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Post by Chopin1995 on Aug 8, 2021 19:45:10 GMT
"Earlier this year at a Queen event in Japan, it was revealed that Queen offered to go to Japan to help promote the release of The Miracle album there, and the record execs in Japan said no thanks."
Fascinating. If only...
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Post by deathtoming on Aug 9, 2021 1:30:46 GMT
"Earlier this year at a Queen event in Japan, it was revealed that Queen offered to go to Japan to help promote the release of The Miracle album there, and the record execs in Japan said no thanks."Fascinating. If only... Yeah, chances are it would have been something similar to John and Roger's whirlwind promotional tour for The Works. It would have been nice to have a few more Japanese TV appearances.
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Post by deathtoming on Aug 17, 2021 1:57:16 GMT
This is a translation of an interview with Chris “Crystal” Taylor, Roger Taylor’s former drum tech and personal assistant. There are some stories he has told elsewhere (“Crystal’s Tales”), as well as technical details about drums. The interview is by Roger M. Takahashi, drummer of the Japanese Queen tribute band Queer, who has become such an expert that Crystal Taylor sometimes defers to him when fans ask questions about Roger’s drum kit. Crystal Taylor
Music Life “Roger Taylor” special edition, August 2019 Interview by Roger M. Takahashi Translation from Japanese to English by me [Part 1 of 2] Roger M. Takahashi (RT): Thank you very much for this opportunity. I’d like to start with a question about you: how did you get involved with Queen Productions? Crystal Taylor: I didn’t especially try to get in. I was with another band on tour for a few years, and then in January of 1976, I got a phone call asking if I was interested in joining Queen on tour for 4 months in the US, Japan, and Australia. Of course I said yes. RT: What were you doing before that? Crystal: I was with a bunch of bands that would tour clubs and stuff in the UK. I was working for a famous pop star called David Essex in 1974. All the girls would be screaming every evening. It was crazy but fun. After that, I was with a slightly successful band called Pilot in 1975. I also worked with Elton John and Pink Floyd at Wembley, Knebworth and such. Of course, there were lots of others. RT: Did you know about Queen before they reached out to you? Crystal: Seven Seas of Rhye and Killer Queen sold well and were good songs, so I knew those. When I was in the car on my way to Brighton with a friend, the DJ on the radio goes, “So, we’ve received Queen’s new song,” and it was Bohemian Rhapsody. I was saying what a good song it was, but when “Galileo, figaro…” started, I thought, “What the hell is this??” But two months later, I would end up hearing “Galileo, figaro…” every day for 14 years, haha. RT: What were your impressions of the band members when you first met them? Crystal: After I got the call, I went to John Reid’s, and met Freddie. That was the first member. He was very polite, and said “Hi!” to me. Brian came in next, and he bumped into me with his clogs. Then he says “sorry” like ten times! Then I went to Roger’s flat and met my new boss. I remember it well, with his long blonde hair and high voice, I thought, “This guy is definitely gay.” I was completely, utterly wrong, though!! I didn’t meet John until a rehearsal in Waterbury, Connecticut, in the US. RT: After working with them, how would you describe them briefly? Crystal: The four of them have completely different personalities. Brian is really serious. As for John, he’s really quiet before you get to know him, but once you do, he’s a really fun guy. And Roger, we probably all know what kinds of things he likes. I have the same interests as him so we got along really well. Freddie is really shy, but a fun guy to be with. Most people probably don’t know this, but he has a surprising sense of humour. RT: Please tell us more about Roger. What’s his personality like, and what kind of person is he? Crystal: This is a hard question. He was born to be a rock star. First of all, he was the first one to buy a really huge house. A really expensive car, too. It was a black Ferrari 308 GTB. He was also the first to buy a house overseas, and the only one to buy a cruiser motorcycle. Off stage as well, he was acting like a rock star. Of course, he liked “various things” associated with rock stars. Ah, oh yeah, he was a wonderful drummer. Of course as a person, too! RT: Was it easy working for Roger? Crystal: Yeah. Like anyone, he can get into a rage quickly. But he goes back to his regular self immediately. I met him through work, but we became really good friends, and often went out to do stuff together. On days off, too. RT: Can you give us 2 or 3 memories from your time with Roger in the studio or on tour? Crystal: I went to the Monaco F1 with Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Roger. But we were arrested on the first night and thrown in jail!! You may not believe me, but we really hadn’t done anything!! Then, we were released the next morning at 6 am. It was a completely new experience (strained laughter). Also, we would often go skiing in Scotland, and at the bar there were a bunch of people having a good time that didn’t know who Roger was. They asked us what we did for a living, and we told them we were vacuum cleaner salesmen. They believed us for sure, haha. RT: Haha. Please tell us any stories that make you laugh when you think about them. Crystal: There are too many that I can’t answer. It makes me laugh just thinking about all the things we got up to together. We were really like high school students you couldn’t control. RT: By the way, who are your favourite rock musicians? Crystal: I like lots of different genres of music, except rap. That’s a horrible product. My top two favourites are Pink Floyd and Bob Marley, I guess. I like music styles in between, including ABBA. When I first went to a Pink Floyd show, there were around 60 people in attendance. It was when Syd Barrett was still in the group. And I met Bob Marley when he came to see a Queen show at Madison Square Gardens. I had a beer with Tyrone Downie, the keyboard player for The Wailers. He told me back then that they came to see Queen because they loved Another One Bites the Dust. John and I are the only ones that listen to reggae, so when I told John right before the show, when the taped intro was playing, that Bob Marley was watching, he became ecstatic and raised his bass to full volume!! RT: What kinds of idols were you into when you were a child? Crystal: Idols, hmm… I didn’t have any in particular. But The Beatles changed everything with their music, hair styles, jackets, and boots. Then came The Rolling Stones. They had long hair and didn’t have a clean image like The Beatles. But I saw them and grew my hair long. RT: Do you ever listen to Queen songs? Crystal: No, I don’t. It’s always on the radio. RT: What are your top three favourite Queen albums? Crystal: I still think to this day that Side Black of Queen II is amazing. After that, A Night at the Opera, I guess. Third, I’d say New of the World, I think. RT: In contrast, please tell us if there is any work you don’t like. Crystal: Dreamer’s Ball! I really hate this one!! This kind of song is inconceivable. And I saw Brian and Roger have a tremendously horrible argument about this song, so I also came to hate this song when it was played live. I’ve also had enough of We Will Rock You!! I probably heard it too much live. Body Language is also terrible. For albums, I hate Hot Space and The Miracle. RT: Next, I’d like to ask you questions about your job as a drum tech. What’s the most important consideration when designing Roger’s drum kit or when putting it together? Crystal: Ahh, technical stuff! I remember things like parties, but we’re talking about stuff from a long time ago. But I’ll give it a go, haha! First of all, you have to set up the drummer’s necessary things in the necessary location. On top of that, it has to look beautiful when you look at it head on.That’s why I arranged things as beautiful and cool as possible. When a new kit arrives, the very first thing you have to do is set up the tom toms and bass drum facing the opposite direction. What I mean by that is, if they’re facing the performer with the adjustment screw, you have to move that in the opposite direction from the performer, facing outward. The reason is, if something happens during a performance, you can adjust the screws while they’re playing, or switch out the part that is causing problems, right? Also, the legs of the cymbal stand were placed as far as possible from the front of the bass drum. By doing so, you could resolve a lot of things. RT: What are the details of the biggest trouble you experienced during a show? Crystal: The biggest trouble, eh. Not being asleep during the show, I guess! Ah, sorry, just kidding, haha. I always keep a spare bass drum pedal and snare drum nearby. Also, drum heads in all sizes. Roger tears them fairly quickly. The snare stand is always firmly secured to the drum riser, so if the head of the snare tears, you have to remove the snare drum only from the stand and replace it with a new one. Same for the bass drum pedal. We use Ludwig’s Speed King, and it’s a good pedal, but it breaks really frequently. When that happens, I have to slide between the snare and floor tom by Roger’s feet while he’s playing to switch out the pedal. I’m a big guy, so it’s really tough to slide in there. The most it ever happened was when it broke three times! That really was a tough one. When we get a new kit, we always order two bass drums. Roger always asks me why, but I always answer that it’s just in case. The second bass drum is always tuned so that it’s ready to go, and every evening during the show, it’s placed close to me. And, one night during a show in the US, it happened. Every night, I observe all of Roger’s movements in great detail, and here the kick pedal’s beater gets sucked right into the drum head. I immediately said, “Oh shit!” and went over to the middle of the stage with a bass drum. I removed the mics for the bass drum and toms, and removed the screws from the two toms above. I switched out the broken bass drum for the new one, put the two toms and mics back in place, and disappeared off the stage with the broken bass drum. Freddie saw this and announced, “This has never happened before!” The crew cheered and gave me a round of applause, but I paid no attention to it and returned to my spot. Someone was timing it, and I finished the job in 45 seconds. This is an accomplishment I should really be proud of!! RT: You are very detail-oriented in putting together a kit. Which one is your favourite? Crystal: I think it’s the biggest Ludwig kit from 1976. It was really cool. Even now when I look at it, I think, that was well done, that’s a good one. 1977-02-05 Madison Square Garden, by Richard E. Aaron RT: Roger often changes his kit to match the album or songs he’s playing. Does Roger come up with those ideas? Or do you and Roger work together to assemble the kit? Crystal: He had an endorsement deal with Ludwig, so it was all free of charge. We discussed what colours we should pick, or how we should do this and that. Of course, in the end Roger had the final say. RT: In 1976, unlike before, there were toms lined up in a very large kit, and aside from the floor tom there are eight rack toms from 6” to 16” lined up. Is it true that Roger didn’t like the sound of the Ludwig Octaplus and modified it by attaching resonant heads on the ones bigger than 13”? Crystal: How did you know that? That’s completely true. We put marks in the exact same spot as the batter head, and slowly drilled holes, being careful not to damage anything, and it took a long time! (Note: A total of 60 holes were drilled in the 13”, 14”, 15”, and 16” toms!) It’s much cooler to have heads on both sides instead of just one! RT: That Ludwig Octaplus kit originally had clip mount tom holders, but after the concert at Hyde Park, they switched to Rogers Big R tom holders. Was that your idea, Crystal? The bass drum’s tom holder mount by both Ludwig and Rogers have a 1” diameter so you could have kept it as is. Was there a particular reason why you switched that to Rogers as well? Crystal: Truthfully, the Ludwig clip mount is a terrible product (Note: it’s a U-shaped structure where the toms are inserted to the left and right from above. The two toms are fixed in place, so adjusting the angle affects both at the same time.) Because if you bring one tom closer to you, the other one turns the other way! This makes it unusable. There was a music trade fair at Earl’s Court, so Roger and I went together. We saw the Rogers Memriloc system there, so I told him, “We’ll buy this and I’ll install it for you!” After that, we bought the required amount, and I went back home with all of the drums. The living room in my home ended up looking like a drum factory, haha. We worked together to make 60 holes to add lugs to the bottom head of the toms, and 8 small holes and 4 big holes for the Rogers tom holders. RT: Inside the bass drum, there’s a metal pipe for reinforcement that’s not available in the catalogue. Did you make it yourself? Crystal: Why do you know that?! Yeah, I made it myself. I have a friend who’s a pipefitter, and I used copper because it’s soft and light. A plate is welded on one end, and it’s secured to the bolt of the tom holder mount. The tom that’s placed above is large, so the goal was to reduce the heavy load on the bass drum. It was made very well. RT: Regarding the tuning of drums, I believe for the toms and bass drum the resonant heads are tighter, but in contrast, it’s the opposite for the snares. Is this correct? Crystal: Of course I can do tuning as well, but Roger was the one who actually did it. Roger is really accurate with his tuning, and would constantly keep things tuned during a show. Just like a guitarist tuning his own guitar. Oh, right, you’re correct, the bottom head is quite a bit tighter than the batter head, which is quite loose. It’s scary how much you know! RT: Starting from 1977, the bass drum front head design went from the crest to album covers. Whose idea was that? Crystal: Roger’s. I offered up some ideas, too, but Roger’s were excellent. We used a company called Cream. Do you remember the first drum head with the Queen crest? That was a silkscreen print. The others were all printed. It’s funny, I remember the name of the woman from the company that worked with us. You can remember it like this: Roger Taylor, Chris Taylor, Margaret Taylor! [End of Part 1 of 2. Part 2 will come later, and covers the drums of 1977 to 1986.]
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Post by katydyd5 on Aug 17, 2021 23:37:47 GMT
Thanks for this translation! LOL, I know a lot more about drums now than when I began reading. Actually I didn't realize how technical drum sets are. Loved reading Crystal's first impressions of the band
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Post by deathtoming on Aug 18, 2021 18:32:02 GMT
This is Part 2 of the Crystal Taylor interview. Crystal Taylor
Music Life “Roger Taylor” special edition, August 2019 Interview by Roger M. Takahashi Translation from Japanese to English by me [Part 2 of 2]
Roger M. Takahashi (RT): Only the 1977 rack toms’ bottom head used Ludwig’s “Coated Silver Dot.” Why was that the case? Crystal: Ah! I don’t remember! We were probably trying something… RT: Around this time, Pollard’s Syndrum Quad 478 would appear on stage. Whose idea was that? Crystal: When we were on tour in the US, a rep from Pollard came to us and asked us to try them out. I think Queen was probably the second one because they said they first gave them to The Cars. Generally they didn’t have drum-like sounds, but we started using them in the middle section of Get Down Make Love. As for where else we used them, I bet you would know, haha. RT: From 1979, you switched from Ludwig Timbales to Remo Rototoms, and I’ve never seen that horizontal bar for the stand as a manufactured product. Is that something you made yourself? Crystal: It’s probably something I made. I don’t exactly remember though. RT: When that horizontal bar is set up, it ends up taller than the same bar for the cymbal stand. You’ve said before that you use Premier stands, but then the diameter of the pipes don’t match up. Also, the design of the feet from the 1979 and 1981 tours differ. Please tell me how you dealt with this. This is the biggest puzzle for me. Crystal: Yeah! That’s exactly it! The reason why there are two different methods is because we use whatever is lying around in storage. It’d be foolish to buy something new when there are so many things, right? At the warehouse there’s a super detail-oriented guy like you who remembers everything clearly, and he brings out the stuff you need when you ask him to. Yeah, like you said, we did make cuts as needed. I think you would know, but you know the thing that puts the 8” accent cymbal on the tom holder? That’s something I cut. If I didn’t cut it, it wouldn’t have been installed well. RT: Around this time, a small Slingerland drum kit is being used. Where did you get that? Crystal: Roger says to me, “I want a small kit,” so I went to a shop I love called Footes, paid with cash, and brought one back. RT: Recently, I saw a picture thought to be from the late ‘70s, with a yellow Rogers XP8 drum. The biggest Rogers drum is 24”. Was that used in any recording? Crystal: Roger phones me up and says, “Go buy me a drum that’s not Ludwig!”, so I bought it. Pretty sure it was a 24” bass drum. But it wasn’t yellow, I think it was a really awful salmon pink! For the Jazz sessions, it was decided for the first time that we’d go to Mountain Studios in Montreux, and I think we bought it around that time. Back then, we had studios in Switzerland and France, so we needed a lot of equipment. But we didn’t use that for any recordings. RT: Whose idea was it to have Roger’s face on the drum head? It’s from a 1977 promo shoot; who decided to use that? Crystal: This was Roger’s idea, too. Roger thought of it when the book he was reading had a cover like that. We both thought, “It’d be cool to use this!” and reached out but the fee to secure the rights was ridiculous. So I picked the most appropriate photo of Roger and made one. So, both Roger and I worked together on that one. [1980-09-19, Rosemont, Illinois, by Paul Natkin, with 1977-XX-XX Elektra promo shoot.] RT: For the 1981 The Game tour in Montreal, during Get Down Make Love, there is video footage of the 12” single head tom missing. Was there a tear or some sort of problem? If you remember, please tell us. Crystal: If something that should have been there wasn’t, then the head probably died. So, I think it was removed and replaced. Man, you’re looking carefully, haha! [Get Down Make Love cued up at 1m 52s; two drums are clearly visible above the bass drum when there should be three. There is a mic pointed at the empty space. Skip ahead to 4m 08s and you’ll see the third drum is back.] RT: For the 1982 Hot Space tour, when you applied chrome to the drums, whose idea was it to take the 16” and 18” toms and hang them from the stand instead of using them as floor toms? Crystal: It gets difficult to answer questions about this time because I became more of a personal manager / band coordinator as opposed to a roadie / drum tech. That’s why I’d go on tour with them but didn’t assemble the drum kits. That said, recording sessions were different, and I assembled kits for those. So, in response to your question, the two of us did it that way during recording, and it worked well, so I think they left it as is. RT: I’m not able to reproduce the crash sound on Action This Day using a Simmons SDS-V. Did you use something else, for example a Linn rhythm machine, and mix the sounds? Crystal: No, it’s from a SDS-V without anything else. The Linn was on the other side of the drums, and I was the one who used it. Another One Bites the Dust, Radio Ga Ga, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Under Pressure and We Will Rock You, we only used it for the hand claps on those songs. RT: Cymbals and gongs were by Paiste until the 1984 The Works tour, when they all switched to Zildjian for the first time since the band’s debut. Was this only due to the sound quality? Crystal: There were big changes to the tour’s stage design, and the gong wouldn’t suit it, that’s it. RT: Also, the 16” and 18” toms go back to being standard 3-legged floor toms. Were those modified from the ones used in the previous year? Or did you purchase new ones? Crystal: We bought new ones! I don’t remember drilling new holes, that’s why! RT: Around this time, the snare had internal mics both above and below. Whose idea was this, and who put it together? Crystal: That was the PA guy, Trip. He’s a spectacular sound engineer, that guy. RT: In the One Vision “making of” video, I was very surprised to see a square bass drum beater. The shaft is bent to allow the flat side of the beater to make contact. Since when was that being used? Crystal: When I started working, Roger’s bass drum beater was flat from wear, even though it was supposed to be round. While we were touring the US, I went to a music store and found one that was flat from the beginning (Note: the Danmar square beater). So, I bought all six that the store had in stock. It was around 1978, I think? I always bent the shaft so that 100% of the flat surface would hit the drum. [One Vision “making of” video cued up to show the square beater very briefly.] RT: During Live Aid, you were sitting between David Bowie and Roger, and behind Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Please tell me your memories from this time. Crystal: Those were good seats! That day, all of the performers were granted the right to go to the seats with the royal family. John and Freddie opted out, saying they didn’t want to sit around all day. A limousine came to pick me up, and then went to pick up Roger and Brian. It was 10:30 am. And at 11:00 am we met some members of the royal family, and received our tickets for reserved seating. Of course I knew the royal family would sit in the royal box, and but I didn’t know where that would be. Then Andy, a friend of mine who worked for promoter Harvey Goldsmith, says to me “I got you amazing seats.” David Bowie, Roger, Brian and I weren’t concerned at all about who might sit in front of us and we were just chatting idly when God Save the Queen plays loudly and Prince Charles and Princess Diana appear in front of us. It’s our national anthem so I stood up and when I looked at the stage, I saw on the huge screen a 30-foot version of me! I thought, the whole world is looking at me. The next day, all of the newspapers had a picture of me in it! Amazing, haha!! [1985-07-13, Wembley Stadium, by Dave Hogan] RT: For the 1986 Magic tour, the drums suddenly switched to Yamaha. Roger had stated in an interview, “I have absolutely no interest in Japanese-made drums,” so why this change all of a sudden? Is it because of the stage PA system, or because Brian was using a Yamaha DX-7 synthesizer? Crystal: It has absolutely no connection to the synth. Maybe Roger just thought it was time for a change? RT: I’ve seen Roger say that he always goes on tour with two identical sets of drums. Does this include the Syndrum and SDS-V? Crystal: Huh!? He said that? I don’t believe it. Like I said before, there was a spare bass drum and a spare snare, and the pedals. That’s it. He sure is exaggerating, haha! RT: I’ve been wondering about this a long time, but seeing how Roger is habitually fashionably-dressed, I’m guessing that he has been choosing his own stage outfits since around 1976, but is this correct? Aside from Freddie’s tights, was someone choosing the stage outfits for Rogers and the others? Crystal: It was completely their tastes, and they were choosing and buying things themselves. RT: Were there stylists and make-up artists that would go on tour with them? Crystal: Someone in charge of the wardrobe would always go on tour with them. They took care of things like dry cleaning and ironing. Make up was always self-applied. RT: After that, sadly there were no more tours, but I would see the return of Ludwig drums in the music videos. Why is that? Since they weren’t touring anymore, was one kit set aside for music videos? Crystal: That kit is from after I retired. So, I have nothing to do with it. RT: After touring stopped, Roger had more opportunities for solo work. Were you assisting him at those times, too? Crystal: For Fun in Space, Strange Frontier, and The Cross’s Shove It, yeah. They were all done at the studio I hate, Mountain Studios in Switzerland. For all of them, it was just the three of us: Roger, David Richards, and myself. I was so bored, and skiing was the only thing you could do there. Oh, that and drinking, haha. Roger produced Jimmy Nail, Feargal Sharkey, Mel Smith, and others. We were always a team. It was a good team.... RT: What was the deciding factor when you decided to leave Queen Productions? Crystal: I knew that Freddie was ill and that they wouldn’t continue touring. I’d also been touring for 20 years, and thought it was the right time. I can’t get into the real reason, but I thought there was nothing left for the Queen members to do. If I ever get a chance to write a book, I’ll tell the whole story. RT: Were you satisfied with the working conditions of the crew? Crystal: I was very satisfied! The pay wasn’t bad, and most of all, all of the members treated me well. I never asked for a pay raise, and never thought the workload didn’t match the pay. I was allowed to use the company Range Rover whenever I wanted, and when I had a girlfriend in Los Angeles for 4 years, I could visit her whenever I wanted on days off and Roger would let me use his house and car. When I went to New York, Freddie would let me borrow his place. I was happy to work with them. RT: When you watched the movie Bohemian Rhapsody, did the inaccuracies with the equipment stand out and bother you? Crystal: I hate that movie. They went off and formed a band with the Queen name somewhere that wasn’t true, had them play Live Aid, and everything else is full of mistakes. You’re telling me they hadn’t played for two years before Live Aid? They had played five weeks earlier in your country, Japan, right? Before that, there was a tour in Australia. Rami Malek as an Oscar winner, that’s something he doesn’t deserve. I don’t mean to say bad things about Rami, but he completely missed his “true funniness.” [Translation note: the Japanese word used is difficult to translate, so “funniness” can be ridiculousness or strangeness.] The production team depicted him as a sad, miserable, lonely person. The exact opposite of all of this is the real Freddie. The We Will Rock You recording scene where the wives did the foot stomps and handclaps, give me a break with this bad joke. It’s all of the road crew and band that did that. It’s a fond memory of mine. Do you want to know more? Well then, if you do a talk or something through Music Life, I’ll talk about eeeeverything! Nudge nudge, wink wink! RT: Haha. When I see Roger’s recent drum kit, there is not an ounce of beauty, and it’s very disappointing. Do you feel like giving him advice? Crystal: Ah, that………. No! [2019-08-13, Charlotte, North Carolina, by Jeff Hahne] RT: And, finally, if you have memories from Japan, please share with us. Crystal: I have lots of memories from Japan! Only wonderful ones. I was completely culture shocked when I went in 1976. It was full of things I had never seen before. The buildings, billboards, and the food. I’d never used chopsticks before and it was my first time with Japanese food. I thought I might die if I didn’t learn how to use them. Every single person I met was really polite. I did a lot of sightseeing in Japan. More than any other country on this planet! The temples and castles took my breath away. Of course, there was the shopping, too. In particular, I got addicted to Walkmans and digital watches. I also bought aaaaall of the lenses and accessories for Nikon cameras! I could master it quickly and painlessly. I’d guess all of the crew spent money until they were broke. They’d buy kimono for their girlfriends. The concerts were wonderful. For Queen, the best fans were Dutch and Japanese, and that fact will never change. On the first Japanese tour, we played twice in one day, with the first show at 2 pm. You want us to rock at this time of day? The next was 6 pm. We were done by 9 pm and headed to Byblos [night club in Tokyo]. That, or Lexington Queen [another night club]. The Japanese road crew was always superb. As soon as they put the equipment in the flight cases, they would load them into the truck! Ahh, I’d better stop here, so I have stuff to say in my book, haha! RT: When you look back to your brilliant days with Queen, when would you say was the best moment? Crystal: That would probably be the time I answered the phone the first time. If I hadn’t answered, I wouldn’t have met wonderful friends and crew, and the four wonderful members of the band. It was really a wonderful time. RT: Please give a message to fans in Japan. Crystal: Usually, I don’t speak for other people. But this is a very good opportunity, so today I’d like to speak on behalf of Freddie Mercury, Roger Taylor, John Deacon, Brian May and everyone on the road crew. Everyone… that’s right, each and every one of us loved Japan. No matter the tour, everyone happily welcomed us. I love the country of Japan, and above all, all of the people are wonderful as humans, and I loved them. Thank you so much for being kind. RT: Thank you very much for your time. Crystal: Thanks for giving me an opportunity like this. I’m certain it was tough coming up with those questions, but it was a fun and wonderful interview. Thank you very much. [End of Part 2 of 2]
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Post by deathtoming on Nov 6, 2021 17:46:09 GMT
I've translated a couple of small bits of this interview before, but never the full interview. The 10th Year of Rule - Queen Music Life Magazine - December 1982 issue By Kaoruko Togo Pictures by Koh Hasebe (the photos used in this post are from this interview, but two are variations of the ones published in the magazine) [Original text in Japanese; translation to English by me.]Queen have come to Japan for the fifth time. They were ambitious as always, such as by performing outdoors in Japan for the first time, and were the kings of rock, as expected. Music Life caught up with the guys in Fukuoka, and had an exclusive interview with the four of them. Busy with an onslaught of interviews, Roger, Brian, John, and Freddie smiled for Music Life and talked to us at length about their past and future. The interview lasted over two hours, and revealed the strength of their bond. --- Under Pressure was the fruit of our labour--
Music Life (ML): The tour itinerary this time allows for quite a bit of free time, so is there anywhere in particular that you want to go on your time off? Roger: I want to go to Kyoto again. We went the first time we came to Japan, but we were surrounded by fans, and couldn’t take our time to explore. Brian: I’m with the kids, so I want to go somewhere that my kids would enjoy (On this tour, only Brian is here with his wife and two kids). Places like zoos, parks, toy stores. ML: You’re a good dad (laughs) Brian: Personally, I’d like to walk around temples and gardens (laughs) because I like gardening. ML: By the way, I heard that the equipment you’re bringing, including the lighting rig, weighs 75 tons. That’s so heavy. John: Yeah, it’s all new equipment. We used it on our European tour and American tour, and now we’re going to use it in Japan. Anyway, it’s 75 tons, right? It was too much for planes so we transported it by ship. We’re planning on leaving it in storage after playing in Japan (smiles…) ML: By the way, I heard that there weren’t that many songs from Hot Space at the Detroit show… Brian: What!? Really? I think we played more than usual in Detroit… Roger: Under Pressure, Body Language, Action this Day, Calling All Girls, those four songs, I think it was ML: In Japan, on top of those, you played Back Chat and Put Out the Fire. Is it decided in advance what songs you’ll play? Brian: No, we always do our best to change up our songs. On this tour as well, I believe we changed it up each time. ML: When I heard the recording of Under Pressure, I thought it’d be hard to pull off live, but I saw it at the show and was surprised. It was wonderful! I really thought it was perfect. Brian: We practice making it sound heavier than on the record. It was tough, but it’s necessary to put in effort to do well. I like the live version better, too. Freddie: That’s right, and also, we thought from the beginning that we could do it. We worked really hard at rehearsing it. That’s why we were able to do it. It’s necessary to practise, no matter what kind of song it is. ML: Freddie, have you ever had any special voice lessons? Freddie: No, never. But I’ve enjoyed singing since I was a student. Piano lessons started when I was 9, I think. I did it all the time. The way I see it, anyone can become good at singing without special training if you really love singing. Although, opera’s another story (laughs). (A different photo of Freddie with a cigarette was used in the magazine article. The caption read: 'I want to quit smoking, but I just can't seem to quit...' says Freddie. On this tour, Freddie moves around lightly on stage, in high spirits.) --- Last year’s South American tour was a wonderful experience ---
ML: By the way, was it last year? I heard the South American tour was an unparalleled huge success… (The four of them say things like, “Oh yeah, it was amazing,” and get riled up.) John: The fans were amazing. And of course, we had lots of fun. I’ve heard other bands go to South America, too, but apparently they only play small halls and clubs. I’m pretty sure The Police went to Brazil, but our large-scale rock concert was the first of its kind. Brian: Yeah, it was really wonderful. The level of excitement was like when we first came to Japan. Freddie: It was our first performance in Brazil, and the people of Brazil didn’t really know what kind of band we were, so it seemed like for everything, no one really knew what to do. Roger: And that was a fresh sense of shock. Freddie: (Nodding) It’s true that it was really one of the biggest events we’d had in our tours. It was truly wonderful, and even we were unexpectedly surprised. Even if we do our regular routine, how they feel it in their bodies is a completely new thing. There are no rules about how to feel our music, so their reactions were totally natural. ML: I heard that when you had your press conference, 3000 people showed up uninvited. John: That’s right (laughs). We couldn’t move at all. ML: Apparently the audience was quite crazy in Mexico. Roger: It was a terrible time!! (laughs) I wonder how many people threw shoes at us? John: I got hit by shoes twice. I thought people wouldn’t be able to find their shoes with them all being separated, but the pairs were tied together by the shoestrings!! (Everyone bursts out laughing. John also laughs out loud.) Brian: Aside from shoes, there was also tequila and lots of other things that came flying at us. Everyone was drunk. Mexicans are really something when they get excited. Well, it was a good experience. ML: Have you ever had a frightening experience while on stage? Roger: Not me. Because I’m busy with the drums (laughs). Freddie: I try not to think about anything. If you were to think about things like that, you would never be able to finish the job on stage. After all, there’s a big chance that an accident could occur. Just knowing that there are fights and arguments in the audience, and when the police appear, I can’t help but suddenly feel anxious. Roger: I heard that there was recently some trouble at a concert for a Japanese idol singer, but is that true? (He is referring to the Shibugakitai concert in Toyohashi.) ML: There was only one entrance, and the fans rushed their way in. Freddie: That reminds me, on our first show at the Budokan on our first Japanese tour, people rushed the front of the stage, and it was quite the scene. Brian: Yeah, at that show we felt fearful, didn’t we. ML: Yes, that was really something. It was a mob of people. However, I think the fans in Japan have matured quite a bit. Brian: I think so too. I think the fans learned some self-control. Every time we come to Japan, it’s a big shock -- of course, in a good way. Roger: Yeah, I think we’re starting to be understood musically more. (The same photo was used for this article.) --- We challenged ourselves with Hot Space ---
ML: By the way, I wanted to ask about your latest album, Hot Space. Lots of fans were surprised by that album. Brian: That was the case in America, too. But what I’d like to say is that we’re always working towards changing in a progressive way. I don’t know how many people were shocked, but even if people start hating us when our sound changes, I don’t especially mind. It’s all an experience. Roger: (Nodding) There will always be conservative fans. I wonder if fans don’t want our sound to change? Freddie: I could imagine that fans would hear Hot Space and be surprised. But, personally, I think the album was well done. We’ve been active as Queen for 10 years now. And we felt that maybe it was time to go in a different direction, musically. We’ve always fought hard to do what we want to do. I personally think that’s a very wonderful thing. It might be possible to stay on top by always making the same kind of music. But, the music we want to do keeps rising up to the surface, again and again. And so, we tried it out extensively. We don’t know exactly how this new venture will be accepted, but we challenged ourselves. Of course, I’m glad we did it. We always aimed to do this kind of thing, and we did it. John: I don’t like it at all! (Everyone laughs out loud) No, I’m just joking; this was a good album made by exchanging lots of ideas between four distinct personalities as the members of the band Queen. Freddie: If people establish their thoughts on a certain group’s music, they can’t accept it when the sound changes later on. People who have known us since the beginning might think, “Queen is doing this kind of thing?!” but people who only know about present-day Queen will think without being picky, “So this is Queen,” and accept it. Up until now, in the music market, most people knew about our kind of musicianship, so if we released an album and said, “This is Queen,” people would eventually accept it, but this time the circumstances are completely different. But in terms of always trying out new things, we’re totally satisfied. We would never record a sound or music we don’t like. We share our thoughts with each other over and over until we come up with the best songs. ML: Who came up with the idea for Hot Space? Brian: It was basically John and Freddie, I guess. They both like R&B. John: Of course, I put forward ideas, too, but that’s not all of it, not at all. I do have a strong interest in how a song starts off and the melody of the vocals, though. Roger: Ideas naturally developed once we went into the studio. ML: The album cover has a quite bold choice in colours. Was there some sort of meaning to this? Freddie: I designed that. I also drew everyone’s faces. I wanted a “hot” image and went with primary colours. Roger: It’s fine with simple colours. I don’t like it very much, though. (Everyone laughs) (The band members' autographs were reproduced on the first page of the article, along with a hand-written message, "to Music Life") --- What, break up!? That’s unlikely for Queen! ---
ML: By the way, you’ve reached 10 years as Queen. It must have been tough to preserve the group for 10 years. Honestly, have you ever been close to breaking up? Freddie and Roger: Absolutely not!! (They immediately answer) Brian: I’m always thinking about it. (Everyone bursts out laughing. The other three say, “Hey, come on now…”) Freddie: It’s true that about 5 years after the group started, we hit a lot of walls and it made us think about a lot of things, but when you overcome those times, you begin to see the members as a part of your family. Maybe it’ll get easier from now. Brian: Yeah. Recently, we’ve often been asked how we’ve been able to carry on so long with the four of us, but I think that we know how to work with each other and how to make each other feel satisfied, and with that combination, I think we’re able to find a good path moving forward. ML: Lately, bands like The Eagles, the Doobie Brothers, and The Who have broken up…. John: What?! The Who split up!? You’re joking, right? I don’t believe it. It has to be a lie. I’ll bet you 1000 yen. ML: But the other day, they played a farewell concert at Shea Stadium in New York. John: No way… I met Pete Townshend not too long ago -- it has to be a joke that they’ve split up. They’ll probably suddenly start up again. Brian: Well, The Who’s story notwithstanding, The Doobie Brothers and The Eagles breaking up may mean it’s a period in the cycle. Maybe it’s the end of groups that make it big. Bands always make music, stay the course, and then break apart…. But we’re working hard to stay unified. Roger: Rather than just playing, it’s a matter of how long you can keep the group going, how much you can preserve everyone’s role… those are the things that are important. As for disbanding, it’s unthinkable for us. We also don't want to change members. There are bands that change members frequently, but personally I find it really disappointing. If you change members, the group’s sound changes, as well as the live shows. I wonder why they can’t unify as one unit? I think it's really foolish. For example, take Ritchie Blackmore -- it makes me wonder how many careers have gone through his band. If you keep changing band members over and over like that, you couldn’t create a great band, ever. You’d have a different image every time, too, while trying to build a fanbase. --- There are still many things we want to do ---
ML: Do you ever feel a sense of isolation from being a great band? Brian: Umm… not really, no. Right from the beginning, I didn’t have many friends in the rock scene. Of course I do have close friends, though. I’m not a very sociable person. So, sometimes I feel very strange. It feels like I’ve been detached so much that I feel like I’ve aged significantly. Eddie Van Halen was telling me -- he’s always in search of something new -- during past periods of glory, he would think, “What’s going to happen to me now?” I totally understand how he feels. Anyway, the important thing is to not forget the heart you had at the beginning. Freddie: There are times when I don’t feel anything, even after I have everything I want. What this means exactly, I’m not sure myself. But I don’t think I have everything. There are still things I want to do, and I don’t think everything is finished. After recording with David Bowie, I feel like I want to record with other artists. Probably in January of next year (1983), I’ll record with Michael Jackson. Also, I’m writing a song for Donna Summer now. I think it’ll be a really good one. ML: Regarding song writing, I feel like there were more motifs of myths and fantasy with your earlier lyrics. These days, I feel they’re more grounded in reality. Brian: Naturally, I think the lyrics change along with the style of music. Freddie: Also, I always work hard to make songs that are different from my past work. It’s not going to be songs like Bohemian Rhapsody forever. It’s not like I need to venture to the foot of the mountain to write a song, anyway. I have never carefully thought, “I have to write a song,” not even once. If I sit in front of the piano, I get inspired. ML: Queen has a soundtrack album, a Greatest Hits, a successful South American tour, and just about everything that you can think of when it comes to rock bands. What do you want to do next? Brian: Having accomplished everything as Queen, it’s difficult to think of other realms. We can’t do the same thing. Rather than redoing the same thing, I’d like to take time off to have time to think. I want to expand new horizons, and there are lots of things I don’t know. More concretely speaking, I want to go to China and the Soviet Union. Also, like we did with Under Pressure, I’d like to work with people outside the group. Someone that each member would be satisfied with. Roger: That’s right, it’s essential to have time to relax. I think we’re at a turning point after 10 years as Queen. ML: Are you going on an extended break after your Japan tour? Freddie: Yeah, that’s the plan. I think it’s necessary to have a pause at the 10-year mark. Personally, I want time to think thoroughly. Up until now, we’ve been thrown around by time, and it was hard every day. I want to take it easy writing songs without worrying about time. John: I guess we’ll go on a break for around 6-8 months? We don’t have plans to record during that time, but if we feel like the time has come to start recording, we might do it. Roger: I have plans to record my second solo album during the off time. John: I can’t do solo albums because I can’t sing (laughs). ML: Thank you very much for today. (This photo was used on the first page of the article.) [The end]
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georg
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Post by georg on Nov 7, 2021 3:21:42 GMT
Great translation and interview! Wonder if John ever ponied up the thousand yen…
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deathtoming
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Post by deathtoming on Nov 20, 2021 21:44:54 GMT
Brian May Young Guitar magazine - July 1986 issue By Tak Yonemochi (phone interview mid-March, 1986) Original text in Japanese; translation to English by me
Young Guitar (YG): While “Highlander” is a soundtrack album, is it appropriate to see it as a new album after The Works?
Brian: Ah, wait a second. I’d like to start off by saying that our plans changed quite a bit, and that we’re releasing it as a new album, not a soundtrack album. That said, several of the songs were used in the movie. So, its character is that of a Queen album, and I think the title will be something else, not “Highlander.” There are six songs that were used in the movie, but each one only had parts of it used. On the album, they are complete. Also, there are three songs that weren’t used in the movie. So, I don’t know yet what the album is going to be called, but it’s not a soundtrack album. (Note: The title was confirmed to be “A Kind of Magic” later on.)
YG: Oh, I see. So it’s not what we were told.
Brian: Things changed at the very last minute. The seriousness of it wasn’t noticed until it was completed. I think you’ll like it. It has the juiciest bits from the movie, and a lot of other other things, too.
YG: I see, so it changed quite a bit?
Brian: Yeah. We spent around 3 months putting everything into it. The parts that were used in the movie were done over 2 months ago, and after that we played around with all of the parts until completely different things emerged, and it came to be that we had a new album and not a soundtrack. And that’s when we changed our plans.
YG: Are there plans to include One Vision from the Iron Eagle soundtrack?
Brian: It’s on the album, but it’s a different version from the one on Iron Eagle. It also differs from the single version.
YG: So, that means there are three versions?
Brian: That’s right. At least three!
YG: And with A Kind of Magic, there’s a 7”, a 12”, and also an album version?
Brian: It’s quite different from the movie version. When Freddie heard it for the first time, he said he wanted to completely change it. And so he revised the structure and lyrics and such, and it turned into a group project of sorts. It became a single around most of the world, but the movie was already released in the US only, so Princes of the Universe was released as a single there.
YG: I think One Vision has elements of both heavy rock and modern sounds, and they blend together extremely well.
Brian: That’s good. Thank you very much. I like that song a lot, too. But the album features an even heavier song than that. The song Gimme the Prize might be our heaviest ever. It’s so heavy that some band members wondered if we should go that far… although we did end up including it (laughs). Also, Roger’s Don’t Lose Your Head is also quite heavy. But that’s just one aspect of us. On this album, we have romantic parts, very light parts, and powerful songs, so we have quite a broad range. Actually, I just heard the finished tape yesterday, and it’s like, “This is really one band!?” and I couldn’t believe it. It was as if it was 3 or 4 groups, each with their own ideas.
YG: So, the sound variation is quite broad?
Brian: Yeah, and I think that can be a very good thing at times. It makes good use of the group. But, it can also cause confusion, too. It can backfire in that way.
YG: One Vision is credited to the whole group; can you go into some detail about that?
Brian: That one came about unusually. We had a jam session in the studio without knowing what the end result would be. We do that sometimes, go into the studio and see what comes from it… and we stuck 2 or 3 ideas together. I played around with a riff I liked, that riff from the start. And then Roger came up with the lyrics and title, and Freddie with the idea for the melody. And in a rare occurrence, it all fit together perfectly. After that the four of us worked on it to make one song. It’s an extremely rare thing.
YG: So everyone’s parts fit perfectly together?
Brian: Yeah. Usually each of us have totally different ideas (laughs).
YG: Did you improvise the guitars in One Vision?
Brian: That’s a song where, if you wanted to, you could change it any way you wanted. I recorded around four versions of the same guitar part. If you were to remix it, I think you could come up with countless new versions. I tried my best to come up with a phrase that wouldn’t go against the flow of the song itself. I’ll bet you could make that song into a completely guitar-only song if you wanted. Although, it would end up being a meaningless song. I guess you could say it was improvised… there’s a bit of harmony work, but it was put in while the song was in development.
YG: There’s a familiar-sounding guitar solo in the song A Kind of Magic, isn’t there?
Brian: (laughs) Well, I guess it’s like a trademark that I’ve been using for a long time. The guitars were on two tracks, and it goes here and there and it’s like a conversation. I’ve enjoyed doing that sort of thing for a while now. When we make an album, I like it when you only hear what’s on the surface the first time you hear it, and then you start hearing other things after repeated listens. I think there are things you can only hear with headphones with this album. It’s important to have little parts that build the atmosphere. Live performances are temporary, but albums last forever. We can’t have albums that get boring quickly.
YG: Hearing the guitars on this album, I thought it was straight and simple like your previous guitar solos, and I thought it was great.
Brian: Thank you! That’s what I like these days.
YG: Can you tell us more about the contents of the album?
Brian: If we start with the songs from the movie… First of all, there’s Princes of the Universe, which Freddie wrote as a title song. This changed quite a bit. The one used in the movie is about 2 minutes, but the album version is around 4 minutes, and it’s as if lots of things were mixed in. I think it’s very close to One Vision. Heavy parts and modern-sounding parts were skillfully blended together, just like you said. I’m quite happy with it and I think it was well done.
There’s a song called Who Wants to Live Forever that I wrote, and it’s used for a romantic scene in the movie. The hero in the movie is immortal, and keeps falling in love with women, one after another because they keep dying and he has to fall in love with the next woman in his life. It’s quite tragic. In the movie it ends up being used like background music, so there’s no real opportunity for it. That’s why it was totally remade and the album version is complete. A fellow named Michael Kamen did the orchestral music for the movie, and I had him do the orchestral arrangement for this song. It was the first time using an orchestra for our album, but I’m very satisfied with the results.
A Kind of Magic is a song used for the end credits, but we completely redid it. The movie version is a bit like a single-play record, but the album version is, maybe you could say, danceable… It has a bit of a feel like Radio Ga Ga.
One Year of Love is a song by John, and this came about from the movie. Only a few bars of it are used in the movie, but in the album, it’s a romantic, mid-tempo ballad.
Then there’s Gimme the Prize, which we’ve already talked about. It’s the theme song for the villain, called Kurgan. He busts stuff up, attacks women, and is an awful guy! That’s why we made it a heavy song.
Next, Don’t Lose Your Head. In the movie, it’s barely used so you might miss it, as brief background music for a car chase scene. Joan Armatrading’s voice is featured but only a few words are used.
Friends Will Be Friends is not used in the movie, and it’s a song that Freddie wrote with a bit of help from John, and it’s a sing-along song like We Are the Champions. There’s a lot of old Queen in there.
Pain is So Close to Pleasure is a song by John and a very motown-sounding song. Finally there’s One Vision, and like I’ve already said, it’s different from the Iron Eagle version.
YG: New arrangements, the orchestra… you’ve done quite a bit.
Brian: That’s right. I think it’s a very colourful album.
YG: How does this compare with the first time you got involved with a movie soundtrack with Flash Gordon?
Brian: How do I put it, Flash Gordon was very different. There wasn’t a precedent of a rock band doing that kind of work. It truly felt like we were breaking new ground… we didn’t have much time to work on it, and that was a particularly unsatisfying feeling. If we had more time to work on it, there are several parts that could have been done better.
This time around was better with respect to that. We were able to spend 3-4 months, and I think our music and the orchestral stuff blended very well. The degree of completion was high, too. I think it’d be a good idea to release a separate soundtrack album, too. For example, by putting together all the orchestra work.
YG: Interesting. What are the chances you’ll work on another soundtrack in the future?
Brian: If we like the project. It’s not like we have a policy, or a necessity to do work like that, so we’ll just do it if we feel like doing it at that time. We’re always making decisions on our own.
YG: Who’s the producer?
Brian: It was mostly us. We got Mack to do some parts, as a co-producer and engineer. Also, we also have David Richards as an engineer. He’s an engineer at a studio in Montreux, and he did most of the work to synchronize with the movie. I think it worked out well.
YG: Can you please tell us more about Mack? Was he the engineer?
Brian: No, it’s more correct to call him a producer. He has produced Billy Squier’s big hits, and he has also worked with Electric Light Orchestra for a number of years. He was originally an engineer that spent many years in the lower ranks in Germany, and he is extremely talented.
YG: Was the recording process similar to that of the previous album, The Works?
Brian: It’s always changing up as we go along, and this time we had a slightly different approach. Before, it was like, one person would do stuff and then when they were done, the next person would do stuff… Now, we think that we’re the most creative when the four of us are in the studio, so we work together as much as possible… this way, we can address any problems during the flow of our work. This method also allows us to avoid conflicting opinions during the mixing process. Now, everyone’s involved in something, and I think it’s a very good state of affairs. In the past, it’s as if we spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the studio, and that just doesn’t last. I wouldn’t say we have idle time, but now we don’t do those kinds of things with no principles.
YG: By the way, do you still practise the guitar?
Brian: No, I don’t practise much because I play almost daily. If I’m not in the studio, I’m performing somewhere. I wouldn’t say it’s good that I don’t practice, though. But my life is full of other things now, so I don’t have time to sit by myself and play the guitar. If anything, it looks like having some paper and a pencil is better. Or, maybe something like a Walkman. I get better ideas when writing songs and singing with those items. When I’m playing around with the same instrument for so long, I can’t help but fall back into the same old patterns.
YG: What kind of guitar music are you listening to these days? Maybe some jazz…?
Brian: I don’t like jazz very much, although there was a time when I was into very basic jazz. You’ll hear that influence on A Night at the Opera. Basically I like exciting guitar music. I love the kind of stuff Eddie Van Halen is doing. He’s my favourite guitar player now. But, as always, I listen to a lot of things, like young heavy metal bands. Also, I like people like Jeff Beck, who take risks and bluntly and rudely perform (laughs). I like people who speak with their guitar.
YG: I have to take this opportunity to ask, but is your guitar the well-known…
Brian: I know what you want to ask right away (laughs). Of course I’m using the hand-made guitar… I’ve had it for 20 years already. I have the two pickups closest to the bridge in phase.
YG: What about effects and the amp?
Brian: I use a chorus machine, and partially a tape recorder for a phasing effect. My main amp is the VOX AC30, but I also use a Gallien-Krueger that was given to me. It’s small but it’s a very good amp for producing a particular tone.
YG: Do you still use Guild’s Brian May model?
Brian: Of course I still use it. I used it in a few different parts on the album. There’s one really good one I have, and I like the sustain on that one in particular.
YG: By the way, what do you think about producing other artists?
Brian: I’m not thinking about it now. I did do it once, and the business side of things wasn’t interesting, but it was very good creatively. I might think about it if an opportunity presents itself, though.
YG: What about a good artist or album you’ve come across recently…?
Brian: Let me see… I like The Bangles' album. It’s pop but it’s very good. Also, I heard bits of Van Halen’s new album (5150), and it’s excellent as always. It’s one of the best albums. I don’t think it has been released yet, though.
YG: What do you think about Roger and Freddie’s solo albums?
Brian: I think they both did a good job. I think they explored areas they couldn’t do with Queen. Solo albums are essential to do things you can’t do with Queen. They both did well.
[end of article]
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Arnaldo Ogre-
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Post by Arnaldo Ogre- on Nov 20, 2021 23:48:33 GMT
Thank you so very much! I really appreciate your efforts.
Cheers,
Ogre-
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Post by Doughnut on Dec 29, 2021 19:57:20 GMT
Thank you , it’s so nice to be able to read the ML interviews
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deathtoming
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Post by deathtoming on Jan 2, 2022 0:58:33 GMT
Brian May - "I'm always aiming for something better" Queen The Miracle (special edition of Music Life from April 1981, to commemorate their Japanese tour) Interview and article by Setsuo Saitoh [Original text in Japanese; translation to English by me]
Music Life (ML): Did you use any new equipment for the most recent recording sessions?
Brian: I guess just the synthesizer (Oberheim OB-X)? The amp and guitar are the same as always.
ML: You use the Telecaster and Stratocaster in the music videos for Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Play the Game. Did you use them in the studio and on stage?
Brian: For Play the Game, I only used that Strat when filming the video. It was a cheap copy, not a Fender Strat. Because I was miming and trying lots of different actions, and I don’t want to use my precious hand-made guitar for times like that, that’s why I had them bring a cheap copy.
As for Crazy Little Thing Called Love, for both the studio and the stage, it’s the same Fender Telecaster as the one in the video. It’s the only time I didn’t use the hand-made guitar on The Game.
ML: Did you get a Telecaster just to record that song?
Brian: No, no, I like the look of the Telecaster, so I had it from before. But I never had a chance to use it, and fundamentally, I don’t particularly like the sound of the Telecaster. The reason why I used it on that song is because the recording engineer suggested the idea of using it. And it’s true, the Tele was the most suitable choice for that rockabilly-type performance. So, I used the Telecaster like the backing guitarist for Elvis Presley.
ML: Do you have any interest in using anything other than the Vox amp for your hand-made guitar?
Brian: Yeah, I’m trying a lot of things. But for my guitar playing style and the ideas I have for the guitar sounds, my hand-made guitar is the best at expressing them, and the amp that pairs best with the guitar is the Vox.
I couldn’t use my hand-made guitar or Vox amp when we were doing the basic tracks for Flash Gordon due to some unfavourable circumstances. I used Roger’s Schecter for the guitar parts. But, not surprisingly, I didn’t like those basic tracks. And, in the end, days later I overdubbed all the guitar parts with my hand-made guitar and Vox amp.
ML: During Queen recording sessions, how often do you overdub the lead vocals, guitar solos, orchestral guitars, and choruses?
Brian: It depends on what kind of effect we’re trying to achieve, but at most, three layers for one part. That said, that’s for the orchestral guitars and choruses, and for the lead vocals and guitar solos, it’s only one track. One exception is You Take My Breath Away, which had triple tracking for Freddie’s lead vocals, but that’s because we wanted a solo vocal that could hold its own against the chorus parts.
Generally speaking, there’s not much of an effect to multitracking each part. I think double tracking is effective, and with triple tracking you get a bit more depth, which I think is good, but multitracking beyond that is just wasteful.
ML: Many Japanese professional musicians and recording engineers say that the key to Queen’s sound is overdubbing, though.
Brian: The key point when recording is the mic arrangement. It can bring out the intensity of each instrument, and rather than using multitracking to achieve that effect, it’s more important to work out the placement of the mics.
It’s like magic to hear the difference in recordings with different mic arrangements. Just 1/8th of an inch difference in the distance, or just a slight change in the angle in relation to the amp or the drums, and you get a difference in sound. Now each of us in Queen have mostly mastered how to choose mics and how to arrange them, but it’s a difficult thing for sure.
ML: Putting aside recording for now, how do you use effects such as harmonizers and echos?
Brian: Regarding harmonizers, I don’t use them. Or rather, I think it’s an effect I can’t use. Apparently a lot of people are using them these days, but it only makes noise. It can’t be used at all to make music. Echos are of course important, and I use it in various ways. I mentioned this before, but the key to Queen’s sound is the echo effect. It comes second to miking, though.
So, to get better sound, you start with perfect miking, and it’s absolutely essential for a better basic sound when recording. If the basic sound isn’t good, no matter how much you use EQ, echos, or other effects, you can’t get a better sound.
ML: There are some people who think the hand claps in Another One Bites the Dust had the pitch lowered with a harmonizer.
Brian: No, that’s not just the sound of hand claps, it’s mixed with the sound of hitting a desk. It was John’s idea.
ML: How did you create the sound effects in the middle of Get Down Make Love?
Brian: For that, I used the harmonizer, which is only good for making noise, and used it in a tricky way. I did it as a joke. I called it a harmonizer, but mine was specially made, and totally different from off-the-shelf models made by Eventide and others. I can use pedal controls to freely change the pitch, like a volume pedal. I used that, plus an echo machine, phaser and such and made those sound effects.
One more thing, there was an important incident with those sound effects. When Freddie did those shouts, they were accidentally picked up by my guitar’s pickups. And, I was using that pedal harmonizer I just mentioned, so there was truly unique modulation there. It was certainly a lucky turn of events.
ML: The orchestral guitar in In Only Seven Days has a very long sustain – did you use a compressor, Ebow, or some other effect?
Brian: No, when I want a long sustain for that song or any other song, I mostly use John’s built-in type old amp. I don’t use things like compressors or limiters to get a long sustain on the guitar. I used the Ebow for recording and on stage up until about 2 years ago, but I’m bored of it now.
Speaking of guitar effect accessories, most of them are really for simple effects. But no matter how much we talk about effects, I want it to be about the instrument. But all these effect accessories keep getting used when they’re released, and then they get boring. Just like the Ebow. I want to see more instrument-like things we won’t get bored of, like the wah pedal and echo machines
ML: Is there an origin to the distinctive orchestral guitar Brian May style?
Brian: Do you know Hi Ho Silver Lining by Jeff Beck, from over 10 years ago? That’s it. The guitar solo is mostly double tracking of the unison bend, and it could be unintentional, but there’s a wonderful harmonizing you can hear in one part. I’ve been interested in guitar harmonies ever since I heard that. Jeff Beck probably thought of multracking after hearing a Les Paul record, though.
The key point to creating a better orchestral guitar is how you harmonize. Earlier I talked about multitracking one part, but rather than multitracking layer after layer, it’s more important to consider how to harmonize them. I record several parts to harmonize, and look for the parts that harmonize best among them.
ML: Lastly, on Save Me for example, the guitar orchestration on The Game sounds rougher than before, or should I say laid back – was this done consciously?
Brian: That’s right. Before, I was looking for perfection, but from around News of the World onwards, I came to emphasize spontaneity. The guitar playing on The Game is surely spontaneous. For the guitar solos, too, I don’t prepare the structure very much. When it comes to making sounds or selecting songs when making albums, I’ve come to not be very conscious of totality and such things.
ML: Thank you very much.
[end of article] Also in this issue, it was mentioned in a photo caption that Brian used a "regular, medium-sized pick" on this Japanese tour instead of the coin.
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Post by georg on Jan 2, 2022 13:13:18 GMT
Great stuff as always! Very interesting that Brian had to use Roger’s Schecter for basic tracks of Flash Gordon, but that he replaced them with his own guitar later. Wonder what the “unfortunate circumstances” were…
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Post by deathtoming on Jan 2, 2022 17:55:56 GMT
Great stuff as always! Very interesting that Brian had to use Roger’s Schecter for basic tracks of Flash Gordon, but that he replaced them with his own guitar later. Wonder what the “unfortunate circumstances” were… Thanks! Those Schecter tracks are probably in Brian's archives somewhere. Probably a lesser treasure compared with what else could be there, but still, it's one more thing I hope to hear one day. I was going to fix the wording of the vague "unfortunate circumstances" but forgot to. I think "unfavourable circumstances" is a bit more accurate as the Japanese words used imply something like inconvenient timing, scheduling conflicts, or something minor along those lines.
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Post by georg on Jan 2, 2022 21:08:57 GMT
Great stuff as always! Very interesting that Brian had to use Roger’s Schecter for basic tracks of Flash Gordon, but that he replaced them with his own guitar later. Wonder what the “unfortunate circumstances” were… Thanks! Those Schecter tracks are probably in Brian's archives somewhere. Probably a lesser treasure compared with what else could be there, but still, it's one more thing I hope to hear one day. I was going to fix the wording of the vague "unfortunate circumstances" but forgot to. I think "unfavourable circumstances" is a bit more accurate as the Japanese words used imply something like inconvenient timing, scheduling conflicts, or something minor along those lines. Interesting! I know that Brian said somewhere that his guitar wasn’t available to record The Hero, but he insinuated that was towards the end of the sessions. I wonder if it was because they were recording in so many different studios between so many different legs of tours that his guitar wasn’t available?
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 14, 2022 3:41:06 GMT
I couldn’t use my hand-made guitar or Vox amp when we were doing the basic tracks for Flash Gordon due to some unfavourable circumstances. I used Roger’s Schecter for the guitar parts. But, not surprisingly, I didn’t like those basic tracks. And, in the end, days later I overdubbed all the guitar parts with my hand-made guitar and Vox amp. I bet the same goes for the glorious final solo in The Hero too. In recent years Brian has said that he used another guitar for bit, but maybe he's forgotten that he re-did it with the Red Special later as well.
I know he sounds like Brian no matter what guitar he's playing, but I've had such a hard time accepting that it wasn't the Red Special - and this supports my case !!
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 14, 2022 3:46:44 GMT
Thanks! Those Schecter tracks are probably in Brian's archives somewhere. Probably a lesser treasure compared with what else could be there, but still, it's one more thing I hope to hear one day. I was going to fix the wording of the vague "unfortunate circumstances" but forgot to. I think "unfavourable circumstances" is a bit more accurate as the Japanese words used imply something like inconvenient timing, scheduling conflicts, or something minor along those lines. Interesting! I know that Brian said somewhere that his guitar wasn’t available to record The Hero, but he insinuated that was towards the end of the sessions. I wonder if it was because they were recording in so many different studios between so many different legs of tours that his guitar wasn’t available? Bingo. They were doing The Game at Musicland in Munich at the same time, so he had to improvise for the Flash Gordon stuff with the tools he had available and patched everything up later.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 4:39:45 GMT
Just catching up with this thread now ! Some notable (and sometimes emotive) snippets in the April '79 one: As for ballet, I like the Bolshoi Ballet company. I also think Mikhail Baryshnikov is a wonderful dancer. ML: Speaking of Baryshnikov, did you see him in the film The Turning Point? Freddie: I did. It was wonderful, wasn’t it? (He smiles) And just a few months later his dream of being someone like Baryshnikov came true for one day. A revealing snapshot of him in transition from being a dedicated artist to insisting his songs were disposable. Interesting. Within a few years he'd be claiming the opposite, that music came easily and lyrics were the last thing to be finished. It's a shame that he became someone who said he doesn't read, because it's "boring." Art school clearly did him well. Understatement. Amazing to see him admit even that much. Brian May went much further a couple decades later: "Freddie's stuff was so heavily cloaked, lyrically. But you could find out, just from little insights, that a lot of his private thoughts were in there, although a lot of the more meaningful stuff was not very accessible. Lily Of The Valley was utterly heartfelt. It's about looking at his girlfriend and realising that his body needed to be somewhere else." That too. By the '80s he didn't have much good to say about any of his bandmates. He really changed a lot in just a few years. And that's about as real as Mercury would ever get with a stranger. Wow. I can see why he wanted to escape everything and just have fun. But it had its consequences. Thanks for transcribing this ! A very valuable piece.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 6:23:28 GMT
While we are dawdling around, taking a long time to sort our belongings, someone kindly pours soup into our soup bowl. I look up to say thanks, and see that it’s Brian himself. This man is truly like a modern day Christ-like person, and is so kind that he’s always making sure everyone is satisfied. “He is always nice to everyone. He is truly a kind person,” Barbara would tell us later. This is gorgeous - all of it. What excellent, insightful music journalism. And this is downright hilarious.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 6:44:16 GMT
There was a time when every time we’d go on tour, I’d get terribly homesick, and the suffering was unbearable. Luckily, we haven’t done long tours these past 2-3 years, so I’ve been home longer, and now conversely, I’m itching to go on tour. The human condition - the grass being greener on the other side and wanting what one can't have. Nobody is immune. Never knew that. Nor that. That sure explains a lot about him, actually. There goes the theory that John and Freddie were closest in the '80s... whoever came up with that based on the fact that they collaborated on a couple songs. But of course what's far more interesting is what isn't being said. But then of course he says it anyway. Bless him.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 7:01:33 GMT
Spike: I started working with Queen three years ago as their keyboard player, and have been working with Roger on his solo work since the start. Really ? He isn't credited on Fun in Space or Strange Frontier.
Someone should ask him about this.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 20:20:41 GMT
Crystal: I went to the Monaco F1 with Status Quo’s Rick Parfitt and Roger. But we were arrested on the first night and thrown in jail!! You may not believe me, but we really hadn’t done anything!! Then, we were released the next morning at 6 am. It was a completely new experience (strained laughter). Also, we would often go skiing in Scotland, and at the bar there were a bunch of people having a good time that didn’t know who Roger was. They asked us what we did for a living, and we told them we were vacuum cleaner salesmen. They believed us for sure, haha. RT: Haha. Please tell us any stories that make you laugh when you think about them. Crystal: There are too many that I can’t answer. It makes me laugh just thinking about all the things we got up to together. We were really like high school students you couldn’t control. I can only imagine the ones he can't tell. Half of a tech's job is to be a tech, and the other half is to shut up. If those walls could talk. As he should be ! The job of a tech is such a thankless job - you have to be prepared for the possibility of fixing literally anything that can go wrong. And when you do a show enough times, pretty well everything will go wrong at some point. When you're playing arenas and stadiums, you need the best of the best on your team. And this goes for most touring musicians too - until they're rich enough to afford techs, they have to take of everything while simultaneously being a performer. It's a huge part of the job that most people just don't notice, along with maintaining your gear the same way you maintain a car.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 21:20:49 GMT
RT: For the 1981 The Game tour in Montreal, during Get Down Make Love, there is video footage of the 12” single head tom missing. Was there a tear or some sort of problem? If you remember, please tell us. Crystal: If something that should have been there wasn’t, then the head probably died. So, I think it was removed and replaced. Man, you’re looking carefully, haha! [Get Down Make Love cued up at 1m 52s; two drums are clearly visible above the bass drum when there should be three. There is a mic pointed at the empty space. Skip ahead to 4m 08s and you’ll see the third drum is back.] Of course he's not going to remember those kinds of specifics, but he's definitely right. That's a good spot in the show to solve the problem, as the crowd can't see you - but it must've been tricky for him in the dark ! I love that you're finding all the appropriate photos and video footage to accompany the notes - even the square bass drum beater in the One Vision footage. Tantalizing. Beautiful. I love stories like this. Can't blame him for feeling that way - he was there. But the Hollywood machine is what it is. What a great answer. I bet he'd be a fun hang. Old crew guys so often speak a language of their own - they saw so much of what life could offer.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 22:08:02 GMT
ML: By the way, I heard that there weren’t that many songs from Hot Space at the Detroit show… Brian: What!? Really? I think we played more than usual in Detroit… Roger: Under Pressure, Body Language, Action this Day, Calling All Girls, those four songs, I think it was Impressive that he rhymed that off so quickly, as they'd played another 20+ gigs since then. Real talk. Without question these guys felt far more comfortable with journalists in Japan than anywhere else (with the possible exception of David Wigg in the UK). Of course they're always cognizant of their PR, but this is still a pretty honest take on the situation. There wasn't that much acrimony - after a solid of decade of work they simply needed a break, nothing less, nothing more.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 22:40:28 GMT
YG: Was the recording process similar to that of the previous album, The Works? Brian: It’s always changing up as we go along, and this time we had a slightly different approach. Before, it was like, one person would do stuff and then when they were done, the next person would do stuff… Now, we think that we’re the most creative when the four of us are in the studio, so we work together as much as possible… this way, we can address any problems during the flow of our work. This method also allows us to avoid conflicting opinions during the mixing process. Now, everyone’s involved in something, and I think it’s a very good state of affairs. A very diplomatic answer. It had hit a point where Mercury wasn't showing up to the mixing sessions for his own songs, but everything changed for the better after Live Aid. It was a second lease on life, and they were stronger as a unit from then onward.
Thoroughly enjoying these retro interviews. Thanks for transcribing them - they're as good as gold.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 15, 2022 23:43:51 GMT
Brian: The key point when recording is the mic arrangement. It can bring out the intensity of each instrument, and rather than using multitracking to achieve that effect, it’s more important to work out the placement of the mics. It’s like magic to hear the difference in recordings with different mic arrangements. Just 1/8th of an inch difference in the distance, or just a slight change in the angle in relation to the amp or the drums, and you get a difference in sound. Now each of us in Queen have mostly mastered how to choose mics and how to arrange them, but it’s a difficult thing for sure. ML: Putting aside recording for now, how do you use effects such as harmonizers and echos? Brian: Regarding harmonizers, I don’t use them. Or rather, I think it’s an effect I can’t use. Apparently a lot of people are using them these days, but it only makes noise. It can’t be used at all to make music. Echos are of course important, and I use it in various ways. I mentioned this before, but the key to Queen’s sound is the echo effect. It comes second to miking, though. So, to get better sound, you start with perfect miking, and it’s absolutely essential for a better basic sound when recording. If the basic sound isn’t good, no matter how much you use EQ, echos, or other effects, you can’t get a better sound. This is hugely insightful.
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deathtoming
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Post by deathtoming on Jan 16, 2022 3:08:09 GMT
Amazing to see him admit even that much. Brian May went much further a couple decades later: "Freddie's stuff was so heavily cloaked, lyrically. But you could find out, just from little insights, that a lot of his private thoughts were in there, although a lot of the more meaningful stuff was not very accessible. Lily Of The Valley was utterly heartfelt. It's about looking at his girlfriend and realising that his body needed to be somewhere else." Thanks for making that connection. The fact that Freddie went out of his way to bring up how that song was about himself, and Brian's explanation years later... there must be much more behind that song than I realized. It seems strange for Brian to give that explanation, because I just can't picture Freddie talking to Brian about it. Of course when you're together for that long I'm sure you talk about a lot of things, but it still doesn't seem like the kind of thing Freddie would open up to Brian about.
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deathtoming
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Post by deathtoming on Jan 16, 2022 3:14:19 GMT
Spike: I started working with Queen three years ago as their keyboard player, and have been working with Roger on his solo work since the start. Really ? He isn't credited on Fun in Space or Strange Frontier.
Someone should ask him about this. Yeah, that caught my eye, too. I figured that Spike meant he has been involved with The Cross work since the beginning. It could even be the case that he said "this solo work" but was misheard as "his solo work" when the interviewers listened to the tapes.
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deathtoming
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Post by deathtoming on Jan 16, 2022 3:33:55 GMT
[Get Down Make Love cued up at 1m 52s; two drums are clearly visible above the bass drum when there should be three. There is a mic pointed at the empty space. Skip ahead to 4m 08s and you’ll see the third drum is back.] Of course he's not going to remember those kinds of specifics, but he's definitely right. That's a good spot in the show to solve the problem, as the crowd can't see you - but it must've been tricky for him in the dark ! Well, after I pointed out the return of the missing drum, I realized that it also could have been footage from the other night. Still, neat to see the missing drum, as I had never noticed until I read the interview. I really wanted to include a picture of Crystal fixing Roger's bass drum while he's sitting at the drum kit, presumably during a show. He's lying on his stomach by Roger's feet, just like he described in the interview, but it's a scan from a book so I couldn't. It's a photo by David Tan. Does anyone have a non-scanned version?
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 16, 2022 4:52:11 GMT
Amazing to see him admit even that much. Brian May went much further a couple decades later: "Freddie's stuff was so heavily cloaked, lyrically. But you could find out, just from little insights, that a lot of his private thoughts were in there, although a lot of the more meaningful stuff was not very accessible. Lily Of The Valley was utterly heartfelt. It's about looking at his girlfriend and realising that his body needed to be somewhere else." Thanks for making that connection. The fact that Freddie went out of his way to bring up how that song was about himself, and Brian's explanation years later... there must be much more behind that song than I realized. It seems strange for Brian to give that explanation, because I just can't picture Freddie talking to Brian about it. Of course when you're together for that long I'm sure you talk about a lot of things, but it still doesn't seem like the kind of thing Freddie would open up to Brian about. Brian is a pretty intuitive guy - I'm sure he could see what was going on.
He once said how Save Me was essentially a co-write with Freddie, which we know is about Freddie's relationship to Mary. No doubt he had it all worked out.
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Post by The Real Wizard on Jan 16, 2022 6:27:42 GMT
Of course he's not going to remember those kinds of specifics, but he's definitely right. That's a good spot in the show to solve the problem, as the crowd can't see you - but it must've been tricky for him in the dark ! Well, after I pointed out the return of the missing drum, I realized that it also could have been footage from the other night. Very unlikely. He'd definitely want to have the same setup from night to night.
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