if roger and brian would have let freddie sing all their songs. roger started to have more success when he let fred do the vocals, and the same with brian, meanwhile john wrote the top 40 "your my best friend" and "spread your wings" he knew a great voice when he heard one. In the later years roger wrote some of their biggest hits with freddie on vocals, magic and radio ga ga. I wonder if they would have had more top 40's in the states if freddie would have sang more of their early songs.
- if disco hadn't been 'invented'
- if punk had stayed where it belonged...in the heads of some frustrated adolescents
- if the (American) press had been more open-minded
Get Real
Punk was a massive shot in the arm for the stagnating British music scene! It killed off some Dinosaurs who were disappearing up their own arses! Queen however realised that to remain successful they had to continue to evolve their style and reinvent themselves almost. This is the primary reason why they remained at the top of the tree for over 20 years.
It could be argued that Queen's continued success was partly due to Punk because Queen realised what many others didn't that they had to remain competitive and relevent.
I know some have the view that Queen should have continued along the vein of Queen II or ANATO and they are entitled to that opinion but it is arguable whether they would have enjoyed the same sort of success they achieved following the path they did.
Magic & Ga Ga are not only successful because of Fred's vocals, they're also successful because of Fred's arrangement, Mack's/David's production, and the fact that in Europe that was the kind of pop which was trendy at the time. Note how they aren't so popular in the US. So, in a way, even if Fred had sung, say, Modern Times Rock N' Roll, it probably wouldn't be a hit since people would find it a Led Zeppelin rip-off. Neither would Good Company be a hit with Fred's voice because that's not the kind of single that would be in a 1975 chart top (the song is fantastic, but not hit-material)
i have to agree with rich, i'm crazy about early queen, actually the first five or six records are vintage, but i don't get the people who say queen never should have changed. I wonder if i would have still loved queen the way i do if they didn't do the game or the works, magic and made in heaven, to me the later albums wern't as consistant as their early stuff, but so many of my favorite tunes came later on. if they never changed their wouldn't be such classics as "under pressure," and "who wants to live forever," The bottom line is Queen were in their prime the first six albums, but were a great band for their 20 year existence.
your probably right, brian and roger only sang the songs that fit their voice, but roger didn't have one top 40 in the states, it wouldn't have hurt. when i say more successful i mean in the states, cos the rest of the world they were the biggest band on the planet.
Speaking of which, Americans have strange tastes don't they? And they change their minds fast. For example, Queens top songs in the US were AOBTD and CLTCL, but today these songs are eclipsed by BoRap and WWRY/WATC, which many Americans know by heart but weren't huge hits when they came out. Not to mention Tie YOur Mother Down, which was a flop in the States but now is one of the most frequently played songs on Classic rock stations. Go figure