Forum Home Forum Home > Other music related lounges > Proto-Prog and Prog-Related Lounge
  New Posts New Posts RSS Feed - Queen as progressive band?
  FAQ FAQ  Forum Search   Events   Register Register  Login Login

Topic ClosedQueen as progressive band?

 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123 8>
Author
Message
Flimbau View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: July 27 2011
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 26
Direct Link To This Post Topic: Queen as progressive band?
    Posted: September 07 2011 at 12:07
 I was thinking about Queen since yesterday was Freddie Mercury's Bday and was wondering what was the general consensus among prog enthusiasts regarding Queen? I for one have always been a pretty big fan of Queen especially their early material from their self titled debut album right on up to The Game and even some of the later pop hits on Its a Kind of Magic, Innuendo, The Miracle etc. My argument would be their lyricism obviously especially on Queen and Queen II dealing with many of the same themes as some of their contemporary Prog acts ie: fantasy, romanticism etc...Their groundbreaking use of intensely over-dubbed choruses and whatnot also was progressive in its use of studio technology much in the same way other groups were stretching the recording process and pushing the bounds of the technology of the day. And of course the stunning musicianship of Brian May, thunderous drumming of Roger Taylor, the quiet dependable and precise playing of John Deacon (one of the great underappreciated bassists IMO), and the sheer magnetic stage presence of Freddie Mercury arguably one of the greatest singers and performers of all time. I understand their commercial success and radio hit leanings might be a turnoff for many of you so I was curious as to everyones thoughts. I absolutely adore them to be honest. How about you?

Interesting postscript: I am a graduate of an Audio Engineering program with a focus in studio/music production and actually got my hands on a few pro tools files of a few Queen master tracks and its really amazing to see how many vocal over dubs recorded in different ways go into creating the well known Queen sound. Most of Brian Mays guitar sounds alone are composed of like 2-3 amplifiers recorded simultaneously with an additional 3-4 room mics and stereo delays. Given the nature of analog recording and the limitations of mixing consoles this was pretty revolutionary for its day.
Back to Top
Gerinski View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 10 2010
Location: Barcelona Spain
Status: Online
Points: 5080
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 12:57
Much like you I'm a big Queen fan up to Jazz. The Game had some good songs but marked the biggest change in their career and I don't care much for anything else after that.
 
Queen II is my favourite but I also love the debut, Sheer Heart Attack, At The Opera and At The Races (and Live Killers is a stunning live double, too bad they didn't release any proper live album earlier, which BTW it's something I have always been surprised about, since live albums were very popular at the time and Queen were more than famous enough to afford releasing one).
 
They do not belong to the standard definition of prog but they certainly fit in my open-minded definition!
 
Back to Top
thehallway View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: April 13 2010
Location: Dorset, England
Status: Offline
Points: 1433
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:27

It's the overdubbing..... they did sh*t loads of it, probably more than any other band in the world. Queen II is just drenched in thick vocal harmonies that sound like 100+ vocalists, they're splattered everywhere, in all corners of that album. And this continues into songs like Somebody to Love, Bicycle Race, and of course, Bohemian Rhapsody.

It's not to everyone's taste, but it was certainly progressive (particularly if you listen in quadrophonic.... it's like having four choirs screaming at you from different directions, in a good way!)



Back to Top
Manuel View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: March 09 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 12256
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:35
I liked and found Queen to be a very progressive band, up until "A Day At The Races". After that, some magic was lost, at least for me, and I lost interest in their music. I think they are all fantastic musicians and composers, but they took a more commercial approach after a great, promising beginning.
Back to Top
Flimbau View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: July 27 2011
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 26
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:37
 I wasnt aware that Queen II was released in the quadrophonic format. That is interesting to me.
Back to Top
Evolver View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams

Joined: October 22 2005
Location: The Idiocracy
Status: Offline
Points: 5482
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:37
Originally posted by Manuel Manuel wrote:

I liked and found Queen to be a very progressive band, up until "A Day At The Races". After that, some magic was lost, at least for me, and I lost interest in their music. I think they are all fantastic musicians and composers, but they took a more commercial approach after a great, promising beginning.
Same here. "A Day At the Races" was big big disappointment.  After that, there were moments of glory, but no really good albums.
Trust me. I know what I'm doing.
Back to Top
thehallway View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: April 13 2010
Location: Dorset, England
Status: Offline
Points: 1433
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:42

Originally posted by Flimbau Flimbau wrote:

 I wasnt aware that Queen II was released in the quadrophonic format. That is interesting to me.

It may not have been officially..... but my brother's car stereo system separates audio into right and left and front and back, and while some albums still sounded just stereo, Queen II definitely had vocals and guitar parts coming out of all four areas independently.

It was the latest CD remaster (2011), with bonus tracks. Perhaps that is a quadrophonic mix, or surround mix.



Back to Top
lazland View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: October 28 2008
Location: Wales
Status: Offline
Points: 13129
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:42
I think that any album which includes their hits is a great album. Unfortunately, for me, I found that every single album they did also contained some atrocious rubbish.
Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org
Back to Top
pool2000 View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: March 04 2011
Location: manchester
Status: Offline
Points: 10
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 13:54
i would put queen in the 70's as a rock band, the first 2 albums maybe prog but the game onwards more of a pop/rock band.......and i love em
queen, genesis, pink floyd, spock's beard, transatlantic, pendragon, peter gabriel, supertramp, unitopia, the watch, the lens, IQ, camel, nektar, big big train, dream theater, galahad.
Back to Top
TheLastBaron View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: April 07 2009
Location: CA
Status: Offline
Points: 206
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:32
Definetly proto prog with debut through a day at the races. Queen 2 is my personal favorite, a lot of tempo and stylistic changes in march of the black queen. And though its a bit of a tangent, I love bohemian rhapsody but find Prophets Song to be A night at the opera's best track, pure epic grandoisity!!
" Men are not prisoners of fate, but prisoners of their own minds." - FDR
Back to Top
octopus-4 View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams

Joined: October 31 2006
Location: Italy
Status: Online
Points: 13286
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:37
Originally posted by lazland lazland wrote:

I think that any album which includes their hits is a great album. Unfortunately, for me, I found that every single album they did also contained some atrocious rubbish.
I was about to write something similar. I don't think there's any Queen album without at least one rubbish track or skippable fillers.
Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com
Back to Top
harmonium.ro View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator

Honorary Collaborator / Retired Admin

Joined: August 18 2008
Location: Anna Calvi
Status: Offline
Points: 22989
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:41
Originally posted by TheLastBaron TheLastBaron wrote:

Definetly proto prog with debut through a day at the races. Queen 2 is my personal favorite, a lot of tempo and stylistic changes in march of the black queen. And though its a bit of a tangent, I love bohemian rhapsody but find Prophets Song to be A night at the opera's best track, pure epic grandoisity!!


Proto-prog in the mid-70s?
Back to Top
Flimbau View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: July 27 2011
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 26
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:50
 I think its pretty hard to find any band that put an album out without at least one "rubbish" song or "fillers". I dont see why Queen should be singled out as being less than a stellar band given their massive output throughout the duration of their career and the amount of great songs they wrote as a whole. Just because they wrote a few songs that werent up to snuff hardly demeans them.
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."

from The Sayings of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan
Back to Top
topographicbroadways View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: May 20 2010
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 5575
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:52
Just because a band is original and talented doesn't immediately make the Prog Rock. They were progressive yes. I guess they can be prog related (they already are aren't they?). But cmon. They were a great rock band. That's it
Back to Top
octopus-4 View Drop Down
Special Collaborator
Special Collaborator
Avatar
RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams

Joined: October 31 2006
Location: Italy
Status: Online
Points: 13286
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:52
Wish You Were Here, maybe ? Jokes apart it's not question of weaker tracks in a good album. Queen's fillers are very bad, not just weaker. 
Curiosity killed a cat, Schroedinger only half.
My poor home recorded stuff at https://yellingxoanon.bandcamp.com
Back to Top
unforgivable74 View Drop Down
Forum Groupie
Forum Groupie
Avatar

Joined: August 17 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 99
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:58
'Innuendo' and 'Was It All Worth It?' were two 'later' proggy tracks. Also, the 20 minute 'drone' that closes the 'Made In Heaven' album is wonderful but very sad. Remnants of a life but nothing remains.

In general, I think Queen had 'progressive' in their musical arsenal but chose in later years not to pursue it.
Laughs as I clean my teeth, laughs as I rub at my eyes.
Back to Top
Flimbau View Drop Down
Forum Newbie
Forum Newbie
Avatar

Joined: July 27 2011
Location: New York
Status: Offline
Points: 26
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 14:59
Ill give you that on Wish you Were Here. What in your opinion represents a "very bad" song from that era of Queens output?
"Deep in the human unconscious is a pervasive need for a logical universe that makes sense. But the real universe is always one step beyond logic."

from The Sayings of Muad'Dib by the Princess Irulan
Back to Top
richardh View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: February 18 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 25795
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 15:11
The only studio album I have is Flash Gordon. Reading the reviews I should perhaps consider QueenII but lack of keyboards puts me off. This a small taster of what Queen could have been
btw I love the film
Back to Top
ExittheLemming View Drop Down
Forum Senior Member
Forum Senior Member
Avatar

Joined: October 19 2007
Location: Penal Colony
Status: Offline
Points: 11415
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 16:08
Originally posted by topographicbroadways topographicbroadways wrote:

Just because a band is original and talented doesn't immediately make the Prog Rock. They were progressive yes. I guess they can be prog related (they already are aren't they?). But cmon. They were a great rock band. That's it


My thoughts exactly. We're sometime guilty of acting like an over zealous border patrol here on PA (and insist that everyone entering is subjected to a full cavity body search for Prog credentials)


Back to Top
friso View Drop Down
Prog Reviewer
Prog Reviewer
Avatar

Joined: October 24 2007
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 2505
Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 07 2011 at 17:46
Well.. it's sure get's sophisticated and Bohemian Rhapsody is perhaps the most famous progressive epic, albeit a very short and dense one.
Back to Top
 Post Reply Post Reply Page  123 8>

Forum Jump Forum Permissions View Drop Down



This page was generated in 0.149 seconds.
Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.