the Miracle or Innuendo albums are of any incling I believe that they should have won grammys for both I want it all and The Show Must Go On and Headlong. But that was then and we cant go back and change that now .. but to me , they woulda had my vote. These were four very talented musicians and their own right , and reguardless of taste i think people should realize that. Instead of listening to the garbage which is rap. Ya know what else .. since im getting highly upset now... i think along with 2pac and Biggie smalls and ODB that rap has been ultra magnified and had it not been without those three deaths rap surely wouldnt have become part of the mainstream ... its already infecting country music .. Nelly .. and Tim McGraw? you cant be serious *snickers* .. thats almost as bad as what Eminem did impersonating Michael Jackson ... kinda makes ya wonder what us Queen fans would have said had Eminem impersonated Freddie Mercury instead of MJ ... sorry to bother you with this little rant .. but i couldnt help myself. Yours Truely Ronald Joseph Silvey

mike hunt wrote: made in heaven was overlooked in the u.s simply because the u.s never truly loved and understood Queen, so it was only natural.

Regor wrote: As you said, BHM 0271, MIH fails compared to "Innuendo". I would never ever doubt the guys' caring and loving intentions, and I thank them for that tribute and for giving us the possibility to hear the last ever recorded tracks with Freddies wonderful and magical voice. But it's not a group effort as the albums before - and how could it be with one vital part missing ? I am sure they did their best to recreate the creative group-feeling in the studio. But it's a tribute, not a genuine album. Again, only in my opinion, it's patchwork.

BHM 0271 wrote: Excellent post Regor (and not just because we agree!) There was something disjointed about the album and I think it's the reasons you mentioned. As for the US sales Mr. Scully, it was simply a matter of nobody caring. Queen fans mention Freddie's moustache, look and the Break Free video as the reasons they lost America. It wasn't. Queen weren't a keyboard/synth band. The following singles were the big releases from The Game to The Works. Play the Game, Crazy, Dust, Body Language, Calling all girls, Radio Ga Ga. Was Brian in the band at this time? American's loved heavy Queen, guitar and piano based. Brian sounded totally recognizeable, as did their harmonies and Freddie piano was unique also. Once two of those elements disappeared, it was curtains for Queen. And as much as I like Hammer to Fall, by the time it was released it was too late.

MourningElektra wrote: Some of my fellow Americans here have probably forgotten this, but in 1995 VH-1 had a Queen Week that heavily promoted Made In Heaven (I taped it). It was great...Champions of the World, Live in Budapest and videos...nice to OD on Queen for a week, and great teaser for the album, because after watching COTW (with its snippets of songs from the album in the last 30 minutes of the program), I wanted to hear the rest SO badly! Then, a nice friend of mine gave me an advance vinyl copy on white vinyl two weeks before it was released and I WAS in heaven! The first listening of the album had shivers going up and down my spine, especially when Mother Love played, with those nice concert sounds added. Side Two started out joyously and ended on a triumphant note (the "yeah" in the middle of the last song made me weep) and it was as if Freddie was saying things were okay, he was happy where he was (sounds weird but that was my impression). When the CD came out with the nice "hidden track", I had fun listening to that as well. It tends to lull you into a half-sleep, almost trancelike, really peaceful feeling....then you hear Freddie's voice clearly..."Are we running?"...and you JUMP out of your skin!! OOH, nice touch Brian!! But I dearly love it, and play it for patients in my clinic. They like it too and more than a few have ended up buying the CD just for that track -- but I'm sure they've listened to the rest of it as well.

NOTWMEDDLE wrote: I think MIH was a great album but the album was somewhat ignored here in the US when it was released despite the fact it went Gold. The album peaked at a dismal #51. However, in other countries, MIH hit #1 and was the band's best selling original material studio album. In the US, those honors go to NOTW and The Game each at 4 million a piece. Americans at the time of MIH's release(not counting myself and some real music purists) were big into faux rap like Cypress Hill, the Adult rock of Hootie and the Blowfish, and the angst-ridden grunge alt-rock of crap like Alanis Morissette, Alice in Chains and The Smashing Pumpkins, AAAAAAAAARGGGGGGGGGH! I played some tracks of MIH when I did college radio like Mother Love, It's a Beautiful Day(Reprise), Too Much Love, the title cut and others. I think MIH was ignored as my fellow Americans were too angry and bowing down at the shrine of the loser Kurt Cobain and the rest of those loser grunge freaks!

NOTWMEDDLE wrote: Americans at the time of MIH's release(not counting myself and some real music purists) were big into faux rap like Cypress Hill, the Adult rock of Hootie and the Blowfish,

OgreBattleField1980 wrote: kinda makes ya wonder what us Queen fans would have said had Eminem impersonated Freddie Mercury instead of MJ ... sorry to bother you with this little rant .. but i couldnt help myself. Yours Truely Ronald Joseph Silvey

Mrs Doyle wrote: I wish they would repeat that week someday. It would have been a great tie-in last September with the US premiere of the musical, wouldn't it? But nobody thought of that...sadly!

stateside fan wrote: You UK folks could not sellout 2 dumps in that shit hole Ireland so stop giving shots to USA.

EraserHead wrote: I dont give a rats ass whether the US likes Queen or not. There are tons of brilliant bands that never make it anywhere that always get overlooked so I reckon Queen did pretty damn well. Also people fail to take into consideration that gay hating was in its prime in the 80s especially in ignorant, backwards minded america. So of course Queen is going to ignored in favour of less talented completely straight rock bands.

Rider32 wrote: Overlooked? R.E.M. s recent albom debuted at number 12 and it still not certified so if queen can debute at number 54 and still get certificed that's vary good for a 70s rock band.