| Another Roger (re) 21.09.2006 03:47 |
Freddie is in the spotlight again with this greatest hits album. I had a listen thru it the other day and I thought it was crap. There are many songs there with great potential. But most of all it shows how depentent he was of Brian, Roger and John. Freddie could never really do this on his own. His solotracks has such cheap instrumental tracks. Its terrible listening to all these drum machines, synths etc. Tracks like Made In Heaven and I was born To love you shows how much impact Brian and Roger really had. The difference is shocking. Freddie mercury on his own? Not a good idea. |
| The Fairy King 21.09.2006 04:36 |
What about the Barcelona tracks? The Great Pretender? I think those sound great. I agree with you on Made in Heaven and I Was Born To Love You.The synths and drum machines work on Love Kills though. |
| louvox 21.09.2006 10:10 |
To another Roger, I agree with you. Freddie's solo songs are for the most part pure crap. I could never understand why he like doing disco so much. Especially at that time when disco was on the way out. |
| Another Roger (re) 21.09.2006 10:57 |
I didnt mean to put Freddie down at all. Its just annoying to listen to all these Freddie fanatics among the Queenfans. They tend to think he was Queen alone, which he definitely wasnt. Freddie is great at the stuff he can. But never underestimate the contribution from the other Queenmembers. It was vital. I think most Queen fans know this. At least those who have a little experience with music themselves. |
| Deacon Fan 21.09.2006 11:13 |
I have to agree the first album was a mess in terms of the music and production. And I hated it at first.. but I've learned to appreciate the cheesy synths and stuff. But I think nearly everything else was top-notch, meaning the non-album singles, Barcelona album, Time tracks. So I wouldn't call his entire solo career terrible :) And fans didn't either.. he did have some solo hits prior to the death/remixes phase. |
| Micrówave 21.09.2006 12:32 |
Another Roger (re) wrote: Its terrible listening to all these drum machines, synths etc. Freddie mercury on his own? Not a good idea.C'mon, it was the mid-80's. Compared to what they have now, yes those drum machines and synths weren't all that great, they were cutting edge at the time. Don't hate the synth, blame the player. But I kind of have to agree in general about Mercury solo. A double CD of "greatest hits"? Maybe someone was trying to be funny. What would have been funnier would be the worlds "Volume I" in really, really small print. |
| una999 21.09.2006 13:16 |
i agree it took me time to warm to his album. i always use to be of the opinion that brian and rogers sound and skills were more important to queen than freddie. then i heard queen and paul rodgers - ok the guitar sounds fine but it gets a bit boring after a while. thats when freddie kicks in. so i'm back to the opinion now that freddie was slightly more important to the band. but overall queen would never have been as successful as they were without the "team" effort. no one of them was greater than the rest freddies barcelona album sounds great cos mike moran did all the music. he's make freddie look tiny with his ability - maybe freddie hadn't the patience for all that mike did. really thinking about it mike moran was far more gifted only freddie could sing but singing isnt exactly as intense as doing complex arrangements? but of course freddie was a great songwriter and vocally presented the songs in kind of a surreal thing!! |
| Going Back 21.09.2006 13:57 |
i love freddies solo albums, no songs crap for me, if you don't like it don't listen to it. |
| coxy1 21.09.2006 14:24 |
I also agree that this album is great. How can you not even mention the brilliance of in my defence. For some reason i have become addicted to the songs foolin around (steve brown) and Time, i dont know why but they rock |
| Sebastian 21.09.2006 14:27 |
The album sounds non-Queen because he wanted it that way. He didn't depend on the others. And it works for the others too: Roger's Electric Fire doesn't sound like Queen because he wanted it to be different. Brian's Back To The Light is imo better than any Queen album. It's got better drummer, better guitarist and better bassist! |
| Gone. 21.09.2006 14:28 |
I disagree that Freddie's solo career was terrible. I think it was brilliant. :D |
| radio_what's_new 21.09.2006 14:55 |
Another Roger (re) wrote: Freddie is in the spotlight again with this greatest hits album. I had a listen thru it the other day and I thought it was crap. There are many songs there with great potential. But most of all it shows how depentent he was of Brian, Roger and John. Freddie could never really do this on his own. His solotracks has such cheap instrumental tracks. Its terrible listening to all these drum machines, synths etc. Tracks like Made In Heaven and I was born To love you shows how much impact Brian and Roger really had. The difference is shocking. Freddie mercury on his own? Not a good idea.In basic freds Solostuff is fantastic, the production is very very very 80's and that's the problem. The songs are fabulous in my opinion. Made in Heaven is such a cool song. but the '95 production is much better than the 80's style. Freddie liked the 80's that's why he made the mr badguy album as he did. The Barcelona album has such a strong vocals, some vocals are amongst Freddies best. |
| Rompez 21.09.2006 15:03 |
Sebastian wrote: Brian's Back To The Light is imo better than any Queen album. It's got better drummer, better guitarist and better bassist!Sebastian I've always thought that you are very intelligent and thoughtful man. But when I read your recent posts I' v started to doubt. Maybe I didn't get the joke though? |
| maxpower 21.09.2006 15:38 |
The point is Freddie's solo stuff was commercially a flop at the time. The 1992 compilation was horrendeous especially those remixes (purely cashing in) the version of "your kind of lover" is gastly the original on mr. bad guy isnt too hot but its better than the re-hash. Im glad ive got the original mr.bad guy on cd purely as a collectors item (as its now deleted). The Barcelona album is one jewel for me & the demo versions (mr. bad guy & barca) on the big box set from a few years ago do add extra value "money cant buy happiness" "she blows hot & cold" with brian on it "new york" & the early versions of "the fallen priest" alt lyrics etc |
| _Bijou_ 21.09.2006 15:40 |
I think people who say Freddie's solo stuff need thier ears testing. He did some amazing stuff solo. The Barcelona album is pure genius. Only he could do it. |
| rocks. 21.09.2006 15:50 |
Scuse me??? WHat abour Barcelona? That whole album is awesome, and I love alot of Freddie's solo songs, Love Me Like There's No Tomorow for instance.... |
| AlexRocks 21.09.2006 15:51 |
I don't know about all of the studio l.p. "The Great Pretender" released but some of the remixes DEFINTELY help compared to their original release on "Mr. Bad Guy" which was because they were synthesized it was just because the production and playing wasn't really that good compared to the session musicians later on...and yet I agree it is a STRONG indication that Queen were NOT Freddie's solo group like certain fans want to make it out to be and certain people in the public and media. Yes, Microwave...that was funny! |
| Deacon Fan 21.09.2006 16:01 |
maxpower wrote: The point is Freddie's solo stuff was commercially a flop at the time.That's just not true. Love Kills hit #10 I Was Born To Love You - #11 Time - #32 The Great Pretender - #4 Barcelona - #8 That's 5 genuine chart (top 40) hits (and a few more charted lower) upon original release, prior to his death. And even the Mr. Bad Guy album itself charted #6, and Barcelona #25. That's not a bad amount of success for a solo career of only what, 4 years? |
| _Bijou_ 21.09.2006 16:08 |
WhatMustHeThink wrote: Scuse me??? WHat abour Barcelona? That whole album is awesome, and I love alot of Freddie's solo songs, Love Me Like There's No Tomorow for instance....Oh 'Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow' is gorgeous. And I adore 'Foolin' Around', 'Time', 'Love Kills', 'The Great Pretender', 'In My Defence'. There are so many. |
| rocks. 21.09.2006 16:11 |
Bijou In Queens Crown wrote::D See, you rock! :DWhatMustHeThink wrote: Scuse me??? WHat abour Barcelona? That whole album is awesome, and I love alot of Freddie's solo songs, Love Me Like There's No Tomorow for instance....Oh 'Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow' is gorgeous. And I adore 'Foolin' Around', 'Time', 'Love Kills', 'The Great Pretender', 'In My Defence'. There are so many. I looooovvvvvveeee In My Defence, and The Great Pretender, such great songs. I prefer the original mix of Love Kills over the "rock mix" and I loovvveee your kinda lover, its just so much fun!! Freddie's solo stuff rocks! :D |
| _Bijou_ 21.09.2006 16:33 |
WhatMustHeThink wrote::)Bijou In Queens Crown wrote::D See, you rock! :D I looooovvvvvveeee In My Defence, and The Great Pretender, such great songs. I prefer the original mix of Love Kills over the "rock mix" and I loovvveee your kinda lover, its just so much fun!! Freddie's solo stuff rocks! :DWhatMustHeThink wrote: Scuse me??? WHat abour Barcelona? That whole album is awesome, and I love alot of Freddie's solo songs, Love Me Like There's No Tomorow for instance....Oh 'Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow' is gorgeous. And I adore 'Foolin' Around', 'Time', 'Love Kills', 'The Great Pretender', 'In My Defence'. There are so many. Yeah I prefer the original of 'Love Kills' as well. And I love how 'Your Kind of Lover' starts slow and then it livens up. |
| Tannya 21.09.2006 16:51 |
Yes I agree with you. Although Freddie was a genius, he just worked with Brian, John and Roger. QUEEN |
| rosedewitt 21.09.2006 17:02 |
i think freddies solo work was great. especially the barcelona-album and songs like "in my defence", "the great pretender" and "i was born to love you". look the solo work of brian and roger.. - not even half of the quality freddie had on his solo albums. |
| Sherwood Forest 21.09.2006 17:23 |
i hope everyone knows that the song the great prenteder was only a cover of a song, it wasnt his stuff but i must say it did fit him perfectly all in all there were a lot worse of solo carreers than freddies |
| Oszmercury 21.09.2006 17:26 |
I've to say the his solo career was good, but in terms of music quality was a little weak, he could do a classic record, like other artists have done George Harrison : All things must pass Lennon: Plastic Ono Band Mcartney: Band on the run or Mcartney Ozzy Osbourne: The blizzar of Oz Peter Tosh: Legalize it among others musicians |
| JoxerTheDeityPirate 21.09.2006 18:32 |
to me,in my defence is like fingernails on a blackboard and most of his solo stuff has not stood the test of time,but what songs from the 80s have? i liked them at the time,but it was the 80s..frankie says,enough said! |
| deleted user 21.09.2006 18:51 |
Im the same,I cant stand his solo stuff at all but there are people that like it.just not my taste! |
| rocks. 21.09.2006 19:17 |
Differant strokes for differant folks? I think so. |
| magicalfreddiemercury 21.09.2006 19:45 |
I'm one of the few who repeatedly says I don't like the Barcelona album. I have yet to get through one entire song - but it's not the music or Freddie's singing - it's MC's voice. It simply grates and so the CD sits at the bottom of the pile. The other two albums, however, have a spot in the regular rotation. In all honesty, though, as much as I love Freddie, if I were to give someone a sample of his work, I'd choose something from Queen, not from his solo projects. |
| deleted user 21.09.2006 20:42 |
Am I the only one dyslexic enough to consistantly read the title of this thread as "Freddie Mercury's solo telecaster" ? |
| Mr Faron Hyte 21.09.2006 20:55 |
Freddie's songwriting really took a nosedive in the '80s. His '70s stuff was brilliant but he peaked then and the rest of the band really carried the songwriting torch in the 80s and 90s. The last great Queen song Freddie wrote was Crazy Little Thing in '79. Think of Queen's biggest and best remembered hits from the '80s and '90s - Another One Bites the Dust and I Want to Break Free was Deacon; Radio Ga Ga, A Kind of Magic, These Are the Days of Our Lives and Innuendo was Roger or mostly Roger; Hammer to Fall, Who Wants to Live Forever, I Want It All, The Show Must Go On, Brian or mostly Brian. Even One Vision and Under Pressure were full on 4 or 5 way collaborations. Freddie's Queen hits in the '80s and '90s were all of the less spectacular variety - Play the Game, Friends Will Be Friends, Its a Hard Life, Princes of the Universe, even The Miracle and I'm Going Slightly Mad, all good but not at the very top of anybody but the most die-hard's list and not particularly big hits. Not one of them even top 5 in the UK. The Mr. Bad Guy stuff didn't light the world on fire and Barcelona, which was genius, was all written in collaboration with Mike Moran and, to a lesser extent, Tim Rice. Doubtless he remained a great singer and intepreter of songs, but as a songwriter, Freddie had peaked. Fortunately the other three guys had a lot to offer. No, they couldn't have done it without him, but he couldn't have done it without them either. That's why they were a great band - they needed each other and they picked up each other's slack. |
| Marcelo_argentina 22.09.2006 00:04 |
MR FARON HYTE....very clever, very clear..very well said! Intresting point. |
| Winter Land Man 22.09.2006 00:40 |
louvox wrote: Especially at that time when disco was on the way out.Not in gay bars. |
| Madman007 22.09.2006 00:55 |
I wouldn't exactly call Freddie's solo career terrible, becuase the lyrics are great and some of the back beats are catchy... BUT... the music is so dated. It's 80's to the tenth degree. Maybe if the tracks were modernized or changed from the dance/disco format they were originaly recorded to a rock feel they would be great. As I said, the lyrics are great. |
| Vantrini 22.09.2006 03:38 |
I thought that on the 1995 made in heaven album queen made, made in heaven and born to love you a lot better but i don'yt know what all the extra little bits were about. I think queen as a whole are a lot better, i think that, Time, love kills, love me like there's no tomorrow and the songs with montseratte are really good as he uses piano and bass. on thw whole queen are the legendary band and freddie mercury made them who they are now. Thanks Johnny |
| Asterik 22.09.2006 12:15 |
Mr Faron Hyte wrote: Freddie's songwriting really took a nosedive in the '80s. His '70s stuff was brilliant but he peaked then and the rest of the band really carried the songwriting torch in the 80s and 90s. QUOTE] |
| rocks. 22.09.2006 13:04 |
Mr Faron Hyte wrote: Freddie's songwriting really took a nosedive in the '80s. His '70s stuff was brilliant but he peaked then and the rest of the band really carried the songwriting torch in the 80s and 90s. The last great Queen song Freddie wrote was Crazy Little Thing in '79. Think of Queen's biggest and best remembered hits from the '80s and '90s - Another One Bites the Dust and I Want to Break Free was Deacon; Radio Ga Ga, A Kind of Magic, These Are the Days of Our Lives and Innuendo was Roger or mostly Roger; Hammer to Fall, Who Wants to Live Forever, I Want It All, The Show Must Go On, Brian or mostly Brian. Even One Vision and Under Pressure were full on 4 or 5 way collaborations. Freddie's Queen hits in the '80s and '90s were all of the less spectacular variety - Play the Game, Friends Will Be Friends, Its a Hard Life, Princes of the Universe, even The Miracle and I'm Going Slightly Mad, all good but not at the very top of anybody but the most die-hard's list and not particularly big hits. Not one of them even top 5 in the UK. The Mr. Bad Guy stuff didn't light the world on fire and Barcelona, which was genius, was all written in collaboration with Mike Moran and, to a lesser extent, Tim Rice. Doubtless he remained a great singer and intepreter of songs, but as a songwriter, Freddie had peaked. Fortunately the other three guys had a lot to offer. No, they couldn't have done it without him, but he couldn't have done it without them either. That's why they were a great band - they needed each other and they picked up each other's slack.for fucks SAKE, who CARES wether or not songs released in the 80s were big big hits or not!! That doesnt make them any better or any worse of a song!!! So you're saying because BoRhap was a big big hit, that makes it a good song? No! What makes it a good song is the SONG itself. And who are you to say those songs arnt at the top of any die hards list? I love all those songs you listed, I personally LOVE the 80s material, and notice Im speaking for myself, and not for any other "diehard". Im speaking for myself and you should do the same. And realise that because something isnt a big big hit, that doenst make it BAD. If Paris Hilton's album went platinum, would that make it good? No, that would just mean a million people are stupid as fuck. |
| rosedewitt 22.09.2006 17:22 |
Sherwood Forest wrote: i hope everyone knows that the song the great prenteder was only a cover of a song, it wasnt his stuff but i must say it did fit him perfectly all in all there were a lot worse of solo carreers than freddiesi knew. i hope so that everybody else knew it too... |
| Micrówave 22.09.2006 17:33 |
WhatMustHeThink wrote: If Paris Hilton's album went platinum, would that make it good? No, that would just mean a million people are stupid as fyou just don't know what good music is. |
| AmeriQueen 23.09.2006 06:37 |
I 100%, totally, with all my heart, could not possibly disagree with you more!!! My guess is that you are fairly young, at least enough to not remember the trends and style of the disco/pop 80's. The reason why is that style and period of music, though popular at the time, is considered by many today as crap. The style I am referring to was very heavily infused into the Mr. Bad Guy album. That being said, at least half of the tracks are total classics, and the worst is at least catchy or interesting in some way or another. The other solo works, and especially the Barcelona/opera album he did with Monsterat Caballe are pure works of genious. But what I even more specifically disagree with in your bash was the alleged proof of Freddie's musical co-dependance on the other three members of Queen. While it is obvious that they helped him get to higher places than he would have on his own, I rather found the opposite to be true due chiefly to the unmistakably Brian sounding guitar solos. The style was so exactly like Brians, though the solos themselves were all very original. What I read later explained the similariy to me. Apparently Freddie wrote most of the guitar solos Brian played on Freddie's tracks, conceiving them so accurately that by comparison with the solo works, it's clear to me to be written by the same musical mind. Freddie's solo material is, some of it, a bit dated, but after further listening, I think the 80's-ness of it will shortly stop bothering you. |
| deleted user 23.09.2006 10:27 |
I love the Mr Bad Guy album and i have an original tape of it. It does have a very 80's gay bar feel about it, but i think that it works. But i really hate the remixes! I love all of Freddies songs as i think they are great but thats just my opinion. I dont think that you can judge a song/album by what success it had in the charts. It's only a good album if you think it is! Something that is a great album to one person wont necessarily be great to another. |
| deleted user 23.09.2006 10:34 |
Another Roger (re) wrote: . Tracks like Made In Heaven and I was born To love you shows how much impact Brian and Roger really had. The difference is shocking. Freddie mercury on his own? Not a good idea.I dont think that freddie was dependant on the others but i dont think that the others were dependant on him either. They were so good because they worked amazingly as a team. Are we forgetting that Roger and Brians solo careers didnt do much better or worse than Freddies? Dont get me wrong, i like brian and rogers solo careeers aswell as freddies but i dont think they would have been much without eachother. |
| breathe 23.09.2006 13:42 |
Freddie has the most incredible voice and is a great showman, but I agree that the material was somewhat lacking, and the stylings of the music does lack the talent of the band. He could have had an great solo career if he hadn't been with Queen first, maybe? Maybe his solo career just hit a different target audience? I don't know, but he was an amazing man, with a tremendous voice, a huge amount of fun thrown in, and Queen wouldn't be the same without him, and vice versa. |
| AmeriQueen 23.09.2006 21:14 |
I find Freddie's solo career to be incredible. I'd put it tops among the Queen members, followed by Roger, who is a VERY close second. Brian's solo career has always been a slight dissapointment for me though. Partially it's because of his voice. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE his voice. It just doesn't have much range. He can, better even than Freddie, nail songs that require a lot of softness in the lead vocal. But any track that requires pushing a voice forward, and Brian struggles to maintain without cracking or reaching his limits. Another problem I think is Brian's style. His own personal taste and desires of songs he likes making, went towards a more organic, loose, live-oriented style, away from most things Queen, and the songs he has made are, for the most part, less ambitious than F + R's solo tunes, and even moreso, less ambitious than most of Brian's Queen contributions. My guess is that Brian's assistance from the other members is more important than Freddie's and Roger's. Lastly, Deacon's solo career(1 song) is a joke. |
| mike hunt 24.09.2006 01:30 |
I find roger solo stuff to be crap, but brian has some hits (nothin but blue) and misses (I'm scared) freddie was my favorite from their solo efforts, barcelona is one of my fav albums of all time, in my defence, and the great pretender is fab. The bottom line is it's all a matter of opinion. Freddie mercurys terrible solocarrer?...I say Grow up!....Barcelona is more creative than anything roger talyor could ever produce. |
| AmeriQueen 24.09.2006 03:36 |
Kind of harsh on Roger, aren't you? I think the 2nd two Cross albums are crap, but all in all, Roger is a fantastic song writer. What amazed me is on 'Strange Frontier', how there are two covers, one written by Bob Dylan, and the other by Bruce Springsteen. The amazing part is that songs covered by Roger that came from these two legends, are easily the worst songs on the album. |
| mike hunt 24.09.2006 03:49 |
I'm going by what I'v heard. Happiness I never liked, and the cross stuff I couldn't stand. Electric fire has some good stuff, but overall is boring. I must say I loved the couple of songs he did with the japaness musician (forget his name) I thought that was fantastic. roger is probably my least fav songwriter from queen, john wrote a lot less, but I like his songs better, especially when comparing 70's roger and john. Sorry roger fans! |
| AmeriQueen 24.09.2006 12:58 |
One thing also worth considering(somebody may have mentioned it already) to is that Mr. Bad Guy was not an album Freddie really made his primary musical focus. It was his first solo effort, fit into a short timeframe between 'The Works' and 'A Kind Of Magic'. All of this tells me three things: 1. His best songs at that time were likely reserved for Queen. 2. He had a short period of time to make his first solo effort. What I mean is that all the sudden Freddie is totally the leader in the studio and has no alternative vocalists or writers to lean on, forcing him to take on more responsibility on a record than he has had to deal with. 3. Last but not least, Freddie had to have been spent! 12 years of constant writing, recording and touring had to have left him somwhat fatigued. At the very least, he was(and I have seen him say so in interviews around that time.) bored with Queen's sound and wanted some sort of departure. A rested Mercury, I believe, would have naturally fallen into more piano/rock sound than the 'Mr. Bad Guy' album had. All that having been said, I still disagree with any who think Freddie's solo career sucks. Guide Me Back, Barcelona, Living On My Own, Man Made Paradise, You're My Kind Of Lover, Love Me Like There's No Tomorrow, In My Defence.... Any questions? |
| Freddie's #1 Fan Forever 24.09.2006 21:44 |
I totally have to disagree with the original poster as well here. I also think that AmeriQueen makes some really excellent points. Just because a song has synthesizers or a disco groove to it does not automatically mean that it sucks. If it has a nice melody, then it is a nice song. At the end of the day, arrangement and production are not what makes someone a great songwriter. After all, a lot of people with degrees in music know how to arrange and produce songs. What makes the difference between an OK songwriter and a brilliant songwriter, on the other hand, is MELODY. And Freddie Mercury wrote some of the most beautiful melodies that you can find in popular music, both with Queen and solo. To me, Freddie Mercury's solo songs are similar sounding to Queen albums that were put out at that time, and I find them to be of a similar quality. I do not see how you could call "Hot Space" and "The Works" much better than "Mr. Bad Guy." In general, neither are as sophisticated as material from the 1970's, but they are more fun. I also have to agree with AmeriQueen that Freddie Mercury probably helped some of the others (in particular, John and Roger) more than they helped him. When they did contribute to his songs, I suspect that the other members were adding to the production/arrangement and not the structure of the song or the melody. However, Freddie Mercury actually re-wrote certain songs for other members at times. |
| john bodega 24.09.2006 22:16 |
Who's the moron who named the thread? If you compare Freddie's solo career to the amount of sales Queen made, or perhaps compare it to how many copies Dark Side of the Moon sold..... then yeah, it's pretty small. If anything, in terms of sales I reckon he had a pretty decent solo career *when compared to other soloists at the time*; it wasn't a giant success but it was pretty good, all things considered. A naive thing to say would be that he had a pretty short solo career, but we all know why that is anyway. Seriously... jabs at his 80's synths aside, his career wasn't terrible at all. I'm a big fan of the William Shatner song "Has Been", because..... well it's a non-word isn't it? Even a Has-Been has gotten a lot further than most of us Never-Beens! And that in itself is a stupid thing to say... because we're not in Melody Maker we don't exist? A most intellectually-crippled way of looking at things if you ask me! |
| mike hunt 25.09.2006 00:40 |
Zebonka12 wrote: Who's the moron who named the thread? If you compare Freddie's solo career to the amount of sales Queen made, or perhaps compare it to how many copies Dark Side of the Moon sold..... then yeah, it's pretty small. If anything, in terms of sales I reckon he had a pretty decent solo career *when compared to other soloists at the time*; it wasn't a giant success but it was pretty good, all things considered. A naive thing to say would be that he had a pretty short solo career, but we all know why that is anyway. Seriously... jabs at his 80's synths aside, his career wasn't terrible at all. I'm a big fan of the William Shatner song "Has Been", because..... well it's a non-word isn't it? Even a Has-Been has gotten a lot further than most of us Never-Beens! And that in itself is a stupid thing to say... because we're not in Melody Maker we don't exist? A most intellectually-crippled way of looking at things if you ask me!I agree with you on this one. How can you call his solo career terrible when you have the barcelona album, half of Mr. bad guy is good, especially man made paridise, more than life than this, living on my own (all versions) love me like there's no tomorrow. the great pretender, time, in my defence, love kills. I'm talking maybe about 4 songs from his solo stuff I don't like, and obviouly other people agree, this is his third straight week in the top twenty. |
| Bohemian Rahpsody 25.09.2006 11:35 |
When I bought greatest solo hits, I fell in love with it! In my defence is one of my top twenty songs, it's got so much meaning and feel to it. Sure, most of the songs wouldn't rate so high on the charts, but does that mean there bad? Nonsense! It simply means that there are better tracks. Barcelona is amazing, Time brings tears to my eyes, I love the sounds in Mr. Bad Guy, The Golden Boy is pretty good, and the Great Pretender is very close to my heart. Freddie's solo albulm to me was not just a new commercial line, or a break from Queen, it was our darling Freddie in one way expressing himself. I think he wanted to show that he wasn't just the flamboyant front man of Queen, he was a star in his own right. Sure, I think that Freddie was the most talented member of the band where writing is concerned, but I also agree that instrumentaly he wasn't as skilled. I think Brian May is easily one of the top ten guitarists, and Roger Taylor is excellent on the drums, and although he's quite, John is really good at what he does. I guess I also love Freddies albulm because it's a celebration of a mentor, and a guy I really look up to. But would I say it's better than Queen, no. They were four guys in the right place, at the right time, and for a little while they gave the world something brilliant and amazing. Freddie may not have had the best musicians supporting him in his solo carreer, but his voice is at it's best in some of those songs. Cheers to the great man! B.R |
| mircal 27.09.2006 00:17 |
To another Roger, I actually never saw it that way, but thanks for pointing it out, i suppose the same could be said about all the bands solo work.... On that note, quoting RT, he said we could always come back to queen, like coming back to mother,,,, so on that note, i suppose theyn just needed to ventilate there music with out anyone cutting them down... But none the less, |
| mircal 27.09.2006 00:18 |
To another Roger, I actually never saw it that way, but thanks for pointing it out, i suppose the same could be said about all the bands solo work.... On that note, quoting RT, he said we could always come back to queen, like coming back to mother,,,, so on that note, i suppose theyn just needed to ventilate there music with out anyone cutting them down... But none the less, |
| Another Roger (re) 27.09.2006 10:34 |
"If anything, in terms of sales I reckon he had a pretty decent solo career *when compared to other soloists at the time*; it wasn't a giant success but it was pretty good, all things considered. A naive thing to say would be that he had a pretty short solo career, but we all know why that is anyway." I dont care about sales!! How many copies a single or album have sold has nothing to do with the quality. If you look at it that way you should buy the music after the charts. Its so refreshing that we have bands like Dream Theater who doesnt care about the charts. Queen unfortunately went into that trap. They let the radios and media form the shape of their music. They did that in the 80s. Too bad. When things gets commercial they usually lose something. Queen wanted a wide audience. Most people unfortunately want easy catchy music that you can like at once. Thats also what the radios want to play. People who are interested in a more long term satisfaction can spend some more time getting into the music. This is usually the music who last for a while. Finally. I dont judge Freddie Mercurys solo carrer on sales. I just dont like it. The music is too cheap for me. The song Barcelona is alright indeed. The album though is boring as the day is long. I cant stand that screaming from monsterrat. Its like getting needle in your hear. So thin and high pitched. Awful. |
| john bodega 29.09.2006 03:55 |
Another Roger (re) wrote: I dont care about sales!! blah blah blah Finally. I dont judge Freddie Mercurys solo carrer on sales. I just dont like it. The music is too cheap for me. blah blah blah I cant stand that screaming from monsterrat. Its like getting needle in your hear. So thin and high pitched. Awful.Hmmm. Sorry, I assumed you were judging it on sales because the music wasn't all that bad. I find big chunks of Mr. Bad Guy to be a little too 80's for regular listening. And I don't like most of Barcelona simply because it would have benefited from a real symphony as opposed to shitty synths. But the compositions, and the vocal performances, are pretty good. There's nothing 'terrible' in there I don't think. His solo stuff isn't what I'd call Easy Listening, to be honest, but there's great stuff in there, and people who call it unilaterally terrible... c'est ridiculé! One final note - Great Pretender kicks arse, you'd have to be Helen Keller not to enjoy that one. |
| jjaaccoo 29.09.2006 04:40 |
Mr Faron Hyte wrote: Freddie's songwriting really took a nosedive in the '80s. His '70s stuff was brilliant but he peaked then and the rest of the band really carried the songwriting torch in the 80s and 90s. The last great Queen song Freddie wrote was Crazy Little Thing in '79. Think of Queen's biggest and best remembered hits from the '80s and '90s - Another One Bites the Dust and I Want to Break Free was Deacon; Radio Ga Ga, A Kind of Magic, These Are the Days of Our Lives and Innuendo was Roger or mostly Roger; Hammer to Fall, Who Wants to Live Forever, I Want It All, The Show Must Go On, Brian or mostly Brian. Even One Vision and Under Pressure were full on 4 or 5 way collaborations. Freddie's Queen hits in the '80s and '90s were all of the less spectacular variety - Play the Game, Friends Will Be Friends, Its a Hard Life, Princes of the Universe, even The Miracle and I'm Going Slightly Mad, all good but not at the very top of anybody but the most die-hard's list and not particularly big hits. Not one of them even top 5 in the UK. The Mr. Bad Guy stuff didn't light the world on fire and Barcelona, which was genius, was all written in collaboration with Mike Moran and, to a lesser extent, Tim Rice. Doubtless he remained a great singer and intepreter of songs, but as a songwriter, Freddie had peaked. Fortunately the other three guys had a lot to offer. No, they couldn't have done it without him, but he couldn't have done it without them either. That's why they were a great band - they needed each other and they picked up each other's slack.The one thing this poster needs to understand as well as anyone else is that his words are put together to create his version of an OPINION. Nothing more. This can be said about anyone who openly shares their thoughts. It's like people who believe in God or the Koran, it's a belief, NOTHING FACTUAL. (by the way the bible was written by hundreds of men over a period of hundreds of years) So we all go to bed taking comfort in our beliefs or opinions, that's fine. And just because something becomes popular does not mean it's good, it just appeals to the masses, something the U.S. falls prey to so easily. As for "THE BIG HITS OF THE 80'S AND 90'S" those are songs that the public gravitated towards, so what? Mr. F.H. rounded up a few facts, weaved them into his belief and so now we have HIS perspective. In the end, It's all up to you to make your own opinion. I personally like "Delilah" better than "Bohemian Rhapsody" How can anyone say I'm wrong or right? I think that proves my point. |