Todd Rundgren's opinions about Queen - from Italian magazine 'Ciao 2001', 15 May 1977
Dec 9, 2022 8:47:34 GMT
Maxi Dries, queenunread, and 1 more like this
Post by fabiogminero on Dec 9, 2022 8:47:34 GMT
Hello everybody.
Today I share a particularly interesting article: written by the Italian journalist Giorgio Rivieccio and entitled QUEEN. Cosa ne pensa Todd (translated as QUEEN. What Todd thinks), was published in the Italian music magazine Ciao 2001 on May 15th, 1977.
As the title suggests, the article analyzes the opinion on Queen (and on Freddie in particular) by the American musician Todd Rundgren; personally, it is the first time that I have come across such a detailed article in which another musician explains his thoughts on the musical abilities of other colleagues. Rundgren praises Queen for their talent and praises the album "A Night At The Opera", however defining the following "A Day At The Races" as disappointing, as a mere imitation of the previous one.
I have translated the article from Italian to English for you. Enjoy the reading!
Today I share a particularly interesting article: written by the Italian journalist Giorgio Rivieccio and entitled QUEEN. Cosa ne pensa Todd (translated as QUEEN. What Todd thinks), was published in the Italian music magazine Ciao 2001 on May 15th, 1977.
As the title suggests, the article analyzes the opinion on Queen (and on Freddie in particular) by the American musician Todd Rundgren; personally, it is the first time that I have come across such a detailed article in which another musician explains his thoughts on the musical abilities of other colleagues. Rundgren praises Queen for their talent and praises the album "A Night At The Opera", however defining the following "A Day At The Races" as disappointing, as a mere imitation of the previous one.
I have translated the article from Italian to English for you. Enjoy the reading!
QUEEN
What Todd thinks
AND TODD, OF COURSE IT'S RUNDGREN WHO, IN THIS SITE, BESIDES ANALYZING THE WORK OF THE ENGLISH GROUP, HE PUTS INTO CRITICIZING (BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY) THE WORK OF FREDDIE MERCURY, SINGER AND LEADER OF THE QUEEN.
If in England today "God Save The Queen" is exclaimed a little more than yesterday, it is certainly not due to a renewed popularity of Elizabeth, but rather to the consistent affirmation of Queen, the only hard rock group that is was able to give a new and polyhedral image after the crisis of the mid-70s. In Italy the quartet also had the honor of the television theme song, which is currently considered the most effective promotional and commercial vehicle, automatically leading to the Hit Parade, as others, and lately Emerson himself, have already demonstrated.
Queen's big evolution took place two years ago, with a precise direction that deviated from a slavish and confused hard genre, heading towards the rock-opera union, understood however in a satirical sense towards Italian melodrama. A combination that can also turn up one's nose, but which has lowered the group into a more refined and elaborated dimension, above all in the use of the choirs and guitar technique. The last two records, "A Night At The Opera" and "A Day At The Races" (which could very well be considered a double album, as there is no solution of continuity between the last grooves of the first and the first ones of the second) catapulted them onto the world market, but at the same time completely exhausted the innovative and original intuition of the quartet's music. Queen therefore find themselves in a difficult moment, that of turning no. 2, which is even more difficult than the first, since today the group has a strong popularity to defend.
And even more than the entire band, to defend their name are Brian May and Freddie Mercury: respectively guitarist and vocalist and, together, brain and soul of Queen. They have emerged with arrogance in the field of plectrum and vocal cord technique as two new leaders, in recent years so lacking in robust musical personalities that they cannot be confused with the myth of the moment.
The music press has noticed it, and someone has even raised some hosannas, but this time we are more interested in knowing that of a colleague of theirs than the critics' opinion. Here is why Todd Rundgren talk freely about Freddie Mercury (maybe we'll deal with May another time) and, consequently, the fortune, situation and prospects of Queen.
TODD'S JUDGEMENT
«Freddie Mercury is very good. And he knows it. Sometimes, therefore, he wants to show it at all costs, and it's not always right. However he possesses enormous vocal potential, and he develops it in three different ways; when he sings rock'n'roll songs, for example, he uses a rough and harsh timbre, when it's the turn of ballads he turns it into a softer one, in the case of live concerts, uses that typical of most English groups that are on a stage. It would be better, therefore, for Freddie to develop his own vocal timbre, without trying to adapt it to the type of music he interprets. His style, like that of the whole group, gives the impression of being very calculated and predetermined, which is a strong attraction and also a discrete limitation. It is something that is most evident in live performances, which are sometimes less spontaneous than records, which constitute the moment in which Queen use all the energy they have.
I also really admire Freddie as a composer. Indeed, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is really a little jewel but, once realized, I don't think it should have been imitated in the following album. Queen should no longer try to imitate themselves, also because the originals have always proved superior. It would have been better to try to develop the first songs, like "Ogre Battle" and "Death On Two Legs", then too fragmentary, rather than insisting on the same musical model.
In my opinion, "A Day At The Races" was a disappointment, after "A Night At The Opera". Too equal to the first, and furthermore there is a strong discrepancy between the songs written by Freddie or Brian May, who are the two main composers and the guide of the group, and those written by Deacon and Taylor. This is because Mercury and May have mainly focused on their material, thus marginalizing the other two from the overall commitment of the album.
Ultimately, Freddie and Brian should engage more the rest of the group in the music of the LPs, possibly helping him in the composition of the songs. Otherwise, Queen will give less and less of the idea of a group, becoming two leaders and two accompanists».
Giorgio Rivieccio
What Todd thinks
AND TODD, OF COURSE IT'S RUNDGREN WHO, IN THIS SITE, BESIDES ANALYZING THE WORK OF THE ENGLISH GROUP, HE PUTS INTO CRITICIZING (BOTH POSITIVELY AND NEGATIVELY) THE WORK OF FREDDIE MERCURY, SINGER AND LEADER OF THE QUEEN.
If in England today "God Save The Queen" is exclaimed a little more than yesterday, it is certainly not due to a renewed popularity of Elizabeth, but rather to the consistent affirmation of Queen, the only hard rock group that is was able to give a new and polyhedral image after the crisis of the mid-70s. In Italy the quartet also had the honor of the television theme song, which is currently considered the most effective promotional and commercial vehicle, automatically leading to the Hit Parade, as others, and lately Emerson himself, have already demonstrated.
Queen's big evolution took place two years ago, with a precise direction that deviated from a slavish and confused hard genre, heading towards the rock-opera union, understood however in a satirical sense towards Italian melodrama. A combination that can also turn up one's nose, but which has lowered the group into a more refined and elaborated dimension, above all in the use of the choirs and guitar technique. The last two records, "A Night At The Opera" and "A Day At The Races" (which could very well be considered a double album, as there is no solution of continuity between the last grooves of the first and the first ones of the second) catapulted them onto the world market, but at the same time completely exhausted the innovative and original intuition of the quartet's music. Queen therefore find themselves in a difficult moment, that of turning no. 2, which is even more difficult than the first, since today the group has a strong popularity to defend.
And even more than the entire band, to defend their name are Brian May and Freddie Mercury: respectively guitarist and vocalist and, together, brain and soul of Queen. They have emerged with arrogance in the field of plectrum and vocal cord technique as two new leaders, in recent years so lacking in robust musical personalities that they cannot be confused with the myth of the moment.
The music press has noticed it, and someone has even raised some hosannas, but this time we are more interested in knowing that of a colleague of theirs than the critics' opinion. Here is why Todd Rundgren talk freely about Freddie Mercury (maybe we'll deal with May another time) and, consequently, the fortune, situation and prospects of Queen.
TODD'S JUDGEMENT
«Freddie Mercury is very good. And he knows it. Sometimes, therefore, he wants to show it at all costs, and it's not always right. However he possesses enormous vocal potential, and he develops it in three different ways; when he sings rock'n'roll songs, for example, he uses a rough and harsh timbre, when it's the turn of ballads he turns it into a softer one, in the case of live concerts, uses that typical of most English groups that are on a stage. It would be better, therefore, for Freddie to develop his own vocal timbre, without trying to adapt it to the type of music he interprets. His style, like that of the whole group, gives the impression of being very calculated and predetermined, which is a strong attraction and also a discrete limitation. It is something that is most evident in live performances, which are sometimes less spontaneous than records, which constitute the moment in which Queen use all the energy they have.
I also really admire Freddie as a composer. Indeed, "Bohemian Rhapsody" is really a little jewel but, once realized, I don't think it should have been imitated in the following album. Queen should no longer try to imitate themselves, also because the originals have always proved superior. It would have been better to try to develop the first songs, like "Ogre Battle" and "Death On Two Legs", then too fragmentary, rather than insisting on the same musical model.
In my opinion, "A Day At The Races" was a disappointment, after "A Night At The Opera". Too equal to the first, and furthermore there is a strong discrepancy between the songs written by Freddie or Brian May, who are the two main composers and the guide of the group, and those written by Deacon and Taylor. This is because Mercury and May have mainly focused on their material, thus marginalizing the other two from the overall commitment of the album.
Ultimately, Freddie and Brian should engage more the rest of the group in the music of the LPs, possibly helping him in the composition of the songs. Otherwise, Queen will give less and less of the idea of a group, becoming two leaders and two accompanists».
Giorgio Rivieccio
