QueenZone discussion #924854
Queen: Rock or Pop?
| Freddie's #1 Fan Forever 03.12.2006 22:20 |
To Queen Fans, I am wondering about how we should classify Queen with regard to the rock to pop spectrum described in the following New York Times article: link Basically, the author is arguing that pop music is every bit as legitimate as hard rock, and that both sides have produced some great music. Here is my opinion: I would tend to place Queen right in the middle of the spectrum. Although Queen was a great heavy metal band, you also find an amusing tongue-in-cheek sense of humor and a campy, gay sensibility that is totally uncharacteristic of deadly serious white bands such as Led Zeppelin and The Clash. Queen further produced an entire disco album, “Hot Space,” while Freddie Mercury's influences appeared to have been largely black (for example, Aretha Franklin, The Jackson 5 and Lionel Richie). As the article points out, these musical influences fall directly onto the pop side of things. I also pointed out in a previous post that, for a "white" rock band, Queen had an unusually sophisticated sense of rhythm as well. OK, so I am waiting to hear your views here. I hope to hear some original, insightful and outrageous things! Use the article to help guide you. |
| deleted user 03.12.2006 22:51 |
Well, this is as obnoxious as when I tried to explain my political views on a Liberal-Conservative scale ! I would say more "rock" in the 70s and more poppish in the 80s. But certainly with exceptions. I think they had their own style, and I wouldn't really "classify" them. I think it's good that they're hard to "classify" - meaning they had such diversity in their career that you can't just apply one term over all of it. I think the "middle" would be a place if you just found the average, and it doesn't really do justice, though it's, to me, accurate. I would say they're more of a composite or something - with extremes on both sides of the "scale". For instance, I never thought of them as "hard rock" until I accidentally saw that VH1 thing where they were the #13 hard rock band of all time or whatever. Then I started thinking, and I realised they DID have hard rock songs, and I just never thought of them that way. I always thought of them as "Queen" - putting out such different things as "Ogre Battle" and "One Year of Love". I would say they combine pop and rock and other things, too. I guess the "vaudeville" numbers are a kind of "pop". "Funny How Love Is" sounds poppish, and so does Hot Space, or should I call that "funk" or "disco" ? Mr. Mercury called it "disposable pop" at one time. And if "pop" means "popular", they had that down. I don't know much about the time-period first-hand, but it seems rock, in general, was more popular in the 70s-80s, but I could be DEAD wrong. ... As always, I feel silly posting this... but... whatever ! |
| teleman 03.12.2006 23:31 |
Rock or Pop? Both and then some. They wrote some inventive hard rock songs and crafted top notch pop songs. I particularly like the fact that they had songs outside the spectrum of Rock or Pop like Cabaret/Vaudeville and Rockabilly. |
| Freddie's #1 Fan Forever 03.12.2006 23:33 |
Yeah, I agree that they moved from rock to pop over the years. On the other hand, my favorite songs include "Radio Ga Ga," "I Want to Break Free," "Crazy Little Thing Called Love," "Another One Bites the Dust," "Under Pressure," and "One Vision." These are all pop songs. |
| deleted user 04.12.2006 06:46 |
To me, their are different musical genres and then their's Queen. As previous posts have said they are hard to classify and for that I'm thankful. They've got that heavy metal stuff I love and yet they still have those beautiful compositions like These Are The Days of Our Lives. Right up till the end of their career they had a balance of hard rock and pop. Ok, I'll admit that the first album didn't have any pop, but if you look at all the albums afterwards you'll find a balance in some way or form. Queen and Queen II had an extreme metal feel with songs like Son & Daughter and Ogre Battle all at the same time with classics like Funny How Love Is. Sheer Heart Attack had a song as metal as metal gets with Stone Cold Crazy (which could also be said to be one of the first thrash metal songs ever). Also on Sheer Heart Attack we heard John's pop song Misfire. Lets also remember that Sheer Heart Attack and Queen II were released in the same year and even at this time it is hard to determine their musical genre. Both of these albums are so disimilar its not even funny. If you were to go on and study the other albums you'll still find some what of a balance of the hard rock and pop. I'd hate to believe that Queen went totally into pop at one point in their career. Even during Hot Space they still had Put Out the Fire which wasn't pop I don't think, that was just a good hard rocker song. On The Works you'll find Tear it Up and Hammer to Fall and even find Radio Ga Ga and I Want to Break Free. I'm not going to get into any of the other albums because it is all self explainatory. One other thing I would like to mention, however, is that their live shows never changed. They would always play their hard rocking songs throughout their live career. Even though they added those outragious songs such as Staying Power and A Kind of Magic, they never left out Bohemian Rhapsody or We Will Rock You. Anyway, I'm done rambling now...thanks for reading. Take care. Steve |
| Benn 04.12.2006 06:46 |
Pre 1983 - Rock Post 1983 - Pop |
| deleted user 04.12.2006 06:48 |
^FALSE |
| Dan C. 04.12.2006 07:39 |
For the most part, rock IS pop. |
| liam 04.12.2006 07:55 |
Queen were predominetly rock before hot space. They always had popish songs in the 70's though. You wouldnt call 'killer queen' rock, but you wouldnt call it pop either. Same with their pop years, they always had rock songs aswell as pop songs, hammer to fall, under pressure. |
| unknown 04.12.2006 08:44 |
Benn wrote: Pre 1983 - Rock Post 1983 - PopWhat's with Innuendo;-)? |
| Oszmercury 04.12.2006 09:44 |
US POP = Commercial success UK Pop = Popular (the people) I think Queen is both definition, all depends, i mean Pop music is very different now than in old days, and of course they were rockers |
| FriedChicken 04.12.2006 09:54 |
They played Rock, that is pop(ular) I don't count pop as a genre. For example Mozart was pop in his time. |
| brENsKi 04.12.2006 11:19 |
Benn wrote: Pre 1983 - Rock Post 1983 - Popyou saying "the game" and "hot space" are more rock than pop? interesting....please elaborate |
| louvox 04.12.2006 14:03 |
This an easy one to answer. From 1973 to 1980 they were fantastic From 1981 to 1991 the were crap |
| Deacon Fan 04.12.2006 14:17 |
I always thought they fall into both categories throughout their career, but when doing something such as an ID tag, I generally switch them from rock to pop for Hot Space and beyond. :-P |
| unknown 04.12.2006 16:34 |
louvox wrote: This an easy one to answer. From 1973 to 1980 they were fantastic From 1981 to 1991 the were crapPersonally, I don't consider 'Innuendo' as crap:) |
| mrjordy 04.12.2006 17:49 |
To me, Queen has always been a healthy mix of many genres - from regae to pop, from rock-a-billy (Crazy Little Thing Called Love) to the absolute majestic rock and roll found on the Innuendo album. Certainly Hot Space falls out of the general Queen criteria, all together. I would most certainly place this album in the pop category. Queen is, in fact, rock AND pop, among other musical styles. As a side note (and this is in no way attempting to turn this thread into a Q+PR war) I think that Paul Rodgers blends so well with Brian and Roger because Queen has always had a wide range of musical tastes. Paul adds a little blues to the band, which is certainly nothing new to Queen - they've ventured there in the past and are clearly geared up to do it again. |
| deleted user 04.12.2006 17:57 |
^I agree with him...beautifully written. |
| mrjordy 04.12.2006 18:27 |
Thank you very much, Metal Head. I enjoyed your original post - and the fact that Lester put you in your place. I love threads like this. |
| deleted user 04.12.2006 19:16 |
^Your welcome and thanks... Put me in my place? This is a Queen community, he simply stated his opinion and he was able to convince me. I'm actually thankful for his advice...it was quite refreshing. |
| mrjordy 04.12.2006 19:26 |
I certainly didn't mean that coy or hateful - I promise. I do enjoy these threads where everyone's objective. |
| deleted user 04.12.2006 19:28 |
So do I, this is what Queenzone is meant for. |
| radio_what's_new 04.12.2006 20:05 |
Queen is a rock band...Just listen to the live concerts and you know why... A lot of rockbands made ballads and 'pop'-songs but of course they remain a true rockband... Just like the bee gees for example will always be a popband, even if they would make 5 rockalbums, Queen will always be a Rock band. |
| Marcelo_argentina 04.12.2006 20:57 |
Rock or Pop?...what do you mean?...this is QUEEN...this is beyond rocok or pop! |
| louvox 05.12.2006 17:39 |
It was pointed out to me that "Innuendo" is not crap. I agree it is not. Their best effort since "The game", but between that and Innuendo there was plenty of crappy albums. |
| Nathan 05.12.2006 18:35 |
Queen is a combination of all different music genres, which is why they're such a great band. |
| ITSM 06.12.2006 00:32 |
Queen played songs in many genres, and nailed everyone of them. Like "The Millionaire Waltz" and "Cool Cat". Waltz and disco have never been better! |
| danny1 34933 06.12.2006 16:22 |
One can argue about Queens studio albums, but having seen Queen+ P.R. in concert and listening to their concert albums, when they perform live they are without a doubt a rock and roll band. |
| deleted user 06.12.2006 17:06 |
I agree with Danny, Queen when live really were a rock band. Hell, they're one of the greatest if not the greatest live band in the world. Stadium rock! I just love it! |
| deleted user 07.12.2006 20:45 |
Rock or Pop I think in the early days they were very much just rock and very heavy rock. Towards the 80's they gravitated towards the pop sound with all the synths and simpler compostitions. And especially in the 90's they lost a lot of their rock bombast. |
| yamaha 10.12.2006 00:44 |
I like the idea of consulting their live act to put a label on the band. I listened to the "Live at the Bowl" album a couple days ago and was surprised to hear how they were able to turn material from Hot Space into loud rock songs. I would vote that Queen was a rock band. It seems that that is what they wanted to be. |
| deleted user 10.12.2006 11:50 |
Let's not forget that the very definition of rock is no limitations. That's how I see it anyway, and that's how Freddie saw it. Freddie loved the idea that he could do whatever he wanted in the rock and roll scene. It was perfect for him, for he had a love for many genres of music. So, regardless of what types of songs Queen played, it was meant to push rock and roll to the edge of it's definition. If you listen to Aerosmith's gold album (greatest hits) you'll find that their isn't much variety in their music. It's all very straight forward. When you listen to Queen's greatest hits you'll find that they were more than a rock band. They were THE ROCK BAND. They were a band that didn't believe in the traditional crap of three chord progressions and other simple formulas to composing music (of course they did it, but only to a certain extent). They threw in mock operas, waltzes, vaudiville, big band, experimented with thrash metal (very early, possibly the first), baroque, folk rock, ETC So when you get right down to it, Queen were the ultimate rock group. I wouldn't classify them as pop. Pop was only a part of Queen. If you were to classify them as pop, you might as well classify them as a vaudiville band. That's my theory anyway... |
| mike hunt 11.12.2006 01:31 |
<font color=#FFFFFF>The Invisible Man wrote: Let's not forget that the very definition of rock is no limitations. That's how I see it anyway, and that's how Freddie saw it. Freddie loved the idea that he could do whatever he wanted in the rock and roll scene. It was perfect for him, for he had a love for many genres of music. So, regardless of what types of songs Queen played, it was meant to push rock and roll to the edge of it's definition. If you listen to Aerosmith's gold album (greatest hits) you'll find that their isn't much variety in their music. It's all very straight forward. When you listen to Queen's greatest hits you'll find that they were more than a rock band. They were THE ROCK BAND. They were a band that didn't believe in the traditional crap of three chord progressions and other simple formulas to composing music (of course they did it, but only to a certain extent). They threw in mock operas, waltzes, vaudiville, big band, experimented with thrash metal (very early, possibly the first), baroque, folk rock, ETC So when you get right down to it, Queen were the ultimate rock group. I wouldn't classify them as pop. Pop was only a part of Queen. If you were to classify them as pop, you might as well classify them as a vaudiville band. That's my theory anyway...I agree with everything you said, but Queen were all over the map and that's what I love about them. your so right when you said that queen were one of the first to play thrash metal. One of my favorite bands is Judas priest and they are considered the "metal Gods" who helped form thrash metal, but their first real heavy album was in 1976, queen already released songs like Stone cold crazy and great king rat, orge battle and countless others. Of course sabbath was the true first metal band, but even that was slow and cruncy metal. Yes, queen never truly got the credit they deserved in helping shape thrash metal. I heard one of rob halfords favorite albums of all time were Queen and Queen2. |
| deleted user 11.12.2006 21:59 |
Rob Halford said that the only music he has on his ipod is every single Priest song and every single Queen song. |
| mike hunt 12.12.2006 01:25 |
<font color=#FFFFFF>The Invisible Man wrote: Rob Halford said that the only music he has on his ipod is every single Priest song and every single Queen song.That's awsome, I never heard that one. |
| bohemian 11513 12.12.2006 04:42 |
Freddie's #1 Fan Forever wrote: OK, so I am waiting to hear your views here. I hope to hear some... outrageous things!Keep in mind that one of their most famous songs is called "We Will Rock You"... ...and NOT... "We Will Pop You"! :-) |
| deleted user 12.12.2006 16:07 |
mike hunt wrote:He said this in the Classic Rock Magazine that was dedicated to Freddie Mercury. (the October issue I believe...I could be wrong).<font color=#FFFFFF>The Invisible Man wrote: Rob Halford said that the only music he has on his ipod is every single Priest song and every single Queen song.That's awsome, I never heard that one. |
| its_a_hard_life 26994 12.12.2006 16:59 |
FriedChicken<br><font size=1>The Almighty</font> wrote: They played Rock, that is pop(ular) I don't count pop as a genre. For example Mozart was pop in his time. |
| Cricket Nutter 19.12.2006 19:00 |
All of the stuff you'd class as pop from the 80s strictly speaking is rock anyway. If you look at the evolution of rock from bluesy artists like Fats Domino to the heavy metal of Black Sabbath, there are no real fundamental similarities in sound. There is much less difference in style between Radio Ga Ga and Death On Two Legs for example. Rock is such a diverse genre, that strictly speaking Marvin Gaye, Eminem and Outkast are rock. Hip Hop developed and slowly evolved through artists like Prince and Run DMC. If bands like Yes are classed as progressive rock, then there is no doubt that hip-hop is a rock subgenre. The poppy elements seen in Queen in the 80s, and by artists like Madonna certainly stem from rock. It is still far-fetched from traditional pop like Bing Crosby however. Just a little run down of what is and isn't rock! I suppose it is safe to say Queen were pop-rock, as pop music tends to be more melody orientated, whilst rock from the start was always beat and scale orientated. Queen combined the two in many versatile ways throughout their career. |
| boca 23.12.2006 22:12 |
As Patti Russo once nice said: There are music genres and there is QUEEN! |
| RohemianBapsody 25.12.2006 07:29 |
When they play live you can tell they are a rock band - compare a Queen concert to WestLifes. The easiest way to compare how the music moved with the times is by listening to GH1 & GH2, they are totally different sounds. |
| Neppset 08.01.2007 17:43 |
Queen: Hard rock, heavy metal Queen II: Prog-rock, heavy metal Sheer Heart Attack: Hard rock, heavy metal ANATO: Progressive rock, hard rock ADATR: Progressive rock NOTW: Hard rock Jazz: Hard rock, The Game: Pop rock Hot Space: Funk, disco Works: Pop rock AKOM: Pop rock, hard rock Miracle: Pop rock, hard rock Innuendo: Hard rock, pop rock, MIH: Pop rock There you have it. |